BRITISH RAINFALL, 1889. LONDON : O. SHIELD, PRINTER, SLOANE SQUARE, CHELSEA, S.W. 1890. DIFFERENCE OF TOTAL RAINFALL IN 1889 FROM THE AVERAGE OF 1870-79. The round dot indicates a rainfall within 10 per cent, of the average. The + and respectively show excess or defect of between 10 and 25 per cent. The same signs enclosed by a ring indicate a departure from the average of more than 25 per cent. [Face Title page. BRITISH RAINFALL, 1889. OK THE DISTRIBUTION OF RAIN OVER THE BEITISH ISLES, DURING THE YEA.R 1889, \ AS OBSERVED AT NEARLY 3000 STATIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, WITH ARTICLES UPON VARIOUS BRANCHES OF RAINFALL WORK. COMPILED BY G. J. SYMONS, F.R.S., Secretary Royal Meteorological Society; Membre du Gonseil Societe MeUorologique de France; Member Scottish Meteorological Society; Korrespondirende s Mitgkid Deutsche Meteorologische Oesellschaft; Member of Council Royal Satanic Society; Registrar and Member of Council Sanitary Institute ; Fellow Royal Colonial Institute; Membre correspondent etranger Soc. Royale de Medecine Publique de Belgique; Hon. Mem. Hertfordshire Nat. Hist. Soc., Essex Field Club; Northamptonshire Nat. Hist. Soc., Croydon Microscopic Soc., $c. $c. <$c. LONDON: EDWAED STANFORD, COCKSPUR STREET, S.W. 1890. CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 REPORT THE NEW DECADE NORTH WALES GAUGES THE NUNES GAUGES THE ROYAL SOCIETY LAKE DISTRICT GAUGES MANCHES­ TER, SHEFFIELD, AND LINCOLNSHIRE RAILWAY COMPANY INSPECTION OF RAINFALL STATIONS OVERFLOWING OF RAIN GAUGES OLD OBSERVATIONS FINANCE .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8 ON THE AMOUNT OF EVAPORATION .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 18 THE CAMDEN SQUARE EVAPORATION EXPERIMENTS ... ... ... ... ... 43 ROTHERHAM EXPERIMENTAL GAUGES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 44 RAINFALL AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH ... .. ... ... 46 THE STAFF OF OBSEPvVERS... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 47 OBITUARY ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61 RAINFALL AND METEOROLOGY OF 1889. ON THE METEOROLOGY OF 1889, WITH NOTES ON SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL PHENOMENA ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... [ 3 ] OBSERVERS' NOTES ON THE MONTHS OF 1889 ... ... ... ... ... ... [26] OBSERVERS' NOTES ON THE YEAR 1889 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 55] HEAVY RAINS IN SHORT PERIODS IN 1889... ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 69] HEAVY FALLS IN 24 HOURS DURING 1889... ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 72] DROUGHTS IN 1889 ... ... ... ... .. .. ... ... ... ... ... ... [82] MONTHLY RAINFALL OF 1889 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 87] TABLES OF MONTHLY RAINFALL AT 233 STATIONS IN 1889 ... ... ... [88] RELATION OF THE TOTAL RAINFALL IN 1889 TO THE AVERAGE ... ... [98] COMPARISON OF THE RAINFALL OF THE YEAR 1889 WITH THE AVERAGE 1870-79... ... ... ... ... ... " ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [100] EXTREMES OF RAINFALL IN 1889 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [104] GENERAL TABLES OF TOTAL RAINFALL. EXPLANATION OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF GENERAL TABLES ... ... ... [106 COUNTY INDEX TO GENERAL TABLES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [107 ILLUSTRATIONS. MAP of ANNUAL RAINFALL IN 1889 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Frontispiece PERCOLATOR ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... p. 19 EVAPORATORS... ... ... ... ... ... ... p. 22, face p. 28, face p. 30, p. 40 DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATIVE OF HEAVY RAINS IN SHORT PERIODS... ... p. [ 69] MAPS OF MONTHLY RAINFALL IN 1889 ... ... ... ... between pp. [94] [95] ERRATA IN BRITISH RAINFALL, 1888. Page [22]. The entry for October 12th should be moved to November 12t h. ,, [45]. Babbacombe, line 10, for twice read thrice. „ [46]. Line 10, for 1888 read 1887. „ [81]. Last line of Derringham,|for 9,206 read 920'6, and for 10,724 read 1072-4. » [93]- Line 13, for 0'13 read 0'33. >» [9SL Last column, second line, for 1'08 read 1'80. „ [125]. Abbey Leix (Blandsfort), for 32'94 read 33'94. „ [164]. Workaop (Osberton), gauge badly mounted ; record too large. „ [182]. Scilly (St. Mary's), for 29'28 read 29'34. BKITISH RAINFALL, 1889. WITH the present volume ends the third consecutive decade of rain­ fall returns with which I have been favoured, and which it has been my privilege to publish. I am glad to say that of the 168 meteorologists who thirty years ago contributed observations to the leaflet which, under the title "English Kainfall, 1860," started this series of volumes, sixteen have reported in every subsequent year, and their returns for 1889 are to be found in the following pages. As this is the closing volume of the decade, I do not like it to go forth without mentioning what I always feel most deeply—viz., my thankfulness to the thousands of correspondents who have enabled me to make our Rainfall organization what it is. I am obliged to be dictatorial; otherwise we should drift away from uniformity, precision, and accuracy. I know no parallel to the case of the voluntary submission which has characterized our work, and I think that it shows remarkable devotion and personal self-denial on the part of the observers, that during the thirty years in which I have had the honour of carrying on this work, not more than a dozen out of the (probably) 9,000 or 10,000 observers who have helped me, have taken offence at my criticisms on their returns, and have with­ drawn in consequence. If that is not evidence of British good temper, and of submission to rules designed to secure efficiency and accuracy, I do not know what would be accepted as such. G. J. SYMONS. 