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| <<<<1800 - 1849 |
| Date | T | R | S | Description | Ref: |
| 1850 - 1899 | |||||
| 1851/52 & 1852/53: (Winter/Spring) |
The winter of 1851/52 in Scotland saw
some heavy snowfall. The first major event affected the north of Scotland on
the 13th with considerable disruption to mail services. The railway to Aberdeen
from the south was kept open only with difficulty. It was reported that deaths
occurred, due to often 'blizzard' conditions. [NB: the word 'blizzard' would
not have been in use in the UK at this time - see later.] The storms did not
continue beyond the end of January. The winter of 1852/53 in Scotland also was severe, particularly in February. Low temperatures and heavy snowfall. This time, severe conditions of cold and snow lasted well into March. |
x | |||
| 1852: (July) | In the middle of what was to become one of the wettest years over England & Wales in the modern record [see below], this July was notably warm. The CET value (started 1659) was 18.7degC, representing an anomaly of +2.8C on the all-series mean, and placing it in the 'top-five' of warmest Julys in that series. [ As so often happened with warm Julys, the contiguous summer months (June & August), were nothing special, and June 1852 in particular was quite chilly with an anomaly of over -1C. ] | CET, EWP |
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| 1852 (Summer) |
A very wet summer across England & Wales (166% of LTA 1916-1950) in what was to become a notably WET year (q.v.). In the Greenwich record, the total rainfall for the three months of June, July & August=285mm (188%), with June exceptionally wet at 277% of LTA for that station. | 1 | |||
| 1852: (August to December) | Remarkable rainfall totals over these 5
months: total for this period (EWP)=717mm (or ~170% of the long-term average).
November in particular was exceptionally wet; with 203mm for the EWP, this
represented some 220% of the average, and is the wettest November (and the
second wettest any-month) in that series. By November and through
December, the Thames Valley from Vauxhall to Windsor resembled a 'vast lake'.
Oxford was standing in a 'sea of water', the Cherwell and Isis being several
miles wide. At several places along the river, (e.g. Maidenhead, Reading,
Ealing and Uxbridge), the principal corn fields were inundated by several feet
of water. Flooding extended to other areas in the southeast of England - Epsom,
Dartford, Lewisham and Charlton all mentioned. On the North Kent railway, the
valley of the Medway and the marshes along the Thames were one expanse of water
for many miles. Parts of Chatham, Rochester and Stroud (all Kent) were also
flooded. At Guildford, Chertsey, Woking and Battersea, the flood was several
feet deep. Many other like reports across the region. |
EWP | |||
| 1852 (December) |
Over the Christmas period (25th to 27th) two major storms of wind (from the SW) affected the British Isles: Heavy rain also a problem (see above) and there was widespread & serious damage due to high winds & flooding. Specifically, on December 25th: from Kendal (Westmorland), " violent storm of wind from the SW, nearly equal to that of January 7th, 1839; a lady killed in Highgate, by the falling of a chimney. December 27th, again a "great storm of wind" from the same quarter, accompanied by heavy rain & extensive damage caused by the flood at Foulshaw".(CUMB). Sea walls damaged / destroyed at Southport, Lancashire. | CUMB | |||
| 1852: (Annual) | A notably wet year over England &
Wales: With an EWP of 1213mm, it is placed 4th in the all-record list (as at
2003). (See also 1872, 1768, 1960 & 2000). At Oxford, the annual total rainfall was 1047mm, representing 160% of the average, and up to 2004, this was the highest total in a series that stretched back to 1766 ('Weather' Oct. 2004). |
EWP, RMetS | |||
| 1854: (Annual) | A notably dry year by the EWP series - as of 2002, in the 'top-5' driest by that measure. (see also 1788, 1887 & 1921) | EWP | |||
| 1855 (January - March) |
A very cold start to the year, with February 1855 being the third coldest in the CET record (-1.7degC/-5.5C anomaly). The River Severn was frozen to a sufficient depth at Worcester on the 24th February that a printing press was set up there - previously this had only been known in January, 1795. | CET | |||
| 1857 (late Summer/early Autumn) |
Persistently warm weather from August to October, by CET series. | CET | |||
| 1859 (October) |
THE "ROYAL CHARTER" STORM.
