BRITISH RAINFALL, 1898. 1898 ANGERTON THUNDERSTORM Showing Rainfall & Damaged Roads Sept.7* 1898 Widdrint ton 6Sta. Ewes ley Sta Lonfcwitton Sta Longhirst Sta. sbeck J?j>er Anfeerton Sta Holom, RootL = ThuniLer'storm, = Damage by Lightning SeA pag& 33. t, London M.O. 7 BfiKTISH R IINFALL, 1898. 7 THE DISTRIBUTION OF RAIN OVER THE BEITISH ISLES, DURING THE YEAR 1898, AS OBSERVED AT MORE THAN 3000 STATIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, WITH ARTICLES UPON VARIOUS BRANCHES OF RAINFALL WORK. COMPILED BY G. J. SYMONS, F.E.S., CHEVALIER DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR, ALBERT MEDALLIST FOR 1897, Secretary Royal Meteorological Society ; MemVredu Conseil Societe Meteorologique de France. Member Scottish Meteorological Society ; Korrespondirendes Mitglied der Deutschen Meteorologisclien Gesellscha/t; Fellow of Sanitary Institute ; Fellow Royal Colonial Institute; Membre correspondant etr anger Soc. Royale de Medecine Publique de Helgique, Socio correspondiente Sociedad Cientifica Antonio Alzate, Mexico, AND H. SOWERBY WALLIS, Fellow Royal Meteorological Society ; Member Scottish Meteorological Society ; Member Sanitary Institute. LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD, COCKSPUR STREET, S.W. 1899. ERRATA IN BRITISH RAINFALL, 1897. Page '20, 4th paragraph, 6th line, for " preceding" read " following.'' [23]. July 24th. Erase the first entry, Bodenham Vicarage. „ [136]. Aberdeen, Haddo House : Feb., for " -52in." read " '71 in." ; May, for " l'54in." read " 1'96 in."; Total, for "29'94in." read "30'55 in." ,, [140]. The note on March, from Dorset, should read "R 4'51in., unprecedented in 23 years." ,, [177]. North Walsham, East Ruston Grange: "The gauge was at Cantley till October." ,, [180]. Torquay, Chapel Hill: for " 34'97 " read " 35'94." ,, [191]. Alford Burial Ground: /or "24-30" read "20-94." » [i97]- Over Darwen, F. G. Haworth, Esq. : "54'llin. is the average of two other records."' ,, [205]. Two lines from bottom. Cloughton (Burneston) is misplaced ; Burneston should be under Bedale. [219]. Muirkirk (Glenbuck) : for " 51'50in." read "ol'ooin." ERRATUM IN BRITISH RAINFALL, 1898. Page [113]. May 23rd. The Knypersley return is untrustworthy. CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE ... ... ... .. ... ... ... .. ... ... ... .. ... ... 7 REPORT CHECKING THE RAINFALL OF SNOWDONIA RAINFALL FLUCTUATION DURING 175 CONSECUTIVE YEARS FINANCE ... ... 8 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 11 SELF-RECORDING RAIN GAUGES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 16 WHAT CONSTITUTES A DRY YEAR ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 ON THE INCREASE OF RAINFALL WITH ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL ... 27 THE ANGERTON STORM ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 30 RECORDS OF EVAPORATION ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 36 COMPARISON OF GERMAN AND ENGLISH RAIN GAUGES AND OF MR. SIDEBOTTOM'S SNOW GAUGE ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 45 RAINFALL AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH ... ... ... ... 47 THE STAFF OF OBSERVERS ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... 48 OBITUARY ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 66 RAINFALL AND METEOROLOGY OF 1898. ON THE METEOROLOGY OF 1898, WITH NOTES ON SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL PHENOMENA ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... [ 3] OBSERVERS' NOTES ON THE MONTHS OF 1898 ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 34] OBSERVERS' NOTES ox THE YEAR 1898 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 73] HEAVY FALLS IN SHORT PERIODS IN 1898... ... ... ... ... ... ... [113] HEAVY FALLS ON RAINFALL DAYS IN 1898 ... ... ... ... ... ... [116] DROUGHTS IN 1898 ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [132] MONTHLY RAINFALL OF 1898 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [137] TABLES OF MONTHLY RAINFALL AT 232 STATIONS IN 1898 ... ... ... [138] NOTES ON THE MONTHS OF 1898 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [145] THE RELATION OF THE TOTAL RAINFALL IN 1898 TO THE AVERAGE AND ALSO TO SOME PREVIOUS YEARS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [150] COMPARISON OF THE RAINFALL OF THE YEAR 1898 WITH THE AVERAGE OF THE YEARS 1880-89 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [154] RELATION OF RECENT YEARS TO THE AVERAGE ... ... ... ... ... [158] EXTREMES OF RAINFALL IN 1898 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [159] NOTES ON THE EXTREMES OF RAINFALL IN 1898 ... ... ... ... ... [160] GENERAL TABLES OF TOTAL RAINFALL. EXPLANATION OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERAL TABLES ... ... [162] COUNTY INDEX TO GENERAL TABLES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [163] ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION AND RECORD OF RAINFALL ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [245] ILLUSTRATIONS. The Angerton Storm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Frontispiece. Self-Recording