DIFFERENCE OF TOTAL RAINFALL IN y!880 FROM THE AVERAGE 1870-79. The round dots indicate 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 iadieate a departure from the average of more than 25 per cent. BRITISH RAINFALL, 1880. ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF RAIN OVER THE BRITISH ISLES, DURING THE YEAR 1880, AS OBSERVED AT MORE THAN 2000 STATIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, WITH ARTICLES UPON VARIOUS BRANCHES OF RAINFALL WORK. COMPILED BY G. J. SYMONS, F.E.S., President of the Meteorological Society ; Membre du Conseil de la Societe Meteorologiqtw de France ; Member of the Scottish Meteorological Society ; Member of Council of the Royal Botanic Society ; Member of Council of the Social Science Association ; Registrar and Member of Comicil of the Sanitary Institute ; Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute ; Hon. Mem. Watford Nat. Hist. Soc.> S;e. LONDON: EDWAKD STANFORD, CHARING GROSS, S.W. SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & Co., STATIONER'S HALL COURT. 1881. LONDON : G. SHIELD, PRINTER, SLOANE SQUARE, CHELSKA, S.W. 1881. CONTENTS. Page. PREFACE ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 REPORT—Ordinary Routine—Extra Work, Royal Society, Meteorological Council—Finance—List of Subscribers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 DIFFERENCE OF RAINFALL, WITH ELEVATION, by G. Dines, F.M.S. ... ... 13 Ox THE AMOUNT OF RAIN COLLECTED AT VICKY CONSIDEUABLE HEIGHTS ABOVE THE GROUND ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 17 THE RATE AT WHICH RAIN FALLS, by Baldwin Latham, C.E., F.G.S. ... ... 30 A FEW SIMPLE DIRECTIONS roit THE MEASUREMENT OF SNOW UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS, by Edward Mawley, F.M.S. ... ... ... ... ... 35 ROTHERHAM EXPERIMENTAL GAUGES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 39 RAINFALL AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREKNWICH ... ... ... ... ... 41 COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 42 CHANGES IN THE STAFF or OBSERVERS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 45 OBITUARY ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 60 RAINFALL AND METEOROLOGY OF 1880. ON THE METEOROLOGY OF 1880, WITH NOTES ON SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL PHENOMENA ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 3 J OBSERVERS' NOTES ON THE MONTHS OF 1880 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 32 ] OBSERVERS' NOTES ON THE YEAR 1880... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 68 ] HEAVY RAINS IN SHORT PERIODS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [100] HEAVY DAILY FALLS IN 24 HOURS DURING 1880. Parti., Chronicle... ... [102] „ „ „ „ Part II., Abstract... ... [108] DRY PERIODS IN 1880 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [112] MONTHLY FALL OF RAIN IN 1880 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [116] NOTES UPON THE MONTHLY FALL IN 1880... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [124] ON THE RELATION OF THE RAINFALL OF VARIOUS RECENT PERIODS TO THE AVERAGE OF THE THIRTY CONSECUTIVE YEARS, 1850-79 ... ... ... [126] ON THE RAINFALL OF 1880 AS COMPARED WITH THE AVERAGE OF 1870-79 [130] EXTREMES OF RAINFALL IN 1880 ... -- ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [137] GENERAL TABLES OF TOTAL RAINFALL. EXPLANATION OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF GENERAL TABLES... ... ... ... [140] COUNTY INDEX TO GENERAL TABLES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [141] England ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [142] Wales... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [176] Scotland ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [180] Ireland ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [189] SUPPLEMENTAL TABLE OF IMPERFECT RETURNS ... ... ... ... ... ... [194] ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION AND RECORD OF RAINFALL... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [195] ERRATA IX BRITISH RAINFALL, 1879. Page [4]. — Babbacombe. The remarks from Babbacombe for 19th and 23rd were intended to refer to 20th and 24th. Seven lines from bottom (Babbacombe), for 24th read 4th. » » [65]- —Third line from top, for 1852 read 1872. ,, [113]. — Douglas, I. of Man, Rainfall in April 2'11 not 2'1S, and in the year, 41 '09 not 41 '16. The total is given correctly on p. [165]. ,, [149].— Stamford (BarnHillHo.) ; total rain should be 24 '26 not 23'26. i> [154]-— Rawtenstall (Clough Bridge Res.) ; total rain 45 '78 not 47 '49. » [154]-— Burnley (Gawthorpe Hall) ; total rain 36'12 not 34'22. ,, [164]. — Newton (Caersws) ; total rain 35 '11 not 35 '77. ,, [182]. —Burford should be 25 %99, and Market Drayton 30 '35. ERRATA IN BRITISH RAINFALL, 1880. Pages [137] and [174].