The gale of 25th / 26th October 1859, which wrecked the fully rigged ship "Royal Charter" on the coast of Anglesey, drowning about 500 people (and loss of gold bullion), led to the introduction of gale warnings (in 1861) by means of hoisting of signals around the British & Irish coastlines ('hoist North Cones'!). The ship was only one of over 200 vessels wrecked between the 21st October and 2nd November, with the loss of around 800 lives - most of these losses occurred in the 'Royal Charter Storm'. |
22, 23 |
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| 1860 (Summer) |
Using the CET series (began 1659), this
summer was one of the top 5 or so coldest across England & Wales. It
contained the wettest June in the EWP series. It was also one of the wettest summers across England & Wales. The anomaly was 169% of the LTA (1916-1950). At Greenwich, the total rainfall for June, July & August=312mm (210%), with June alone accounting for 147mm/~350% LTA. [ Fortunately October & November of that year were not excessively wet, otherwise flooding would have been almost certain. ] |
CET, EWP, 8 | |||
| 1861 (February) |
On the 21st February, 1861 part (one
wing) of the Crystal Palace** along with the tower of Chichester Cathedral were
destroyed in a gale/storm. Lamb notes possible 'squalls' associated with a
trailing cold front close-to / over southern England. [see reference] [** The Crystal Palace was a large glass and iron structure, which was built for the 1851 'Great Exhibition': this was held in Hyde Park, London. The 'Palace' was home to the exhibits, whose primary object was to display the (then) considerable advances in science/technology and Empire in the Victorian era. Sir Joseph Paxton (the designer) suggested moving the exhibition hall (i.e. the 'glass palace') to Penge Place Estate, Sydenham once the exhibition was over. In June 1854 Crystal Palace was re-opened by Queen Victoria & gave its name to that area of London. The site attracted 2 million visitors a year, quite respectable for the time, and was home to various displays, festivals and music shows. However, it was subject to a number of disasters, of which the 1861 gale was one, and it's end came on the night of 30th November 1936, when a huge fire broke out across the building. By morning most of the Palace was destroyed. ] |
23 | |||
| 1862: (March) | Notably wet across England & Wales. | EWP | |||
| 1862 (Summer) |
The summer of 1862 was notably cold using the CET series. | CET | |||
| 1864 (January) | January had many days of heavy snowfall including the 7/8th, 11th, 18th, 22nd and 27th. | x | |||
| 1864 | A notably dry year by the EWP series: in the 'top-10' using that measure. The main drought period ran from April to August. | EWP, 18 | |||
| 1865 (January) | Heavy snow fell in the last week of January, 1865 between the 25th and the 31st. The snow averaged about 22 cm, with snowdrifts of up to four and a half metres. In South Wales the snowfall is said to have been unequalled for forty years. | x | |||
| 1865 (late Spring) | April, May and June ... persistently fine and warm weather. Using the CET record, all three months had anomalies exceeding +1C, with April, at a value of 10.6degC, having an anomaly with respect to the all-series mean of around +2.7C. | CET | |||
| 1866 | |||||
| 1866 (January) | Heavy snowfall event in southern England between 10th and 11th January. | x | |||
| 1866 (November) |
Great damage occurred at Hesketh Bank
(south-side of the Ribble estuary, near Southport, Lancashire) when the sea
burst through earth banks and flooded parts of the village and large areas of
farmland. (This is presumably a wind-driven tidal surge, possibly coupled to
large volumes of land-water running off the Pennines: see below) Extensive flooding on the Aire & its tributaries such as the River Worth, including at Keighley, Stockbridge & Leeds. At Apperley, the railway viaduct collapsed and floodwater reached several feet deep in houses at Castlefield Mill and Bingley. Out of bank flows reached two to three feet deep as far downstream as Leeds. Near Leeds, the Kirkstall railway bridge overtopped, flooding Kirkstall Station & Kirkstall Road. This is the largest recorded event in Leeds and six people drowned. |
x | |||
