192 MR. A. \\\ PRESTON ON THE GREAT FROST OF 1890 — 91. 
thermometer was standing at 57 degrees, and although heavy rain 
fell, the air was extremely soft and mild ; a considerable depression 
in the barometer followed, and whilst it continued to fall mild 
south-westerly winds prevailed. On the morning of the 24th 
the barometer was standing at 29.15 in., but in the afternoon of 
that day the centre of the cyclonic disturbance had passed over us, 
the barometer rose four-tenths of an inch in twelve hours ; the 
wind veered and blew strongly from the north-west, and heavy 
storms of hail were experienced. The next day we were plunged 
into mid-winter, with three inches of snow on the ground, after a 
further rise of the barometer of half an inch in twelve hours ; and 
by the 28th the snow was lying on the ground, over the whole 
county, to the depth of from a foot to eighteen inches on the 
level. On the morning of the 30th a most exceptional frost was 
recorded, the thermometer falling to 14 degrees in the screen and 
7 degrees on the grass, a degree of cold not before recorded 
in the month of November during the present century. A change 
occurred on December 4th, and a drizzling rain cleared away most 
of the snow, leaving only a few drifts under sheltered hedgerows. 
The thermometer, however, did not rise above 43.8 degrees, and 
there were only two nights on which ground frosts did not occur. 
After this there was a period of cold dry weather till the 15th, 
when another fall of snow occurred, which remained on the 
ground, with frequent additions, till January 23rd, the earth being 
thus covered with a white mantle for forty successive days. The 
most severe frosts which occurred in the month of December 
were experienced between the 15th and 2Gth, when the ther- 
mometer fell below 20 degrees on eight out of twelve nights, on 
four of which it fell to below 10 degrees on the grass. A slight 
thaw occurred , on New Year’s Day, but the thermometer only rose 
to 38 degrees, and by evening it was again freezing hard. Some 
intensely severe frosts again occurred in the second week in 
January: on the night of the 18th it fell to 18. G degrees in the 
screen, on the 9 th to 15.8 degrees, on the 10th to 9 degrees, and 
on the 11th to 7.2 degrees (the lowest of the winter) ; while on 
the grass the temperatures recorded on these four nights were 
respectively 11.5 degrees, 5 degrees, 2 degrees, and 0.5 degrees. 
On the 13th another slight thaw occurred, but snow fell again on 
the following day, and the frost returned. The following week 
