250 



NATURE 



\_July 15, iSij'o 



bearing of this abnormal distribution of the pressure on 

 the temperature, winds, and rainfall of this large and im- 

 portant part of the globe was adverted to. In the Sep- 

 tember following, the U.S. Weather Map for which 

 appears with this notice, great and radical changes in the 

 distribution of pressure took place— such as a change 

 from a large defect from the normal pressure to a large 

 excess above it in the New England States, South Britain, 

 Central Europe, South Africa, and New Zealand ; and on 

 the other hand, a change equally striking from a large 

 excess above the normal to a large defect from it over the 

 West India Islands, South Greenland, Iceland, North 

 Britain, and the whole of Southern Asia from the Bay of 

 Bengal to Japan. As it is still premature to speculate on 

 the causes of these enormous changes in the distribution 

 of the mass of the earth's atmosphere and the still more 

 enormous forces called into play in effecting them, we 

 must content ourselves with stating them a little more in 

 detail, and drawing attention to some of the more im- 

 mediate and striking climatic consequences which followed 

 in their train. 



In North America pressure fell most below the normal 

 about Lake Winnipeg, and southwards over the region 

 traversed by the upper tributaries of the Missouri and 

 Platte Rivers. This region of low pressure was extended, 

 though in a less pronounced form, to the south-east, 

 deepening again, however, on approaching Florida, to 

 0-090 inch, the greatest depression below the normal in 

 the Bahamas. Over the Gulf States and westward 

 through Texas and California, pressure was above the 

 average ; and to the north-eastward of the region where 

 pressure was low it rose gradually, till in the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence it stood at 0-133 inch in excess of the 

 average. 



This high pressure extended across the Atlantic, and 

 thence overspread Ireland, England, the northern half of 

 France, Germany, all Russia except the extreme south 

 near the Black Sea, and on into Siberia as far as the 

 valley of the Tobol. As already stated, the southern half 

 of Africa and the whole of New Zealand had a pressure 

 considerably above their normal, the excess in the northern 

 island of New Zealand being about 0-150 inch. 



To the north of the European belt of abnormally high 

 pressure there was a widespread region of low pressure 

 including South Greenland, Scotland, Denmark, and 

 Scandinavia, the centre of greatest depression being 

 0-209 inch below the normal in the north-east of Iceland. 

 On the other side of the European belt of high pressure 

 lay a most extensive stretch of low pressure covering the 

 Spanish peninsula and the rest of Southern Europe; the 

 north of Africa, all Asia, except Siberia to westward of 

 the Tobol River and a small patch including the Lower 

 Amur, the East India Islands, and the whole of Aus- 

 tralia. In this widespread region centres of still deeper 

 depression were formed in Italy, the Upper Obi, Western 

 India, Southern China, and the south-eastern division of 

 Australia, the depressions below the normal pressures of 

 -these five regions being respectively 0-133 inch, 0-146 

 inch, 0084 inch, 0-070 inch, and 0-136 inch. The sharp- 

 ness with which the regions were marked off will be seen 

 from the statements that in their relations to the normals 

 pressures showed differences of a fall of 0342 inch from 

 Nova Scotia to Bernfiord in Iceland, 0-329 inch of a rise 

 from Bernfiord to Cork, and 0-153 inch of a fall from 

 Cork to Rome, and 0-290 inch of a rise from near Mel- 

 bourne to Napier in New Zealand. 



In the United States, temperature was under the average 

 on the western side of the area of low pressure, the de- 

 ficiency from long. 98° W. to the Rocky Mountains being 

 from 1 -5 to 3°-o. This low temperature extended far to 

 northward, the deficiency from the normal amounting to 

 4 'S at York Factory, Hudson Bay. In the region of high 

 pressure which overspread the New England States the 

 rainfall was small, and temperature from i°-5 to 3°-5 above 



the normal. On advancing, however, to the north-east' 



temperature fell to near the arerage in Newfoundland' 

 which lay just on the western outskirts of the great baro- 

 metric depression which had its centre near the north- 

 east of Iceland. Greenland was completely enveloped in 

 the western division of this depression, and there it will 

 be seen that winds were northerly and easterly, and tem- 

 perature consequently fell to 4'-o below the normal On 

 the other hand, Scotland occupied the south-eastern 

 segment of the barometric depression, and there, conse- 

 quently, winds were west-south-westerly ; temperature 

 was from I'-o to 2^-0 above the average ; and the rainfall 

 in the west of the country from 40 to no per cent, above 

 the average ; whereas near the east coast it was about, or 

 rather slightly under, the average. Thus in Scotland the 

 distribution of the rainfall of September was the reverse of 

 what prevailed in August, the weather in the latter month 

 being fine and dry in; the west, but wet and backward in 

 the east. These differences of weather were occasioned 

 by the circumstance that in August the centre of greatest 

 barometric depression was to the south-west of Ireland, 

 thus resulting in rain-bringing easterly winds in Scotland 

 with the distribution of the rainfall stated above ; whereas 

 in September the centre of the barometric depression 

 was near Iceland, thus resulting in rain-bringing westerly 

 winds in Scotland, and consequently unfavourable weather 

 in the west, but favourable weather in the east for the 

 ingathering of the harvest. 



Temperature was about the average in England, slightly 

 under it in France and Western Switzerland, but above 

 the average over the whole of the rest of Europe, and 

 eastward into Asia as far as the area of high pressure 

 extended. The greatest excess of temperature over this 

 extensive region occurred in the great plains of the 

 Danube and the Dnieper, where it amounted to from 

 4°-o to 5°-6. In Italy the excess was small, and in Sicily 

 temperature even fell i°-4 below the average, and this 

 area of low temperature was continued to the north-west 

 through France. Another breadth of low temperature, 

 falling however nowhere lower than 2°-o below the normal, 

 extended from the Caspian Sea as far to the north-east as 

 the head-waters of the Yenisei, in other words over the 

 western side of the barometric depression which over- 

 spread this part of Siberia. To the eastward of the 

 Yenisei temperature was above the average, but only 

 slightly so, nowhere exceeding 2°-o. 



The greatest barometric depression in Australia lay oft' 

 tlie coast south of Melbourne, and in accordance there- 

 with, keeping in view the law of the winds of the southern 

 hemisphere, the prevailing winds were N.E. and N. at 

 Gabo Island and Melbourne, and N.W. and W. at Sand- 

 hurst and Portland ; in other words, with the distribution 

 of pressure described, equatorial winds blew over this 

 part of Australia, and the temperature rose at Wilson's 

 Promontory to 3°-2 above the normal ; and the winds 

 being land winds, the rainfall, particularly at places in 

 the interior, was considerably below the average. In 

 New Zealand pressure was not only absolutely higher in 

 the north than in the south, but also much higher rela- 

 tively to the normals, and it was also higher in the west 

 than in the east. Under this distribution of the pressure 

 and the strong equatorial winds resulting therefrom, 

 temperature rose above the normal over the whole of 

 New Zealand, the excess being nearly 4°'o at Dunedin, 

 Christchurch, and Napier. 



NOTES 



It was scarcely to be expected that the debate last Friday in 

 the House of Commons on Mr. Roundell's motion for the com- 

 plete abolition of the clerical headships and fellowships at Oxford 

 and Cambridge should have had any other ending than it had. 

 The Government thought it scarcely fair to the University Com- 



