The Spring of 1905. 
259 
with the 27th. Occasional slight frosts were reported in the 
early part of the month, atid an exceedingly sharp frost on the 
night of the 22nd, the latter occasioning, in many places, 
irremediable damage to the fruit blossoms, and no little injury 
to potatoes and other crops. 
March opened with a short spell of northerly winds with 
hail or sleet showers in several districts, and a sharp frost 
on the night of the 2nd, when also a display of aurora was 
seen in the western and northern parts of the country. After 
the 5th a long spell of winds from between south and west 
was experienced, with high temperatures, frequent gales 
between the 8th and 15th, and a very heavy fall of rain over 
the southern districts on the 10th. The south-westerly gale 
which prevailed on the 14th and 15th was very severe in the 
west and south, and caused some injury to life and property, 
both on land and at sea. Between the 9th and the 17th 
thunderstorms were unusually frequent in nearly all parts of 
the country, the most general of these visitations occurring 
on the 11th, and between the 15th and 17tli. In the latter end 
of March the weather quieted down, and became somewhat drier, 
especially in the eastern and southern districts, the thermometer 
in the meantime remaining above the average over the country 
generally. 
At the commencement of April the conditions were mostly 
fair, but after the 4tli a strong current of wind from north- 
west set in, and between the 5th and 8th snow showers extended 
from the northward over nearly the whole country. Sharp 
frosts also occurred at about this time, the thermometer on the 
nights of the 6th and 7th falling 10° below the freezing point 
in some parts of the midlands, and 13° below it at Newton Rigg, 
in Cumberland. After a calm spell between the 9th and 11th, 
a short period of mild southerly winds was experienced, the 
thermometer on the 13th and 14th rising above 60° in most 
places, and reaching 65° or a trifle more in and around London. 
Thunderstorms occurred in the north and east of England on 
the 14th, and at many places in the south on the 16th. After 
the middle of the month the wind backed from south to east, 
and finally to north, these changes being accompanied by a 
return of cold variable weather, with occasional showers of 
snow or sleet, chiefly in the northern districts, but extending 
on the 18th and 19tli much further south. At the end of the 
third week in April the wind shifted from north to north-west, 
the weather in the meantime remaining cold and changeable. 
Later on a south-westerly breeze sprang up, while at the close 
of the month a stiff gale from south or south-west was ex- 
perienced over the whole country, with heavy rain in some 
parts of Wales and the north of England. 
s 2 
