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MR. A. VV. PRESTON S METEOROLOGICAL NOTES. 
VIII. 
METEOROLOGICAL NOTES, 1908. 
(From observations taken at Norwich.) 
By Arthur W. Preston, F. R. Met. Soc. 
Read 2 3rd February, 1909. 
January. 
The first week gave a period of delightful winter weather, 
with wind frosts and brilliantly sunny skies, skating being 
very general and the ice very good. The remainder of the 
month was changeable, with much fog in the third week. 
Mean temperature was about a degree and a half under the 
average. Frost occurred on 19 nights in the screen and on 
24 nights on the grass, the minima falling below 20 degrees 
on three nights in the screen and on seven nights on the grass. 
Altogether it was a fine, seasonable month, although the 
coldest January since 1897. Snow fell on five days, but to 
no great depth, and the total month’s rainfall was .57 below 
the normal. 
February. 
This was a mild month, with a predominance of westerly 
winds. The first half of the month was dry, the latter part 
rainy. Snow fell on three days only ; and frosts occurred on 
only seven nights in the screen, although on the grass the 
thermometer fell below 32 degrees on 20 nights. No great 
severity was recorded ; in fact, no such high minimum (29.0 
degrees) has been noted in February since 1883. The chief 
feature of the month was a remarkable thunder-squall, 
which occurred on the afternoon of the 22nd. About 4.30 
p.m. the wind suddenly rose almost to the force of a hurricane, 
and heavy squalls of hail and rain were accompanied by 
vivid flashes of lightning and sharp peals of thunder. The 
storm lasted but little over ten minutes, but during that 
