148 BAILIWICK RAINFALL. 



and far between — at Les Blanches there was one only, the 

 3rd — and in the end the month turned out, not merely the 

 wettest December on record at the three stations — it was that 

 — but the second wettest of 252 months at Guernsey and of 

 108 at both Sark and Alderney. The difference from the 

 normal at Guernsey, where the total fall reached 8*29 in., 

 was + 4*10 in. 



A wet winter month is generally a warm month also and 

 December proved no exception to the rule. Several hoar 

 frosts were noted at Les Blanches, but on no day did the 

 screen (air) temperature drop below 34*8 deg. Barometrical 

 pressure was very unsteady throughout the month owing to 

 the passage of an unbroken succession of depressions of 

 varying intensity. One of these cyclonic swirls on the 9th 

 gave both Sark and Alderney their wettest day of the year, 

 Captain Henry's measurement at Sark being 1*18 in. and Mr. 

 Picot's at Alderney 1*36 in. At Guernsey that day's rain- 

 fall was 0*96 in. at Les Blanches and 1*22 in. at the Guille- 

 Alles Library. Another big Atlantic " low " sent our baro- 

 meter down to the very low level of 28'7 in. on the 13th. 



Hail showers were of frequent occurrence in December 

 and several violent gales occurred. At Guernsey, for in- 

 stance, a whole gale raged during the mid-day hours on the 

 4th, and at Alderney on the 28th there was " a fierce gale, 

 hurricane 4 p.m., hail and rain." 



Alderney was very decidedly the wettest of the three 

 stations in December ; its total, 8"69 in. was 1*44 in. above the 

 Sark total and 0*40 in. above that at Guernsey. The effect 

 on the springs of the excessive rainfall was very marked. 

 At Les Blanches, Guernsey, the first indications of a rise 

 having begun was given on December 7th, and by the end of 

 the month the water level in the well had risen 28 inches. 

 Underground water was late in flowing — the summer ebb 

 continued until a later date than usual — but once the turn in 

 the tide occurred the rise was a rapid one. In the two 

 months ended January 31st (1915) the rise at Les Blanches 

 amounted to no less than 5 feet 9 inches. 



In conclusion hearty thanks are tendered to Captain 

 Henry and Mr. Picot for their continued and much appre- 

 ciated help, now extending over nine years, in measuring and 

 recording the rainfall in Sark and Alderney respectively, 

 thus making available statistics which are at once both 

 interesting and valuable and which will become increasingly 

 so as time goes on. 



