The  Winter  of  1903-1904. 
383 
about  January  1,  when  the  thermometer  in  many  places  fell  as 
low,  or  slightly  lower,  than  at  the  commencement  of  December. 
The  frost  appears  to  have  been  sharpest  over  our  southern 
counties,  the  lowest  temperatures  recorded  by  sheltered  ther- 
mometers being  12"  at  Bramley  in  Surrey,  17°  at  Wokingham, 
and  18°  at  Shaftesbury,  in  Dorsetshire. 
With  the  exception  of  these  two  very  cold  spells  the 
weather  in  December  was  usually  mild  and  dull,  with  frequent 
gales  in  the  western  and  southern  parts  of  the  kingdom.  In 
the  second  week  the  weather  was  also  very  wet,  the  heaviest 
individiial  fall  of  rain  occurring  on  December  12,  when 
amounts  varying  between  1 in.  and  1^  in.  were  experienced 
in  many  parts  of  Devon  and  Cornwall. 
In  January  the  weather  was  very  similar  in  character  to 
that  which  had  prevailed  throughout  so  large  a portion  of 
December.  The  highest  temperatures,  55"  to  59",  were  ex- 
perienced as  a rule  on  the  12th  or  13th,  and  on  the  latter  date 
or  the  14th  thunder  and  lightning  occurred  in  many  parts  of 
England.  About  the  middle  of  the  month,  when  the  wind 
shifted  temporarily  to  the  north-westward  and  blew  a gale,  the 
weather  became  colder,  with  snow  in  all  the  more  northern 
districts ; while  a little  later  the  extension  of  a large  anticyclone 
from  the  south-westward  was  followed  by  a sharp  touch  of 
frost,  the  thermometer  falling  between  the  21st  and  26th  to  25" 
or  less  in  many  places.  At  the  time  the  cold  was  greatest,  /.e., 
between  the  21st  and  23rd,  a good  deal  of  fog  and  mist  prevailed, 
especially  in  the  eastern  and  central  districts.  At  the  close  of 
January  a strong  wind  from  south  and  south-west  again  spread 
over  the  country,  with  gales  on  the  28th  and  29th,  and  with 
frequent  rain  in  all  districts. 
During  the  earlier  half  of  February  the  weather  was  more 
unsettled  even  than  in  January,  the  disturbing  influence  being 
seen  in  a series  of  cyclonic  systems  which  advanced  directly 
over  tlie  United  Kingdom.  In  the  southern  districts,  where 
the  wind  was  chiefly  from  the  westward  or  south-westward, 
the  weather  was  fairly  mild  ; but  in  the  north,  where  the  current 
was  from  east  or  north-east,  the  air  was  cold,  with  frequent 
snow  showers  between  the  2nd  and  8th.  In  all  other  parts  of 
the  country  rain  fell  daily,  the  heaviest  falls  occurring  on  the 
3rd  in  the  northern  and  central  districts,  and  on  the  9th  over 
our  southern  counties.  On  the  12th  and  13th  a gale  of  con- 
siderable severity  from  south  and  south-west  swept  over  the 
whole  country,  heavy  rain  being  experienced  in  the  west,  and 
thunder  and  lightning  in  many  districts.  The  remainder  of 
February  was  cold  and  very  changeable.  Snow  was  frequent, 
especially  during  the  last  five  days,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
month  a sharp  frost  occurred,  the  sheltered  thermometer  in 
