252 THE TWIN STORMS OF JANUARY, 1867. 



from the form of its bay, was exposed to the full fury of the 

 storm ; the waves made a clear breach over the pier from end to 

 end, and the spray rose, in one vast cloud of water, to twice the 

 height of the Pier Lighthouse. The loss of life and shipping along 

 the coast and at sea was very great. 



One very remarkable feature of the Storm was the accompany- 

 ing flood of rain, which, on the storm day, amounted by my gauge 

 to 2-18 inches — the largest quantity I ever registered in 24 hours. 

 The snow melted under the higher temperature of the rain, and 

 before evening had all disappeared; and thus more than three 

 inches of rainfall passed in one day into the valleys, and flooded 

 all the rivers. 



During the night of the 5th the wind further shifted to S. and 

 S.W. ; and the morning of the 6th was calm and clear, and as 

 mild and balmy as May. The thermometer at 9 a.m. stood &t 50° ; 

 and so powerful was the influence of the westerly wind in driving 

 back the invasion of cold that the average of several days was 

 55°, and of the nights 45°, and the genial warmth penetrated the 

 whole country. 



Such was the First Storm, and the calms by which it was pre- 

 ceded and followed. 



The Second Storm was born of the same parents, and nursed 

 in the same cradle. On the 10th the north wind again set in ; 

 gently and uniformly it broadly swejjt over the whole country, 

 bringing the arctic cold over the western coasts of Europe, and 

 covering the land with a mantle of snow. In the east of England 

 the thermometer fell to zero ; and the long continuation of winds 

 from IST. and N.E. penetrated the western counties, producing 

 there an unusual degree of cold. On the night of the 14th my 

 thermometer fell to 11°, and in the valley at Truro it registered 

 8° ; whilst on the high land in the middle of the county, at Altar- 

 nun Vicarage, the temperature was as low as 4°. But the air was 

 dry, the sky clear, and, with a gentle wind, the weather was en- 

 joyable. Again the wind passed ominously with the sun, first to 

 the East on the 19th, when clouds above and gusts of wind below 

 gave indications of the gathering storm. On the 20th the wind 

 further veered to E.S.E. ; and then the storm burst on the Chan- 

 nel in its full power, and with a force equal to that of the 5th. 

 It reached its maximum of intensity at 4 p.m., and died out at 



