322 THE BAILIWICK RAINFALL. 



sey 1'80 in., Sark 2*55 in., Alderney 1*47 in. The Sark 

 downpour is notable. Not only is it the biggest rainfall by 

 over half-an-inch registered at both Sark and Alderney in the 

 last 1 1 years ; it is also well in excess of anything measured 

 at Les Blanches (Guernsey) in the 23 years, 1894-1916, where 

 the record fall is 2'42 in., October 2nd, 1904. Mr. Picot's 

 record fall at Alderney is 2*00 in., September 17th, 1913. 



Two days later, on September 28th (1916), another 

 electrical disturbance, occurred. At Sark, where damage by 

 lightning was reported, the storm is said to have been severe, 

 but rainfall everywhere was comparatively slight, the biggest 

 return being 0*45 in. from Sark. 



With the advent of October we expect an increasing 

 rainfall, gales, and a general break-up of the weather, and it 

 was so this year, for with the passage of the thunderstorms 

 referred to above the dry weather came to an end and onwards 

 to the end of the year the rain gauges were, with two or three 

 short exceptions, kept busily employed. 



The lengthy and exceptionally mild spell of weather 

 experienced in the early weeks of the year had its counterpart 

 in June and July in the shape of an even longer interval of 

 pronounced unseasonable temperature — this time low. While, 

 however, the New Year mildness lasted seven weeks and was 

 really remarkable for the high temperatures recorded, this 

 Midsummer coolness dragged itself out over nine consecutive 

 weeks and was more remarkable for its length than for excep- 

 tionally low readings of the thermometers. That this was so 

 is shown by the temperature registered, for whereas the 

 Dec.-Feb. mild interval w r as, as a whole, 4*4 deg. wanner than 

 the normal, the May-July cold interval was 2*6 deg., only 

 colder. Some individual days, how r ever, were sufficiently cool 

 for the time of year to make them worthy of note. For 

 instance, June 8th and July 3rd, with mean temperatures 

 respectively of 47*9 and 51*9 degs., were the coldest June and 

 July days at Guernsey (Les Blanches) of the 23 years, 1894- 

 1916. The normal for these days is 54*5 and 57*7 degs. 



I am appending a Table of the cool interval complement- 

 ary of the one already given of the mild interval and will just 

 add that two days only of the 64 included (9 weeks and 1 day) 

 were warmer than the average. These were May 30th and 

 July 22nd. Every one of the 52 days between these dates 

 were colder than the normal in varying degree. Rather 

 curiously the only bona fide heat blaze of the summer occurred 

 just before the commencement of the long cold spell. The 

 heat was of short duration (four days only), but so intense for 



