626 



Notes on the Weather. 



[JAN., 



During the first week of December the weather was very unsettled throughout 

 the whole of the Kingdom. Rain was frequent and at times'! heavy, while the 

 many transitions from rain to clear or partially clear sky 

 Notes Oil the were often very rapid. Some snow fell in the north, 



j . Temperature was above the average in most of the 



Weather 111 December. Eng i ish districts, in England S. it was " unusual," and 

 only in England N.E. and N.W. "deficient." Rainfall 

 was " heavy " or "very heavy " in every part of Great Britain except England N.E., 

 where it was "moderate," while sunshine was "abundant" or "very abundant" 

 everywhere except in Scotland W. In several places frosts on the grass were reported 

 every night. During the second week the weather was generally rough and very 

 unsettled, and rain unusually frequent and heavy. Thunder was heard and lightning 

 seen at several places. The temperature was above the average, being "unusual" in 

 England E. , S., N.W. and in the Midlands. The rainfall was "heavy" everywhere 

 except in Scotland W., where it was "moderate." In England E., S., S,W. and in 

 the Midlands it was " very heavy." Sunshine was, however, " abundant " in the 

 first two districts. Night frosts were less frequent ithan in the first week. During the 

 third week over the eastern half of England and in a few localities towards the west 

 a considerable part of the week was fair although not at all bright, but in the western 

 and northern districts generally the conditions were very unsettled, a measurable 

 quantity of rain falling almost every day. Temperature exceeded the average to the 

 extent of more than 4° generally and more than 6° in the Midland counties, being 

 " unusual " throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. Rainfall was " light " in 

 England S. and E. and in the Midlands. In Scotland it was " heavy." Sunshine, as 

 a rule, was " scanty." During the fourth week of December the weather was 

 somewhat rainy in most parts of the Kingdom, becoming drier towards the end of the 

 week. The atmosphere was unusually dry at the end of the week, the rainfall being 

 deficient in most places. Bright sunshine was below the average in many places. 

 The percentage of possible duration ranged from 20 in England N.W. and 17 in 

 Ireland S. to 4 in the Midlands. At Birmingham the week was quite sunless. 



With this week, except for a few days, the year 1907 came to an end. It was 

 remarkable for its ungeniality and cheerlessness except for a few weeks in the autumn, 

 for the coldness of the summer and the warmth of the autumn. During the summer, 

 England N.E. and S. and N.W. experienced 8 weeks of less than average warmth, 

 England E. and the Midlands, 7, but in the autumn, England N.E. had 9, England S., 

 7, and England N.W. 6 weeks of more than normal warmth. The accumulated 

 number of day degrees of temperature above 42 0 F. fell in many cases below the average 

 of the last 25 years, especially in England S.W., where not only was there a deficiency 

 of 246 degrees above 42° but also an excess of 35 below 42 0 . The total rainfall for the 

 year did not, however, vary very much from the average. There was an excess in inches 

 of i*/4 in Scotland E., 2*34 in the Midlands, 2 '88 in Scotland W., 1*84 in England 

 N.W., 2 '37 in England S.W., while there was a deficiency of 0*43 in England N.E., 

 2 "8 1 in England E., 0*30 in England S. In the matter of sunshine, England E., N.E. 

 and S. alone recorded more hours than the average for the last 25 years, namely, 37 

 in each case. Other places recorded a deficiency, which in the case of Scotland W 

 was as much as 1 13 hours. 



Very few observations were made by the Board's correspondents in the month 

 of December. In Berkshire the lambing began at the end of the month, and 

 the ewes and lambs were reported healthy. The heavy rain and floods not only 

 did much damage, but prevented threshing so that straw was scarce, but towards the 

 end of the month this was overcome. In the east of Scotland ploughing was reported 

 as progressing well and the weather was described as passable. A larger number of 

 wild fowl and pigeons were noticed. In the west, sheep were said to be losing con- 

 dition through want of dry beds in the early part of the month. 



