NATURE 



[September 19, 1912. 



The following table gives the summary of tem- 

 perature, rainfall, and duration of bright sunshine 

 issued by the Meteorological Office for the several 

 districts of the United Kingdom for the past 

 summer (thirteen weeks ended August 31), and the 

 corresponding results for the summer of last year 

 have been added : — 



The foregoing table shows that the highest tem- 

 perature during the past summer occurred in the 

 east and south-east of England and in the Channel 

 Islands, and the temperature for the recent 

 summer is largely in defect of that last year in 

 all districts. In the Midland counties and in the 

 south-west of England the day degrees above 42° 

 are respectively 4O1 and 460 less than last year, 

 which gives a deficiency of temperature of 5° for 

 the whole period compared with igii. The 

 deficiency of temperature this summer compared 

 with that of 191 1 exceeds 4° in all the English 

 districts except in the east of England, where it 

 amounts to 39°. 



The exceptionally heavy rains of August have 

 greatly augmented the aggregate rainfall for the 

 past summer over nearly the whole of Great 

 Britain. At Darwen the fall for the month was 

 I no in. and at Norwich lo'so in., the latter being 

 more than four times the average ; of the large 

 total at Norwich 7'34 in. fell in the twenty-nine 

 hours ending 9 a.m. .'\ugust 27, and similar falls 

 in the neighbourhood resulted in exceptionally 

 severe floods. At Kew, the London reporting 

 station of the Meteorological Office, the aggregate 

 rainfall for August was 5" 18 in., which is more 

 than double the average, and it has only been 

 exceeded once in August in the last fifty-seven 

 years, 6"so in. being measured in 1878; and there 

 were only two days, the ist and the 9th, absolutely 

 without rain during the month. 



The number of rainy days for the past summer 

 is more in excess of the normal in the English 

 districts than elsewhere, whilst the quantity of 

 rain is largely in excess everywhere except in the 

 north of Scotland, where it is seen from the 

 table that the aggregate rainfall for the three 

 months was less than in 1911. 



The returns for the summer show that the 

 NO. 2238, VOL. go] 



heaviest rainfall occurred in the south-west of 

 England, where the measurement was 1674 in., 

 which is 8' 1 7 in. more than the average of the 

 last twenty-five years. In the Channel Islands the 

 excess was 7'4S in., and in the Midland counties 

 6"23 in. The rainfall for the closing week of the 

 season amounted to more than seven times the 

 average in the east of England. 



The duration of bright sunshine was everywhere 

 largely deficient, and the table shows that the 

 amount in the several districts is onl}' about one- 

 half of that for the corresponding season in 1911. 



The following results from the Greenwich 

 observations exhibit in a very striking manner the 

 exceptional character of the past summer, and the 

 results for the summer of 1911 are also given to 

 show the contrast : — 



It is seen that August is in every way the most 

 exceptional of the three recent summer months. 

 The mean of the day temperatures is 14° lower 

 than in August, 191 1, and the mean of the night 

 temperatures is 6° lower. There were only five 

 days without measurable rain, both the rainy days 

 and the amount being more than three times as 

 great as in 191 1, whilst the duration of bright 

 sunshine was less than one-half. 



There were twelve days in the past summer with 

 a shade temperature of 80° and above, whilst in 

 the summer of 191 1 there were thirty-seven such 

 warm days, the average for the last seventy years 

 being thirteen days. There were forty-five days 

 this summer with the temperature 70° or above, 

 and in the summer of 191 1 there were seventy- 

 three days with that temperature, the average for 

 the past seventy years being fifty-nine days. The 

 highest shade temperature in August this year was 

 73°, whilst in August last year it rose to 100°, the 

 reading being a record for Greenwich. 



The controlling factor of the weather over the 

 British Isles during the past summer has been the 

 unusual distribution of atmospheric pressure in 

 our neighbourhood. During almost the whole of 

 the summer a region of high barometer has been 

 situated in the Atlantic to the south-west of our 

 area, and a second region has been situated either 

 over Iceland or Scandinavia. This has left a free 

 passage over the British Isles for incoming dis- 

 turbances from the Atlantic, and these have 

 become imprisoned within our area, moving very 

 sluggishly on their easterly track, and at times 

 remaining practically stationary. 



A feature of especial Interest due to the unusual 

 wind circulation set up by the abnormal atmo- 

 spheric distribution was the exceptionally high 

 temperatures which prexaiied oxer Scandinavia 



