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MR ROBERT COCKBURN MOSSMAN ON 



1813 

 1814 



1814 



1814 



1814 

 1814 



1814 



1815 



1815 



1815 

 1815 

 1816 

 1816 

 1816 



Phenomenon. 



Drought 

 Great Frost 



Heat 



Aurora 



Lunar Rainbow 

 Aurora 



Frost 



Snow and Frost 



Oale 



Aurora 



Thunderstorm 



Snow 



Earthquake 



Aurora 



REMARKS. 



September. This month and the last have seldom been surpassed for 

 dryness, sunshine, and warmth. During a period of ten weeks only two 

 rainy days occurred. 



On Sunday, 2d January, there was a good deal of rain, but towards even- 

 ing the atmosphere became clear, accompanied by such intense cold during 

 the night that next morning boys were venturing on the ice which covered 

 the mill-pond at Canonmills. The snow soon after began to fall, and it lay 

 on the open fields about Edinburgh nearly 1 6 inches deep on an average ; 

 where drifted, it was from 3 to 6 feet in depth. The cold was very 

 great, the temperature ranging from 17° to 22°, but at 8 a.m. of the 

 15th January it was, at Canonmills, as low as 10°'5, while during the early 

 morning it had, in the New Town, fallen as low as 9°. On the 18th, at 

 8 A.M., a reading of 11° was recorded, and it had at the same time been 

 observed 3° lower in the neighbourhood. At Glasgow it is stated to have 

 fallen to - 5°. 



The Firth of Forth was nearly covered with floating ice from Queensferry 

 upwards. From the interstices which remained free the vapour ascending 

 from the water became suddenly condensed, producing the appearance of 

 smoke rising from the surface, exactly as is described to happen in Hudson's 

 Bay and West Greenland, at the edges of the ice. Many birds were 

 benumbed with the cold, and easily surprised and caught. The frost con- 

 tinued unabated till the 24th of January, when a gentle thaw commenced. 

 The ice in the vicinity of Edinburgh varied from 7 inches in the large lochs 

 to over a foot on the rivers. During February, alternate frosts and thaws 

 succeeded each other, but the ice which covered the lakes on the 3rd of 

 January did not wholly disappear till the 24th of February, having thus 

 lasted 52 days. The effect of the severe weather was to delay the London 

 mails considerably, — the one on the 13th, due at 7 a.m., not arriving till 

 past 5 p.m. On the 14th and 15th it was also much behind time. From 

 the 17th to the 21st it was one day later, and all the other mails, except 

 from Glasgow, were also one or two days behind. The London mails due 

 on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th did not reach Edinburgh till the evening 

 of the 26th, a circumstance unprecedented, there never before having been 

 more than three London mails due at one time. Two still remained due 

 on the 27th, and there was always one behind till after the 31st. Much 

 damage was done to bridges, etc., on the breaking-up of the ice on the Esk 

 and other places. 



August 25. The shade temperature at the Calton Hill observatory rose 

 to 84° at 2 p.m. 



September 11. Very bright aurora. So bright was the light that it 

 was possible to read a book of a large type. 



September 15, Fine lunar rainbow. 



September 11. At 7.30 p.m. a column of light was observed stretching 

 along the northern hemisphere from S.W. to N.E., in appearance not unlike 

 the Milky Way. 



November 20. Sharp frost. During the following night the tempera- 

 ture fell to 21°. Next morning the margins of the lochs around Edinburgh 

 were covered with skaters. 



A severe storm of snow and frost continued from the 20th of January to 

 the end of month. 



January 27 and 28. Severe E.N.E. gale with very high tide at Leith. 

 Solid masonry on the pier broken down by the huge waves. 



September 26. Aurora. 



November 24. Thunderstorm with hail. 



April 18. Heavy snowstorm. 



August 13. Slight shock at 11 p.m. 



September 24. Brilliant aurora, assuming the form of a vast luminous 

 arch of purple or red colours. Slight tremulous motions of the light were 

 seen at intervals. The arch extended from N.E. to S.W. 



