544 MR. A. W. PRESTON’S METEOROLOGICAL NOTES. 
March. 
The distribution of pressure throughout the month was of a 
cyclonic type, accompanied by almost continuous southerly to 
westerly winds and a high temperature for the time of year. 
There was frequent rain, and thunderstorms occurred on the 5th 
and 21st. Vegetation made a very early start, and by the close 
of the month there was a mass of garden flowers in bloom such 
as is rarely seen in March, and it was the forwardest season 
since 1903. The mean temperature of the month was nearly 
5° above the average, and there was only one night when the 
screened thermometer fell to the freezing point. There was no 
snow. 
April. 
Anticyclonic conditions prevailed almost throughout the 
month, and it was one of the finest and brightest Aprils for 
many years past. Bright sunshine was exceptionally large, the 
total number of hours of sunshine for the month having been 
252, or 92 hours above the average. There was much north- 
easterly and easterly wind, and only '39 in. of rain, falling on 9 
days. It was the driest April since 1893. Many flowering 
shrubs and trees which do not usually show their blossoms 
until the middle of May, such as lilacs, hawthorns, horse 
chestnuts, etc., were in bloom at the end of the month. The 
solar eclipse on the 17th was seen from a cloudless sky, and 
was a fine spectacle. The sunshine record was broken for 
about 20 minutes during the maximum obscuration, and the 
shade temperature fell from 58° to 51°. 
May. 
This was another fine, warm and dry month. On the 11th 
the shaded thermometer rose to 82°, an unusually high reading 
for so early in the year, but it was followed on the next day by 
a drop of 22°. Although rain fell on 16 days, on only 3 days 
did the fall equal or exceed a tenth of an inch. The drought 
was severely felt, the total rainfall from March 24th to May 
31st having been only 1’39 ins. Mean temperature was 3 2° 
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