ON METKOROLOGICAL OBSEKVATIONS OxN BKN NEVIS. 



51 



-January, and the largest, 206, in Jane, the latter number being the largest 

 for any month recorded down to the end of 1887. In June of 1888, 

 bo-wever, there have been 250 hours' sunshine recorded, being nearly half 

 the possible sunshine — an amount equalled at but few places in the 

 British Islands last June. The hours of sunshine were 680 for 1885, 576 

 for 1886, and 898 for 1887, the amount of sunshine being thus greatly 

 in excess of the two preceding years. In 1887 the amount was thus 20 

 per cent, of the possible sunshine, but in June the amount was 40 per 

 cent. The distribution of the sunshine during the hours of the day from 

 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. was 29, 42, 62 ; 81, 90, 87 ; 88, 83, 76 ; 70, 51, and 46 ; 

 .a distribution closely agreeing with that of 1884, 1885, and 1886. 



The amount of the rainfall for the year was 126'01 inches, the month 

 •of least rainfall, 3"97 inches, being May, and of greatest rainfall, 17'80 

 inches, January, the month of December, however, following close with a 

 rainfall of 17-58 inches. The number of days on which the precipitation 

 was nil, or leas than O'Ol inch, was 128, being thus 31 dry days in excess of 

 1886. On the other hand the number of days on which one inch of rain, 

 or upwards, fell were 37, or about one day in ten, being less frequent 

 than in previous years, when such heavy rainfalls occurred once a week 

 on the average. The unusually heavy rainfalls with the dates of their 

 occurrence were 3"57 inches on January 27, 3-48 inches on December 

 3, 2-97 inches on December 4, 2-85 inches on February 23, 2"52 

 inches on the 24, and 2*47 inches on January 19. For longer periods 

 the results are 7'19 inches for the four days ending January 28, 7'87 

 inches for the four days ending February 25, and 7"40 inches for 

 the three days ending February 3. 



Atmospheric pressure was considerably above the average for the year, 

 the mean at Fort William being 29 934 inches instead of 29834 inches. 

 In November, December, and January it was considerably under the 

 monthly means, but in every other month the means were exceeded, 

 the greatest excess, 0-260 inch, being in June. Thus the June of 1887 is 

 noteworthy in the meteorology of Ben Nevis for the prevalence of an 

 unwonted high atmospheric pressure and for an equally unwonted high 

 temperature, due to an unusual predominance of anticyclones over this 

 part of Europe during at least the last two-thirds of the month, with the 

 characteristic high temperatures and extremely dry states of the atmo- 

 sphere which accompany them. 



These warm, dry states of the atmosphere were most marked from 

 the 22nd to the 25th. During these four days the means from the 24 

 hourly observations were : — 



E 2 



