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

by William Jerome Harrison

Meteorology of the Midlands.

The Weather of September, 1878.

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By W. Jerome Warrison, F.G.S.

The first fortnight of the month was dry and pleasant weather, only broken by a severe thunderstorm on the 5th, in which at Pitsford 1.60 inches of rain fell between 6 30 a.m. and 9 a.m. In the same storm, .33 inches fell at Bishop's Castle in ten minutes. .66 inches in one hour at Shifnal, and 1.24 inches in one hour at Kinver. A severe westerly gale blew on the 15th, and was followed by showery and cloudy days to the end of the month. On the morning of the 30th, another heavy thunderstorm was experienced at most stations, doing much damage near Coventry, and largely denuding the trees of their leaves.

The rainfall on the whole is below the average for the month, and so too is the temperature. The barometer has been unsteady, and westerly winds live blown on about twenty-four days, thus largely preponderating, Solar halos are recorded from Oxford on the 3rd and 4th. and lunar halos on the 3rd, 13th, and 16th. A fine aurora was seen at Cheltenham on the night of the 6th, the luminous streams reaching quite up to the zenith. The last swallows left the neighbourhood of Stroud on the 30th, and the same date is recorded for their departure from Coventry. Probably the storm of that day was the signal for a general exodus of these feathered migrants. On the 29th six snipe were seen in the meadows by the River Nene. Near Stroud the wood strawberry (Fragaria resca) was seen in blossom, and (unripe) fruit on the 19th. Several observers remark on the comparative absence of butterflies this season.

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