38 8 The Weather during the Agricultural Year , 1907-1908. 
on June 4 or 5, and afterwards from about the middle of July 
to the middle of August. One striking feature in connection 
with the fine weather was the general absence of extreme 
warmth, the sun’s rays being usually tempered by cool breezes 
from west or north-west. 
June opened with a few days of close thundery weather, 
with heavy falls of rain in many parts of England, and 
especially in the north midlands. At Cheadle on the 3rd as 
much as 2'8 ins. were measured, and on the same day a cloud- 
burst occurred at Skipton (West Yorks.), where a large amount 
of damage was occasioned by the sudden rising of the river 
Aire. On the evening of the 1st, during a thunderstorm, a 
violent squall of wind (a miniature tornado) swept over the 
western suburbs of London and uprooted many fine trees in 
Bushey Park ; while on the afternoon of the 4th a similar 
occurrence, accompanied by equally serious effects, was 
experienced in north Hertfordshire. After this a cold wind 
from the northward spread over the entire country, and early 
on the morning of the 6th (Whit Sunday) a sharp ground frost 
occurred in many northern and central districts. For the 
remainder of June the weather was mostly fair and dry, 
broken, however, by heavy rain in the north-west of England 
on the 12th and 13tli, and in some parts of the midland 
counties on the 16th. Until very nearly the close of the 
month the air was very cool, with ground frosts in several 
places between the 14th and 18th, and on the 20th or 21st. 
After the 27th, and up to about July 3 or 4, the weather became 
much warmer, the highest temperature of the whole season being 
recorded on July 2 or 3, when the thermometer in the shade 
rose to 85° and upwards in many districts. At the close of 
June and the beginning of July a remarkable prolongation 
of twilight was observed over the whole country, and on two 
or three successive nights the midnight sky, even in the 
south, was sufficiently luminous to enable one to read print with 
the greatest ease. 
After about July 4, and for nearly a fortnight, the weather 
was in an extremely disturbed state, with frequent thunder- 
storms and heavy falls of rain in nearly all districts. The 
worst rainstorms occurred in south Wales on the 9th and 10th, 
in the south and east of England on the 12th and 13th, 
and in a number of isolated places, chiefly in the west, 
on the 16th and 17th. At Herne Bay, on the morning of 
the 13th, nearly 2| ins. of rain were collected in the space 
of three and a half hours. On the 16th and 17th a brisk 
northerly wind set in, and shortly after this a decided 
improvement in the weather was experienced, many places in 
the south of England reporting no further rain until after the 