Rain Gauges ... ... ... ... ... ... ... face pp. 20 & 22 Heavy Falls in Short Periods ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... face p. [113] Maps of Monthly Rainfall ... ... ... ... ... between pp. [144] & [145] Difference of Total Rainfatt in 1898 from the Average ... ... face p. [150] BRITISH RAINFALL, 1898. IN Meteorology, and especially as regards rainfall, continuity and uniformity of procedure are of paramount importance. It is, there­ fore, satisfactory to consider that this is the thirty-ninth consecutive Annual Report, and that though the volumes have grown enormously in dimensions, and additional details have been given, the general arrangement has been identical throughout. With a staff of observers numbering between 3,000 and 4,000, deaths and removals are inevitable; but we think that it is becoming exceedingly common for the observations commenced by one genera­ tion to be continued by the second; and in one case the record has been kept up by the same family, in the same spot, for four genera­ tions, without the loss of the observation for a single day. Such records for 30 or 40 consecutive years, are very important, and are becoming somewhat numerous. The British Rainfall volumes have gained their position by hard work, and by scrupulous attention to accuracy ; we have done all in our power to enable this volume to maintain the reputation of the series in that respect, and we trust that the details of the Angerton storm, and other notes as to Droughts, Whirlwinds, &c., scattered through the volume, will be of general interest. G. J. SYMONS. H. SOWERBY WALLIS. 62, CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON, N.W. July J4th, 1899. REPORT. Cheeking ; a simple word, but expressive of one of the most arduous and wearisome portions of rainfall work. The checking of the returns utilized in this volume has taken quite ten months, i.e., three persons on an average 90 working days each. Probably many of our readers believe that our work consists chiefly in issuing blank forms, in receiving them filled up, and then in arranging the data contained in them, and sending the MS. to the printer. If it were so, our labour would be greatly reduced, but these volumes would lose their reputation, we should either have to print pages of errata, or do as many others do, print none at all, a complacent process perhaps, but certainly one that we shall never adopt. Nevertheless at times we cannot help wondering where the limit as to checking should be fixed. When British Rainfall was started, we verified the arithmetic of every return sent to us, that we have always done, and shall always do. We also adopted various plans for the detection of mistakes, which also we consider indispensable. At that time, with the exception of Mr. Glaisher's reports, and of those of the Registrar General for Scotland, scarcely any monthly or annual rainfall tables were printed, and therefore it was easy to compare all published tables with our own, and to hunt down discrepancies. This is far from the case in 1899. Some of the returns sent to us are published also in two, three, four, and even five different places, so that there are, perhaps (reckoning duplicates, triplicates, &c.), upwards of 1000 returns published in newspapers, pamphlets, and reports. Every one of these which we can obtain, is compared with the returns sent to us, and every discrepancy involves a letter to the observer asking for an explanation, and for a statement which is correct. Though nineteen times out of twenty, when there is a difference, it is the local publication which is wrong, yet sometimes it turns out that the observer has sent us a wrong figure, which no other process would have enabled us to detect. Aiming as we do at the greatest accuracy reasonably attainable, we suppose that all this checking must go on; but we wish that every one shared our desire for accuracy, and would 9 take equal care to secure it; we should then have some hundreds fewer letters to write. How many persons have adopted the rule which exists here, and which we have mentioned in these pages NEVER COPY A TOTAL ? " Oh ! " says the lazy man, " but it is such a bother to add it up again." Yes, my friend, but you forget that it would prove two things (1) that all the entries were correctly copied, and (2) that the addition was probably correct, and you forget also that if you have made a mistake, you will not only give others trouble, but will yourself be asked to examine it later on, so that you will really have more bother than if you had been careful at first. It is almost incredible how indifferent some few persons are. An observer had taken the rain each morning throughout the year, and sent a copy to us. In two of the months there was an error, either in one of the entries or in the addition. We sent the return back for examination. The observer tore up the record, and said that " he had not time to see what was wrong! " Persons of that tempera­ ment would be quite happy if they saw their names