| 1866 (December) | The final heavy snowfall of 1866 occurred on the 30th December causing many roads in East Anglia to become impassable, and for a 2.5 metre snowdrift to be found in Regent Street, London. [ see also entry below for early January, 1867.] | x | |||
| 1867 (January) | A snowstorm occurred between the 1st & 2nd, 1867 causing great hindrance to railway traffic. [ q.v. entry above for late December. ] snowdrifts of 6 metres were recorded while 20cm of snow fell on the morning of the 2nd in the Home Counties. On the 10th, heavy snow blocked roads and railways in London. South Shields, Tyne and Wear and Peterborough, Cambridgeshire also received large amounts of snow as well as the rest of the east coast of England. Dover and Deal in Kent and Brighton, East Sussex, became completely cut off. More heavy snow occurred between the 22nd and 23rd January, with extensive snow in eastern parts of Scotland, blocking railways. 75 cm of snow fell in Aberdeen, with snowdrifts up to 6m high. | x | |||
| 1868 (early & mid Summer) |
Persistently warm weather by CET series over
period May to July. The summer of 1868 was very hot & dry, with some of the
highest temperatures ever recorded for the second half of July occurring in
this year. There was a remarkable spell of hot days, with temperatures over
30degC in England. For the south-east of England specifically, a maximum
temperature above 32degC was recorded in each of the months from May to
September, and in July specifically, the temperature exceeded 32degC on 9 days;
the soil was very dry (lack of precipitation), which would of course mean that
solar energy was most effective. [ Note that consistency of instrumentation /
housing was not as high as it is today.] > It was regarded for many years, until 1976 at least, as the longest (due lack of rainfall) & hottest in the instrumental record for England. 2. Although not accepted (because of problems of comparison between Glaisher and Stevenson screens), the maximum temperature recorded on the 22nd July, 1868 at Tonbridge, Kent is still remarkable: 100.6 degF/(converted=38.1degC) [ It is now thought that this value, when compared with the 'standard' Stevenson screen, is about 1.5C or 2C too high.] 3. Notable drought May to July over England & Wales in particular: somewhere around 40% of long term average. Using the EWP series (Hadley), both June & July were in the 'top-10' of dry such-named months (4th driest as at 2007), with 17 mm (~25% average) & 20 mm (~33% average) respectively. Not quite so dry in Scotland (just under 70%). |
CET, EWP, 1, 10, 18 | |||
| 1868/1869 (Winter) | November 1868 was a cold month, with a CET anomaly of -1.1C. However, this turned out to be a false start to the 'winter' season, as the subsequent 'standard' winter (DJF) became, until the 21st century, the warmest winter (by CET) in the series which began in 1659. The overall value (December, January & February) was=6.77, representing an anomaly of +3.1C on the all-series mean; December had a value of 7.2 (+3.1), January 5.6 (+2.4) & February 7.5 (+3.7). December was in the 'top-10' of warm such-named months, whilst February 1869 was the second-warmest February in the entire series. (Other warm winters/ending February of year indicated: 1686, 1734, 1796, 1834, 1935, 1975, 1989, 1990 & 2007.) | CET | |||
| 1870/1871 (Winter) |
A cold winter over western Europe / implied for parts of Britain. (Easton, in CHMW/Lamb). Using the CET record, the overall value for the three 'winter' months of December, January & February was 2.4degC, representing an anomaly of roughly -1.3C on the all-series mean. | 1, CET |
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| 1872: (January) | Notably wet over England & Wales (using the EWP series). | EWP | |||
| 1872 (Summer) |
A wet summer across England & Wales. According to Lamb/CHMW, the anomaly was 140% (of LTA 1916-1950). | 1 | |||
| 1872 (Annual) | Wettest (calendar) year for England and Wales in the EWP series. (1284.9mm for the EWP series.) & also the wettest *any* twelve months: (at the time). [ Superseded by 2000 period April 2000 to March 2001 (for twelve months) q.v.]. | EWP | |||
| 1872-1879: (8 years) |
