A year's "WEATHER. 199 



If comparisons were a relief we have had during the last 

 half-century three Octobers on which the rainfall was heavier than 

 October this year — 1891, 8-55 : 1885, 8-82 ; 1880, 9'23 3 1865, 9-09- 

 inches. But the fact of this month's downfall being classed as one 

 of these exceptionally heavy rainfalls gives it a distinction worth 

 noticing. Perhaps the greatest peculiarity in the rainfall was its 

 cyclonic character — a rush of wind terrific in force accompanied by 

 blinding rain, which descended in parallel sheets. This was the 

 experience in several of the south-westerly counties, and caused an 

 overflowing of streams, flooding of fields, and isolation of houses. 

 In going north I saw several isolations of . this character, and, in 

 addition, great inland lakes with timber trees standing in the watery 

 waste. I'hese' heavy falls of rain gave a registration in the gauges 

 which is happily not often experienced. On the morning of the 5th 

 we registered i^-inches of rain in one hour 5 but Mr. F. H. 

 Davey, in a rain guage at Ponsanooth, registered 2*4i-inches 

 during the same time. His rainfall for October is io'26- 



inches, nearly if-inches more than at Truro, due probably to the 

 better wooded grounds about, and in some measure to the soil. On 

 October 6th we had nearly two inches, and on the i8th over an inch 

 of rain 5 from the loth to the i8th the average daily rainfall was 

 nearly half-an-inch. But none of these records show so high a 

 daily fall of rain as in 1880, when on October the i6th the 

 rainfall in Truro was 3'o-inches. 



During the month the rain fell on 25 days, and for 23 of these 

 days it rained consecutively ; it was a month, however, of many 

 peeps of sunshine, and the high registration of rain was due rather 

 to intensity of fall than continuous wet. During the month the 

 winds were terrific at times, gales were common, and loss of life 

 saddening. In the last week of the month the barometer had a 

 range of nearly i^-inches. 



The following summary shews our average and that of last 

 year and this : — 



40 years' mean. 1890. 1891. 



January ... 4'85-ins 5 62-ins 3-40-ins. 



February ... 3-38-ins 1-84-ins 0-22-ms. 



March 2-91-ins 1-87-ins 3 90-ina. 



April 2-61-ins 4-01-ins 2-48-ins. 



May 2-45-ins. 5-06-ins 2-26-ins 



June 2-39-ins 417-ins 2-86-ins. 



