BERMUDA ISLANDS. 585 



BERMUDA ISLANDS— The Climate, according to Governor Sir 

 R. M. Laffan, lias long been celebrated for its mildness and salubrity. 

 The thermometer generally ranges from 45'' to 55** during the winter 

 months, and it is only on very rare occasions that it goes down to 40°. 

 There is never anything approaching to frost, and flowers, fruit, and vege- 

 tables are more abundant in the winter and spring than in summer. 

 The summer, on the other hand, is never characterised by any extreme 

 heat, the thermometer seldom rises higher than 85°, and the heat is 

 generally tempered by a sea breeze ; but the prevailing breezes during the 

 summer months blow almost invariably from the S.W., and arrive at 

 Bermuda heavily charged with the vapour of the Gulf Stream, and in 

 consequence of this the summer atmosphere is almost always extremely 

 damp and heavy, and most people find it enervating and depressing. 



Some remarks on the Winds and Weather of Bermuda have been given 

 previously, on pages 169 — 170. We may here add the figures derived 

 from fourteen years daily observations, those from 1872 — 1879, and from 

 1881 — 1886.* The total number of observations taken during that period 

 was 9,130, distributed as follows, among the eight principal points. 



From November to May the weather is mild and agreeable, but in 

 June it becomes hot and sultry, and long droughts are frequent. This 

 lasts till September, when it becomes cooler. 



During the summer months, from April to September, the winds 

 prevail from S.S.E. to S.W. ; thermometer, 80° to 84°. About the latter 

 end of September the northerly winds set in, when the thermometer falls 

 to 70° and 74° ; quite a bracer for the constitution. In winter, northerly 

 winds sometimes blow hard for two or three days together, with a cool 

 dry atmosphere. Sometimes, however. South and S.W. winds have been 

 known to prevail during most part of the winter months. 



The mean temperature, as deduced from 10 years daily observations, is 

 71* F., while that of Madeira, in almost exactly the same latitude, is 65|° ; 

 this difference of 5^° being probably owing to the effect of the above- 

 mentioned S.W. winds. The warmest month is August, averaging 87°, 

 and the coolest February, averaging 55°. The average annual rainfall is 

 56 inches, evenly distributed throughout the year. 



These islands appear to lie in the zone of variable winds, northward of 

 the Trades, and also in the track of Hurricanes pursuing a normal course 

 from the Tropics, which have occasionally caused fearful destruction. 

 Revolving gales are frequent, especially in the winter. Farther on, we 

 give Sir W. Reid's observations upon these storms. 



The Bermuda Squalls are sudden and violent tempests, occurring par- 

 ticularly in the winter season. As the day closes, the whole horizon 

 becomes obscured by dark and heavy clouds, and the thunder and light- 

 ning, which precede the first squall, give notice of its approach. After the 

 commencement, the wind, continually shifting, blows in tremendous gusts 

 at intervals of every 20 or 30 minutes, a dead calm intervening ; and the 



* " Meteorological Observations at Foreign and Colonial Stations of the R.E. and 

 A.M.D., 1852—1886," published by tho Mateorological Council, 1890. 



N. A. 0. 75 



