mr. a. w. prkston’s meteorological notes. 
693 
The Year. 
The year 1903 was altogether a very disappointing one as 
regards weather. The balmy breezes of February and March, 
resulting as they did in such a wealth of flowers and blossoms as 
is but rarely seen before May, were followed by the cruelly cutting 
cold “snap” of mid-April, which ruined the fruit crop. Then, 
after a heavy downpour in the middle of June, which in itself 
would have done no harm, the fine four weeks which ensued, 
giving promise as they did of a very genial summer, were suddenly 
followed by the tropical torrents of the second half of July. Again 
hopes for finer weather in the middle of August were cut short by 
further rain, just as harvest was commencing, and the hot days 
with which September entered were followed, as above stated, by 
a period of three and a half months, during which there were 
never more than two dry days at a time. The general dampness 
and gloominess of the last weeks of the year made the weather of 
this season appear wetter than the results of the rain gauge 
disclosed, as in fact, November and December yielded somewhat 
less rain than the average. The total rainfall for the year, as 
recorded here, was 29.44 ins., falling on 208 days. This total is 
the highest since 1892, when the amount was 31.05 ins. The 
number of days with rain was surpassed, as lately as 1900, when 
rain occurred on 222 days. The inequality of the distribution of 
rain during the year over the county of Norfolk is very remark- 
able. At Hillington the total fall was no less than 35.64 ins., 
whereas at Ormesby, on the other side of the county, it was only 
24.46 ins. At Yarmouth it was an inch below the average. The 
western side of the county was generally much wetter than 
the eastern, and passing out of the county further to the west, 
we find that in Hertfordshire the fall was greater still, and at 
Haverfordwest it exceeded 50 ins. The summer falls in the 
Thames Valley were very : otable, and it is also remarkable that 
whereas in the vicinity of London there were frequent thunder- 
storms of great violence during the year, in Norfolk but little 
thunder accompanied our heaviest summer rains. Altogether the 
year was a disastrous one to agriculture generally, and will not 
readily be forgotten. 