These eight years began with the wettest calendar year in the EWP series (see above), and culminated in the second wettest summer in that set; the 'growing-to-harvest' periods (May - September) of 1872, 1875, 1877, 1878 & 1879 all experienced well-above average rainfall - that of 1879 being some 160% above the 'all-series' mean. Summer-time temperatures were also either 'average' or depressed, and again, in 1879 the CET value of 13.7degC was some 1.5degC below the all-series average, a considerable amount. It is no surprise then to find that British agriculture entered a period of depression (some have called it a 'crisis'), beginning in 1875 and not recovering until 1884; the downturn was aggravated by foreign wars and imbalance in trade (depressed home prices), coupled to unsustainable land rents. | EWP, CET | |||
| 1876 (January) | After a mild start, it turned much colder. On the 21st January, a heavy snowfall / blizzard: 14 deaths occurred as two trains collided near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, because one of the drivers was blinded by the blizzard causing the train to over run the signals. Snow on the cables and arms had forced all the signals into the 'clear' position. | x | |||
| 1877: (January) | Notably wet over England and Wales (using the EWP series). | EWP | |||
| 1877 (Annual) | Notably wet year by the EWP series - in the 'top-10' using that measure. | EWP | |||
| 1878 (March) | "LOSS OF HMS EURYDICE"
On 24th March, 1878, a sudden and severe squall resulted in the sinking of the naval training ship HMS Eurydice, with the loss of all but two of the approximately 368 men aboard. A strong north-to-northwesterly flow affected the British Isles on the SW flank of large/irregular depression centred over southern Scandinavia. A small-scale secondary depression (polar low?) produced a snowy squall-line, as it ran southeastwards during the afternoon, reaching the Isle of Wight area around mid-afternoon (the time/place of the disaster). HMS Eurydice was a full-rigged sailing vessel, homeward bound from the West Indies after a three month training tour on station. At 3.45pm, the ship was off Ventnor (Isle of Wight) running before a nearly westerly wind, with all sail set. Before sail could be shortened, the squall hit, and as the lee ports were open, the ship took on a large quantity of water, filled and capsized. It has been speculated that the crew had been drinking heavily and had not noticed that snow had gathered in the top sails. However, two enquiries (including the formal 'Court Martial') at the time found that the primary cause of the disaster was the abrupt onset of the squall, after a day of fine weather and I find the 'heavy drinking' explanation highly suspect if not downright misleading. One land-based observer noted how the squall was 'double-fronted', with an advance 'blow' masking the main line-squall. This may have led the Captain of the Eurydice to think that he had time to react to a marked change in the conditions. This was regarded at the time as one of the 'greatest disasters that had befallen the British Navy for many years'. ['Weather', Abercromby & Goldie, pp 168 et.seq., & various web sites.] |
21, 23 |
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| 1878/79: (late Autumn/early Winter) | November to January .. notably and persistently cold by CET series. | CET | |||
| 1878/79: (Winter) | The coldest winter in a Glasgow composite
record from 1868. (2nd coldest was 1962/63) [ for the CET series, this/1962-63
*was* the coldest CET=(minus) 0.33, with the winter of 1878/79 coming seventh
in the series at + 0.70degC. ] ( see 'Weather'August, 1963: pp226-228 ) One of only four occasions in the CET series when there were consecutive 'sub-zero' mean temperatures: December 1878 (-0.3) and January 1879 (-0.7). [The others were 1684, 1740 & 1963]. [ The coldest winters were: 1684, 1740 & 1963 ] A very snowy winter / early spring November to April. A severe snowstorm occurred on the 12th November, when northern England and Scotland experienced between 37 and 45 cm of snow. Trees were reported to have been blown down as well as damage reported to sprouts and shrubs. Number of snowdays (assumed snow-lying, not falling) very large; in places in north there was 3 months cover. |
CET | |||
| 1879: (late Spring to late Summer) | April to August ... notably and persistently cold by CET series. For all these five months, the anomaly was greater than -1C, with April, May & July greater than -2C (wrt all-series mean). | CET | |||
| 1879: (Summer/early Autumn) | Notably wet period. The five months May
to September, 1879 accounted for 580mm of rain by the EWP series; circa 190%.