62, CAMDEN SQUARE, N.W. July tth, 1890. REPORT. The i\ew Decade.—When I began my last report by sketching out what ought to be done to ensure that all should be in good order on January 1st, 1890, I did not realize how hard a nine months' work I was preparing for myself. Fortunately for rainfall, my two assistants and I escaped the prevalent illness of last winter, and so finally, but after a very heavy strain, we have cleared off all the extra work, and done all that our limited resources permitted to­ wards commencing a large series of good observations for the decade 1890-99. The first thing to which we had to direct our attention was the perfecting, absolutely to date, of the list of observers. Without a little thought, persons would imagine that to be very easy, in fact, that all effort were superfluous, as evidently the list should be always perfect. Yes, but with a staff of nearly 3,000 persons, deaths and removals are frequent, and new names have to be entered, and at times such entries have to wait while more pressing work is done. There was not much to do, but it was the first step. Then a circular was prepared, and 3,000 copies of it were printed, and folded, and about 2,800 copies addressed—one to every observer on the register. These cir­ culars called the attention of the observers to points in which long experience had taught me that they were most likely to need a reminder; such as the metal of the gauge having begun to rust, trees or shrubs already sheltering it, or being likely to do so, the gauge being insufficiently large, e.g., not holding more than two or three inches, so that in a great storm the record would be lost. Observers were also asked whether they had a copy of Arrangements (see reprint at the end of this volume), and whether their observations were in all respects made in accordance with the rules therein. Lastly, they were invited to mention the names of any persons already making good observations, or likely to be willing to do so. It is much easier to mention the issue of such a number of circulars, than it is to see that they are all properly addressed and started, but that was nothing compared to dealing with them when they came back at the rate of two or three hundred a day. How­ ever, I am very glad that I issued them, and that the observers were kind enough to return a very large proportion of them care­ fully filled up. They went out in October, and the replies and 9 correspondence arising therefrom (far over 1,000 separate letters) took till the middle of December; in fact, not a few came in later still, but they were then merged in the ordinary correspondence and unimportant. I have now to summarize the result. I think that it did an immense amount of good. Many trees have been lopped or removed altogether, more than a hundred new gauges have been started by old observers as checks on their present ones, and to ensure the continuity of their records when the old gauges have to be abandoned, or to provide themselves with gauges, which if the inner vessel overflows will still hold the heaviest rain. A special circular on this subject will be found further on. Another very valuable result, and one which has at the same time both pleased and slightly vexed me, has been the large number of persons who have long been keeping records, but of whom I had not previously been informed. I am very pleased to welcome them to our body, but I am rather vexed not to have heard of them before. For twenty years or more every one of the little perforated forms (of which I must have issued 50,000) has borne the following request " If you know of any records not quoted in British Rainfall, please mention the stations and the observers' names." Not a year passes that I do not receive some responses to this request, but as a rule it is overlooked, and this is proved by the special circular having brought scores of new names. I shall be very glad if my correspondents will bear this in mind in the future. Every observer has a personal interest in helping me to make our joint work as nearly perfect as possible, and I rely upon them to prove it. Anyone who sees a record in a newspaper from a station which he does not recognise as from one of our body, will greatly oblige by distinctly marking it, and sending the paper to Camden Square. After these circulars had been cleared off, I wrote a letter, which was kindly inserted in The Times, in which I further invited all who were making good observations but had not previously communicated them to me to do so, and I also intimated my willingness to help any who desired to co-operate.