A year's weather. 281 



Or, again, from nine o'clock on Sunday morning last 

 (November 4th) to Monday at the same hour, there fell, in Kenwyn 

 and Kea, about 2,073,000 (over two millions) tons of rain ■ or close 

 on 157 tons for each of the persons who live in these districts. 



Truly there is something ponderous in the drops of rain ! 



November 8th, 1888. 



We were quite pleased to see the interest which the short popular 

 account of the rainfall of Truro excited. Weather certainly is a 

 thing which all Englishmen agree is interesting • to many it is the 

 Alpha and Omega of their conversation. The rainfall of Novem- 

 ber, 1888, was abnormal — if one may be allowed to use a biological 

 term to express one's meaning for a meteorological fact. The rain- 

 fall, as measured at the Royal Institution, Truro, during November 

 was 8 - 89-inches. If we take the rainfall during November for 

 these last five years we learn that our average is ^-inches for 

 the month ; November, 1883,6*15; 1884,2*585 1885,4*86; 1886, 

 4*14; 1887, 4*44-inches, mean 4*43-inches. We had, to put it 

 simply, 270 tons of rain more to the acre than any November 

 these last five years. The year 1872 is known as the wettest 

 recorded for 200 years, and the rainfall at Truro in November, 1872, 

 was 5*96 (nearly six) inches. We may reasonably say, then, from 

 such premises, that a rainfall of almost 3 -inches in excess for the 

 month was abnormal. This excess was slightly over 300 tons of rain 

 to the acre, and the total month's fall was for those who live in 

 Kea and Kenwyn, in Truro, nearly 17I millions of tons of rain, a 

 monthly allowance of 1,320 tons, or, perhaps, clearer, 44 tons a 

 day to each individual. Hence, hereabouts the brooks and small 

 rivers overflowed their ordinary courses, and the water — like its 

 brother element fire — was as ruthless in its destruction and mastery. 



December 5th, 1888. 



Popular opinion says that looking back on December, 1888, it 

 was a dry and cold month ; and that, like many other parts of 

 England, we had a wet Christmas. This popular opinion seems 

 to have been borne out too, by the fact that we had thirteen days 

 on which there was more or less sunshine and eleven frosty days. 



