812 
THE AUTUMN OF 1894. 
The weather of last autumn came to us in three distinct spells, each 
possessing features of a very strongly marked character. 
During the first period, which lasted from the beginning of 
September until the middle of October, the type of weather was 
mainly anticyclonic, the highest barometrical pressures being found, 
as a rule, over our western and northern districts. With these 
conditions the prevailing winds were from the northward or east- 
ward, and the weather fair and dry. Over the eastern, central, 
and southern parts of the country, however, the anticyclone was 
accompanied by an unusually large amount of cloud and mist ; and 
in consequence of this the day temperatures were decidedly low, the 
nights being, on the other hand, fairly mild for the time of year. 
Heavy falls of rain were experienced at times in isolated portions of 
our southern counties, but in the west and north of England the 
country was under the partial influence of a drought which prevailed 
with unusual severity in the west of Scotland and the north of 
Ireland. 
The second period of weather, which lasted during the four weeks 
commencing with October 18 or 19, was of a widely different 
character. The influence of the anticyclone was now replaced by 
that of the cyclone, the low-pressure systems travelling in most cases 
in a north-easterly direction over or outside our western and northern 
coasts. The prevailing winds were therefore from points lying 
between south and west, and the weather was extremely mild and 
changeable, with repeated heavy falls of rain over our southern and 
south-western counties. The bad weather appears to have reached 
its culminating point between November 11 and 14, when a tremen- 
dous downpour of rain occurred over the entire southern half of 
England. Deluged by previous heavy falls the soil was incapable of 
absorbing this very serious addition, the result being that the river 
valleys and low-lying grounds generally were speedily visited by 
floods of an unusually widespread and destructive character. In 
some districts the water is said to have reached a higher level than 
at any time since the year 1852, while in isolated places the floods 
were described as the worst on record. An interesting feature in 
the history of this period is that, while the rainfall was so much in 
excess of the average, the amount of bright sunshine was also 
unusually large. The seeming paradox is explained by the fact that 
in the intervals between the departure of one cyclonic system and 
the arrival of the next, the sky often remained clear for many hours 
together, the days being in many places alternately very fine and 
very wet. Thunder and lightning were reported frequently in the 
south and southwest; and on November 12, when a serious 
barometrical depression advanced eastwards along the Channel, 
