Midland Naturalist/Volume 01/The Weather of August, 1878

by William Jerome Harrison

Meteorology of the Midlands.

The Weather of August, 1878.

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By W. Jerome Harrison. F.G.S.

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A wet month indeed, the rein mostly falling during thunderstorms, of which those on the 4th, 6th, 16th, 2ith, and 20th may be specially noted. The storm of the fifth was accompanied in North Leicestershire by hail, which did much damage. At Dalby Hall some of the "lumps of ice" measured one inch in diameter; at Belvoir Castle they were "the size of filberts." At Matlock Bath 24 inches of rain fell during this storm in "less than two hours." From Nottingham. Mr. Lowe writes: "The monthly fall here (8.76in.) was the largest for the past thirty-nine years." Mr. Davis, of Tenbury, states that the "rainfall for the month (7.81in.) was excessive, and has only been exceeded twice in the last forty-eight years; in July, 1884, 9.23 inches of rain were registered, and in November, 1832, 8.22 inches."

Temperature was very uniform and about the average, although there was little sunshine. The crops suffered much from standing in the fields, and were not half secured at the end of the month. Thw barometer ruled rather low. Fogs prevailed on the 25th and 26th.

At Bishop's Castle the swallows were noted to be gathering for departure ou the 10th, but many still remained on September 2nd.

At Alstonfield a great body of swifts {Hirunda apis) retired about the 10th. Hybernated specimen of the Painted Lady butterfly was seen on Derbyshire side on the 15th, and of Red Admiral on the 20th, The glow-worm was noted shining in the moist evenings after days of heavy rain. From Shifnal the Rev. J. Brooke writes—"Few butterflies, scarcely even white ones; and only one or two Red Admirals, Peacocks, and Tortoiseshells; not one Clouded Yellow, although we had such a strange Influx of this species in August, 1877. Swifts gone by the 10th."

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