38 
The last five stations indicate the character of the fall in 
the surrounding counties. The heaviest falls appear to have 
been in the lower sections of the West Riding Dales. The 
series from Brigflatts over the Pennines to Hawes Junction, 
and down the Yore, is especially noteworthy. The rain would 
appear to have begun and ceased earliest to the west. The 
latter of course is natural with an easterly rain, as well as that the 
heaviest falls are away from the valley heads ; but it is very 
interesting to find that it began, apparently, also to the west. 
The universality of the rainfall is very different from the 
ordinary heavy falls. These are usually the result of local 
thunderstorms. Thus, since 1875, the heaviest fall was of 
2‘28 inches on July 25th, 1886. Another fall exceeding the 
present of P73 inches was that of 1 '90 inches on September 
28th, 1871. 
The exceptional nature of such wide-spread heavy rain is 
evident from the fact that we must go back to October, 1689, 
for any great flood not in the winter months, and therefore, 
presumably, not due to melting snow. 
As a rule the present flood exceeded everywhere those of 
recent years. Accidental circumstances sometimes caused 
exceptions. Thus at Pateley Bridge the destruction of a wall 
greatly relieved the town, and at Leeds the Aire rose higher 
in 1866, when the rainfall was less, because “ of the old 
stone bridge, which then materially obstructed the river” 
(R. Reynolds, Esq.) Bradford drainage prevented any special 
flood there, whilst “ at Shipley, two miles away in the Aire 
valley, they had one of the highest floods ever remembered” 
(John Priestman, Esq.). 
The Ouse, though above 10 feet in the morning, did not rise 
much more until Saturday afternoon. Only late in the evening 
was alarm felt, and many, whose houses were flooded, first found 
it out by coming down into the waters on Sunday morning. 
Before that time it had practically reached its highest point, 
although, probably because of the tides, it rose a little higher 
in the afternoon after a slight ebb. 
Levels taken by me on the 26th, when the river stood at 
lft. 6in. on the Ouse Bridge gauge, indicate that the high- 
water line, marked in soot, &c., on the Hospitium, was 16 feet 
