68 
J. HOPKINSON-METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS 
more to cold days than cold nights. The first half of the month 
was very much colder than the last half. The minimum tempera¬ 
ture was below 20° at St. Albans and Hertford on the 8th, 9th, 
12th, and 13th, and at Berkhamsted on the 7th and loth also, after 
which date it was never below 30°. The maximum was in the 
thirties for the first 14 days, and in the forties and fifties for the 
last 14, with one or two exceptions. Snow fell on several days 
during the first half of the month. On the 3rd the snow which 
fell during the previous night was 9 inches deep on the lawn at 
The Orange, St. Albans, and 10 inches at Bosebank, Berkhamsted, 
being the deepest fall, as Mr. Mawley states, “ since January, 1887, 
or for 13 years.” There was also a rather heavy fall of snow on 
the 10th and a very heavy one on the 13th, and Mr. Mawley 
estimates that about 20 inches in all fell during the first half of 
the month, after which there was no appreciable fall until the 
middle of March. A rapid thawing of the snow on frozen ground, 
and heavy rain on the 15th, caused serious floods in many places. 
March. —A cold month, with an atmosphere of average humidity, 
a rather cloudy sky, and a very small rainfall on a considerable 
number of days for the quantity recorded. The day temperatures 
averaged 4° lower than usual, the daily range being small for 
March. The 18th was a very cold day. At St. Albans, at 9 a.m., 
the temperature was 25°*8, and the minimum for the previous night 
was 21°-5 ; at Berkhamsted and Hertford it was 20°. Although so 
little rain fell, March was a rather sunless month, the sun shining 
on the average only 3 hours a day at Berkhamsted and 3^ hours at 
Bennington. 
April. —Of about average temperature, with a very diy atmo¬ 
sphere, a bright sky, and a small rainfall, hut more than the usual 
number of wet days. The range of temperature was rather greater 
than usual, chiefly owing to the warmth of the days. The first 
three days were rather cold, and the minimum was low on the 9th 
and 26th. The four days 19th to 22nd were unusually warm and 
bright, and Mr. Mawley states that the 21st was “much warmer 
than an average day in July.” Towards the end of the month the 
weather became cooler. The sun shone for nearly seven hours 
a day at Bennington and six at Berkhamsted—a high record. 
Mat. —Bather cold, with a rather dry atmosphere, a cloudy sky, 
and a small rainfall on the average number of days. The low 
temperature was chiefly due to the coldness of the days, the range 
of temperature being smaller than usual. There was no day nearly 
so cold nor nearly so warm as there was in April at Bennington, 
Berkhamsted, or St. Albans, hut there was not much difference 
between the maximum temperature in the two months at Hew 
Barnet. The weather was warm for the first eight days, cold from 
the 9th to the 20th, when it again became warm for a couple of 
days, after which it was very variable. The prevailing winds were 
north-easterly. There was a little less sunshine than usual. On 
the 28th there was a partial eclipse of the sun, which did not cause 
any appreciable lowering of the temperature. 
