546 HAINFALJ. AT SAUK, IIERM AND ALDERNEY. 



September was in fact one of the very few wet months of the 

 year. 



The extraordinary " cloud burst " at Weymouth and 

 neighbourhood during the morning of October 21st may be 

 instanced in passing as showing what can occur in the way of 

 a lieaA'y rainfall even in this part of the globe. At Wey- 

 mouth 3*73 in. fell in the five hours from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., while 

 at the Breakwater rain gauge, about four miles to the south 

 of the town, 6^ in. fell in five hours I In the Channel Islands 

 on the same day O'OIin. fell at Les Blanches (Guernsey), 0*05 in. 

 at Sark and 0*22in. at Alderney. The Weymouth downpour is 

 reported to have occurred in connection with a thunderstorm. 

 At Guernsey .the heaviest rainfall on record is, I believe, 2*87 in. 

 on October 18th, 18^)5. This fell in connection Avith the 

 passage of a very deep cyclonic depression. 



A large waterspout was reported as having been seen 

 half a mile off Fort Grosnez, Alderney, at 11.15 a.m. on 

 Thursday, October 27th, the evolutions of which were dis- 

 tinctly visible from the land and attracted considerable 

 attention. The same morning a farm at Le Petit Val was 

 struck by a whirlwind which reliable eye-witnesses say 

 descended with a noise similar to a clap of thunder. In an 

 instant fowds, baskets, portions of the roof of a shed, &c., 

 were flying a great height in the air. The whirlwind took a 

 northerly course, swept down Le Petit Val valley and across 

 the Platte Saline, leaving a track about four yards wide in its 

 rear. When the swirl left the land at Platte Saline beach it 

 created a great disturbance in the water of the bay. 



The week ended Saturday, October 24th, affords a good 



example, apart from the monthly totals, of rainfall differences 



as sometimes occurring in the islands. The totals for that 



w eek are as follows : — 



o TT A Guernsey, 



Sark. Herm. Alderney. y ^y. , ' 



Les lilanches. 



in. in. in. in. 



0-68 0-66 1-28 1-59 



On the other hand, as illustrating a similarity of rainfall, 



the week ended Saturday, August 22nd, had the following 

 totals : — 



a TT A Guernsey, 



Sark. Heem. Alderney. Les Blanches. 



in. in. in. in. 



0-53 0-53 0-53 0-55 - 



Alderney reported a white frost for Tuesday morning, 

 November 10th, and the same morning Guernsey experienced 



