440 mr. a. w. preston’s meteorological notes. 
at about 1.40 p.m., and the storm burst with the full fury 
of a midsummer storm about 1.50 p.m., with very brilliant 
lightning, followed by heavy and almost instantaneous peals 
of thunder. By 2.20 p.m. it had passed away. The storm 
was accompanied by hail, followed by snow, which continued 
to fall during the greater part of the afternoon. Although 
winter thunderstorms are infrequent, they do occur at intervals, 
but are usually local and of short duration, whereas the storm 
of February 8th was very general, and extended from Scotland 
to the south coast of England. Churches and buildings were 
struck by lightning in many parts of the country, but, not- 
withstanding the extent of the storm, there does not appear 
to have been any loss of life. There was another thunderstorm 
accompanied by hail, about 10 p.m. on the 3rd, but this was 
purely local and of very short duration. The month was, on 
the whole, coarse and ungenial, and while not severe, yielded 
more winterly traits than January. 
March. 
Extraordinary changes of temperature were experienced 
during this month. On the 6th the shade temperature 
reached 61.4 degrees, and on the 7th 67.0 degrees. Although 
the last named reading has been many times recorded in 
March, it is the first time it has been registered so early in 
the month since these records commenced, in fact it seems 
that we have to go back to 1826 for so warm a day so early 
in the year. This outburst of heat was followed by an abrupt 
change to arctic cold, the maximum temperature falling as 
much as 30 degrees in five days. In another five days the 
thermometer had jumped up to 64 degrees, but it was snowing 
forty-eight hours later. The second half of the month was 
the most winterly portion of the winter, with driving storms 
of snow and hail on several days. The mean temperature 
of the month was half a degree above the average (resulting 
