258 Dr Miller on the Climate 



temperature is 0°*9 above the average, and the thermometer fell to 

 the freezing point on one night only. 



There were two lunar haios, and two slight appearances of aurora 

 borealis. 



December. — A fine and remarkably dry, cold month. The tem- 

 perature is 4°*28 under the average, and no less than 8°*55 under 

 the mean temperature of the corresponding month in 1852 ! ! This 

 is the driest December on record at this place, except the correspond- 

 ing month of 1844, in which the quantity of rain was only T 3 oths of 

 an inch. The Decembers of 1852 and 1853 are strikingly con- 

 trasted with each other ; — whilst the former was the mildest and 

 wettest, the latter is the coldest (two excepted) and driest (one ex- 

 cepted) ever known, or at least recorded at Whitehaven. In Decem- 

 ber 1852, the depth of rain slightly exceeded 11 inches ; — in the 

 same month of 1853, it only amounted to half an inch. The sun 

 shone out on 15 days, and the thermometer fell below 32° on 14 

 nights. 



On the 6th, at 7h. 25m. p.m., there was an auroral arch, 10° 

 or more in breadth, extending from ENE. to WSW., the centre 

 passing a little south of the zenith. At 8 p.m., two-thirds of the 

 sky were covered with streamers converging about 15° south of the 

 zenith. By 8h. 30m. the phenomenon had nearly disappeared. 

 At llh., there was a broad arch in the NW. — altitude of centre 

 about 30°. 



Last Quarter. — The mean temperature of the last quarter is 

 0°*5 under the average. The deaths in the town and suburb are 

 138, or three above the corrected average number in the 14 previous 

 autumn quarters. The prevailing disease was Scarlatina. White- 

 haven was entirely exempted from cholera, which visited the adjacent 

 town of Workington with fatal virulence during this period. 



According to the Registrar-General, " this period was unhealthy, 

 and a greater number of lives was lost to the population than in 

 any other autumnal quarter of the last 13 years, with only two ex- 

 ceptions, — the fourth quarter of 1846 and that of 1847." 



Winds. — In 1853, the winds were distributed as under : — N., 33 

 days ; NE., 62 * days ; E., 26£ days ; SE., 26J days ; S., 57 

 days ; SW., 92 days ; W., 31 days ; and NW., 36£ days. 



Weather, fyc. — In the bygone year, there were 2 1 perfectly clear 

 days ; 152 days more or less cloudy without rain ; 192 wet days ; 

 300 days on which the sun shone out more or less ; 46 frosty nights 

 (of which 16 were in February and 14 in December) ; 15 snow 

 showers ; and 11 days on which hail fell. There have also been 2 

 solar and 6 lunar halos, 1 parhelion, 4 days of thunder and light- 

 ning, 1 day on which lightning was seen without thunder, and 7 ap- 

 pearances of aurora borealis. The number of days on which the sun 

 shone out is greater than in any other year of which a record has 

 been k<pt. The next greatest number was 292, in 1844. 