—Taylor's Gill ; total rain 144'40 not 134'40. PREFACE. THE present volume begins the third decade of systematic rainfall publication, and, like a birthday, suggests reflections concerning the past. The contrast between the four pages for 1860 and the 260 pages of the present volume, great as it is, is not so great as the change in the nature of the information given both as to quality and extent. As regards quality ; not merely have instruments been improved, and observers supplied with rules aiming at rigorous uniformity, but they are required to forward their returns in much fuller detail than in the early years, and the records are submitted to an amount of critical examination which I do not think any one except my assistants and myself realizes. Perhaps I ought to make an exception of two or three observers whose returns having been proved faulty have been cross thereat. Happily, this is a rare frame of mind, and the staff is now large enough for us to lose with equanimity the services of the very few who esteem their own aviotir prnpre of greater importance than accuracy. As regards extent; the development has two distinct branches— (1) The details given for each station are now very full; there is the chronicle of the weather, there are notes of heavy falls in very short periods, details of very Avet days, details of monthly fall, and ample particulars as to the relation of the year to the average of previous years. Not a trace of any one of these subjects, except the last, is to be found in British Rainfall, 1860. (2) The number of stations was 168, which was nearly double the number ever before collected together. The present volume contains records from 2,114 stations for 1880, or more than twelve times the original number. I am glad to find that out of those 168 earliest correspon­ dents, 60 still remain among the contributors. I am myself sometimes astonished at the magnitude of this amateur organization, without either State aid, magniloquent title, managing council or pecuniary resources except the voluntary contributions of the staff—a staff, whereof the members rarely see one another, and still more rarely see their chief, who reside in all parts of the country, from the Channel Islands in the South to the Shetlands in the far North, and from County Kerry in the South-West of Ireland to the Eastern­ most verge of England at Lowestoft; who include nearly every social grade from peer to peasant; and yet who (with exceptions so rare that they take me by surprise) work with a regularity and heartiness which is beyond praise. Why do they do it ? Minor motives may have some influence, but I believe that the leading sentiment which binds together British Kainfall observers is the consciousness that they are helping gradually to store up a mass of information which is, and will yearly become increasingly, valuable to the nation at large-r-in relation alike to Agriculture, Sani­ tation, and the proper appropriation of the water supply of the British isles. G. J. SYMONS. 62, CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON, N.W. June 10th, 1881. REPORT. THE work of the past year has been unusually heavy, not merely in consequence of the gradual growth of the organization, but because in addition to the regular routine two separate and very heavy series of tables have had to be prepared. Ordinary Routine.—Although it may seem somewhat purposeless to repeat what has been stated in previous volumes, yet it must be remembered that it is certain that this volume will fall into the hands of many persons who have not read the previous ones, hence a certain amount of repetition is necessary. As regards the ordinary routine of the office, the mass of General Tables at the end of this work is perhaps the best exponent of its nature— not the <>xtent of the tables alone, or indeed chiefly, but that which is less easily ascertained, their quality. And by the word quality I desire to express many things. The quality of a set of tables depends, in the first place, upon the absence of errors. Astonishment is often expressed that this work does not appear until nearly six months after the expiration of the year to which it refers, but if those who think it tardy, could but spend a day or two in watching the system of checking which is adopted, they would share my opinion, that con­ sidering the limited staff, and the exhaustive examination which the records undergo, the noteworthy feature is that it is all done within less than six months. As regards the verification of the casting of several hundred of the daily register forms, I am this year indebted to two of my observers, Mr. J. Alexander, formerly of Sudbury, and Mr. Slade, C.E., of Leamington,—jointly their labours must have saved us nearly a hundred hours' work. In connection with the Meteorological Magazine, Avith the maintenance of records in mountainous parts of the British Isles, and on certain watersheds, I receive monthly returns from about 250 stations, say altogether about 3000 such returns. All these are not