392 The Weather during the Agricultural Year , 1907-1908. 
[Continued from page 389.] 
gale from the westward was blowing over a considerable portion 
of England and Ireland. As the disturbance passed off the 
wind shifted to the northward, and the weather became 
temporarily very cool, a sharp night frost being experienced in 
some of the more northern and central districts. Later on the 
wind got back to south-west, and the thermometer rose steadily, 
the shade readings on the 7th and 8th being above 70° in many 
parts of England, and a trifle above 75° in some parts of our 
eastern counties. The slow passage of another barometrical 
depression across the country was accompanied at this time by 
an exceedingly heavy fall of rain in the northern parts of 
Ireland and Scotland, and in the rear of the disturbance a cool 
north-westerly wind sprang up, with showers of snow or sleet 
between the 9th and 11th at some few places in northern and 
central England. At Canterbury, on the afternoon of the 11th, 
a severe thunderstorm was accompanied by an exceedingly heavy 
fall of rain and hail, and at one station in the city more than 
3 ins. were collected in the space of about an hour. On the 
nights of the 11th and 12th ground frosts were again experienced 
over a large portion of the United Kingdom, but in the latter 
half of the month the weather, although rather changeable, was 
uniformly warm, the thermometer rising between the 17th and 
20tli to 75° and upwards in the east and south-east of England, 
and to 79° at Whitby and Canterbury. Quite at the close of the 
month a more remarkable spell of heat set in, and continued 
throughout the early days of October, the thermometer rising 
between September 30 and October 3 to 75° and upwards in 
Scotland, and to 80° or a little above it in many parts of 
England and Wales. At Maidenhead a reading of 82° was 
observed on September 30 and October 1, and at Whitby the 
thermometer on the latter day reached 84°. 
The excessive warmth was followed on October 4 and 5 by 
a change to cooler weather, but until well after the middle of 
that month the thermometer was almost always above the 
normal. After the 20th, however, a cool wind from east and 
north-east set in, and for about a week the thermometer was 
below the normal, with sharp night frosts between the 21st 
and 24th. On the night of the 24th the sheltered thermometer 
in some parts of Great Britain fell at least six or seven degrees 
below the freezing point, while at Llangammarch Wells the 
thermometer on the grass went as many as twenty degrees 
below it. In some of the more southern parts of England and 
Wales considerable falls of rain were experienced between the 
15th and 21st, and on the morning of the 21st, during a severe 
thunderstorm, 4 ins. were collected at Weymouth and G^ ins. 
on Portland Breakwater. Towards the end of October the 
wind veered round to south and the thermometer again rose to 