The three 'high-summer' months of June, July & August each had nearly
double average (1961-90) rainfall amounts and (up to 1999) was the second
wettest summer in the EWP record. Lamb writes: " the summer was the
wettest and one of the .. coldest in the long instrument records for England.
The cold, wet weather delayed the ripening of the harvest, so that even in East
Anglia in some places the corn had not been gathered in by Christmas. The
decline of English agriculture, which lasted for fifty years, dated from this
time."(Lamb/CHMW) (Next time this wet in 1903; wettest summer in the series=1912). |
EWP, 1 | |||
| 1879/80 (late Autumn/Winter) |
November to January .. notably and
persistently cold again (see above) by CET series. Compared with continental
Europe (see 2. below), the winter was not so severe, but deaths from cold were
reported and evergreens were killed. On the 4th December, 1879, the temperature
of (minus) 23degF (circa (minus) 31degC) was recorded at Blackadder,
Berwickshire though this is not recognised due to poor exposure and lack of
certified instrument. Being part of a severe winter, many reports of rivers
frozen over. At Exeter, the River Exe was completely covered in ice. (Devon
Co.C web site) December 1879 was the coldest month of the 19th century in France & central Europe, and the cold persisted into January 1880; the Dutch waterways were frozen for nearly two months and in Paris, fifty people died of cold. 28th December, 1879: TAY BRIDGE DISASTER. The original Tay Bridge (3km/1.85mi) railway crossing was the scene of a disaster during the evening when a section of the bridge was blown away in a storm as a train was crossing over it from south to north. Circa 75 deaths. Some tornadic activity evident as waterspouts were observed in the vicinity. However, even without any such activity, Lamb has stated that 'straight-line' winds in the area were in excess of the 100 mph that the contemporary enquiry suggested were the probable speeds. He also suggests that this was 'one of the great storms' to affect this region of northern Europe. Notable drought from October to January. Over England & Wales, 40% or less of LTA, and even in Scotland, less than 60% of rainfall for many. |
18, CET, GBWFF, 23 |
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| 1879: (Annual) | Unusually unsettled (see individual
entries above), and thought to be comparable with worst years of the Little Ice
Age; coldest year in London (?Kew) since detailed records first kept in 1841.
By the wider-area CET record, with a value of 7.4degC (nearly two-and-a-half
degC below modern-day means), it was the third coldest year in that series,
only beaten by 1695 (7.3degC) & 1740 (6.8degC). A wet summer - collapse of agriculture. |
1, CET |
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| 1880 (Spring / Summer / early Autumn) |
A fine spring / summer across Scotland. The summer is noted in contemporary reports as being 'hot'. The harvest was finished early. | x | |||
| 1880 (late Autumn / Winter) |
Heavy fall of snow in NE Scotland in the 2nd week of October. Also heavy snow and severe frost in December - the latter being noted at the time as the most intense for 50 years. The harsh conditions continued into early New Year 1881 (see below). | x | |||
| 1881 (January) |
The easterly blizzard between the 18th and 20th in 1881 was most intense in central southern counties of England ( Dorset, Wiltshire, and the Isle of Wight ) giving about 1 metre of level snow in the Isle of Wight with heavy drifting. (One of the greatest on modern record). Affected the whole of England, except far north. About 100 people lost their lives and most businesses were halted for a day. Plymouth deprived of water for a week, and it took about a week before road and rail travel returned to normal. In London, the snow depth was about 25cm, with 1m drifts. Possible 5m drift in Oxford Circus. 2 m drifts in Portsmouth. 45cm depth in Brighton, 30cm in Exeter and on Dartmoor, as much as 100 cm. | 11, 18 | |||
| 1881 (July) |
