mu. a. w. preston’s meteorological notes. 
G89 
and nearly a degree colder than February, whereas in an ordinary 
year April should be 5.4 degrees warmer than March, and 8.1 
degrees warmer than February. The rainfall of the month was 
.84 ins. above the average. 
May. 
The month opened with some fairly warm days, but the weather 
turned cold again on the 9th, and continued so till the 21st, when 
a period of fine dry weather set in till the end of the month. The 
thermometer reached 70 degrees on the 21st, and 75.2 degrees on 
the 22nd, but after the last-named date the maxima were lower 
owing to the wind settling into the east. On the mean the month 
was warmer than any May since 1895, but the excess above the 
average temperature was not much. No rain was recorded here 
after the 17th. 
June. 
The “easterly wind ” type of weather, which had set in on May 
23rd, continued till June 1 4th, when frequent shallow barometric 
depressions, which had already caused heavy rains in the south for 
some days, produced a considerable downpour in this neighbour- 
hood. It rained daily from the 13th to the 20th inclusive, the 
total amount measured during that period having been as much as 
2.42 ins., or practically the whole rain of the month, no more 
having fallen after the 20th day. During this rainy period 
(which, however, yielded much less rain here than in the 
vicinity of London, where (5 ins. and more were recorded), the 
temperature was very low for the time of the year, and the 
weather was of the most ungenial description. The last ten 
days were very line and bright, and on the 28th the thermometer 
reached 86 degrees in the shade, constituting that day the hottest 
in the year, and the warmest ever recorded here in June, b p to 
the end of this month the total rainfall for the year was half an 
inch deficient. 
J ULY. 
The fine, dry weather which followed on the rainy period in the 
middle of June, continued till July 18th, or for exactly four 
weeks, during which there was scarcely any rain, and many 
warm days, although, in July, the maximum temperature only 
