25 
FIFTY YEARS OF RAINFALL RECORDS. 
A CAUTION AGAINST TOO HASTY CONCLUSIONS.* 
Soon after Mr. John Ford became Head Master of the 
Friends’ Boys’ School at York, he began a series of Meteoro¬ 
logical Observations. Very little, unfortunately, is known of 
the ten years from 1831 to 1840. After that, yearly tables are 
given in the Yorkshire Philosophical Society’s Report, which 
have been continued ever since. The rain record was made at 
Lawrence Street, just outside Walmgate Bar, until 1846; and 
at Bootham, some 250 yards outside Bootham Bar, until 1873. 
Up to this date it was a five-inch gauge. Since then the records 
are those of the eight-inch gauge used for the London 
Meteorological Office in the Yorkshire Philosophical Society’s 
Gardens. These changes are of course a drawback, but, from 
comparisons with the old gauge at the same station since 1873, 
they would not seem to have materially affected the results, 
which may afford us some interesting lessons. 
The main points are shown in the four accompanying plates 
which it may he well to briefly explain. 
I. York Rainfall, 1841-90.—-This shows the mean 
depth in inches per month, and the number of rainy days per 
month. The latter is “ corrected ” to an average month of 
30 days; a second dotted line shows the corrected value for the 
fall. Underneath are some of the more important data. The 
months are also arranged on the right in order of dryness. 
II. Extremes of Monthly Falls and of Days with 
Rain. —The central lines simply reproduce the means for 
inches and days from the previous sheet. Above and below 
other lines show the greatest and least record for each month 
during the fifty years. The shaded spaces therefore give the 
actual range. The numbers are again given below. 
III. The Means of each Decade, showing the monthly- 
excess or deficiency, compared with the 50 years’ mean. Each 
month is compared with the 50 years’ mean for the month. 
IY. Cumulative Rain Totals for the four rainiest 
months, July to October. These are shown by the lines for 
* This paper expands a section of that in the 1891 report upon 50 years of York 
weather. The plates are the same. 