Hot weather affected much of northern Europe through July, but for Britain, the heat only really extended to the London/SE region (see below in Scotland for example). Temperatures reached 35degC in Stevenson screen conditions at Camden Square, and around 32degC at other locations across SE & CS England. ('Weather' August 2004) | R MetS | |||
| 1881 (Summer/Autumn): |
Snow & frost in June in Scotland, with young grouse dying in large numbers. June, July & August were very cold, and snow fell on August 12th. Harvest began in the second week of October in wet, cold weather, and much of the harvest (corn) had to be brought in green. | x | |||
| 1881 (October) |
On the 14th/early 15th October in 1881 an exceptionally severe Gale [F9/F10, locally F11] caused extensive damage across the British Isles & areas adjacent to the North Sea, especially along the north east coast of England & across the eastern parts of the English Midlands. 108 ships were reported missing. Inland, this gale was considered a 'great storm' with extensive loss of timber, especially in Scotland. One particular tragedy involved the destruction of almost the entire fishing fleet from the port of Eyemouth in Berwickshire. The morning (14th) had been fine with near-calm wind. 41 vessels, mostly big deep-sea boats sailed out. In the middle of the day, the wind fell light, and then the storm struck suddenly. Nineteen of the boats were lost and 129 men failed to return to port. | 23 | |||
| 1881 (November) |
November 1881, with a CET value of 8.9degC (~ +3C on the all-series mean), comes within the 'top-10' of warmest Novembers in this long series. It was often windy, particularly so after mid-month. On the 26th/27th November, 1881, gales strong enough to be called 'hurricanes' toppled at least 500 trees in Betteshanger Park (Kent), and looking at the synoptic pattern of that date, there would have been high winds (& associated damage) elsewhere across Britain. | CET | |||
| 1882 (Summer) |
A wet summer across England & Wales
with 303mm using the EWP measure: this represents around 150% of average (whole
series). However, in the London area, based on the Kew Observatory record, it
was not as wet: indeed only June had above average rainfall (118%), with August
notably dry at 29mm (~50% LTA). Contemporary records from Scotland indicate that it was also wet there, with a poor / delayed harvest. |
EWP, 8 | |||
| 1882/1883 (Autumn & Winter) |
After the wet summer (see above), and a brief 'average' respite in September 1882, the rains returned with a vengeance in October (EWP 163 mm/~180% LTA / in the 'top-10' of such-named wettest months), and marked the start of a significantly wetter-than-average period lasting until February 1883. The total for autumn (SON) was 370 mm (~140%) & that for winter (DJF) was 332 mm (~130%). Flooding was reported nation-wide, and farmers in particular had a bad time, both in trying to rescue that year's ripe crops from the wet summer/autumn weather and trying to plant crops ready for 1883. | EWP | |||
| 1882 (December) | The heavy snowfall between the 4th and 8th December was the worst snowfall of 1882. Snow fell across southern Scotland, northern England and the northern-most parts of the Midlands. The snowstorm was known as the 'Border Blizzard'. The depth of snow was reported to be over a metre high, with drifting causing roads and railways to be blocked. Nottingham received 15 cm of snow; Sheffield 50 cm, and snowdrifts of up to 6 m blocked roads in Derbyshire for several days. In Scotland, more than 30 cm of snow fell, while at Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire the heavy snowfall did much damage to trees and shrubs. | x | |||
| 1882 (Annual) |
A notably wet year by the EWP series - in the 'top-10' by that measure with a total of 1146 mm/~125% LTA. However, in the Kew Observatory record, the anomaly for the whole year was just 107%, with only four months having above average rainfall. This suggests that the southeastern counties of England fared rather better than elsewhere. | EWP, 8 | |||
| 1883 (March) |
A 'normal' start to the month (first five
days), but as the northerly airstream/[ex-Arctic] set in on the 5th/6th (see
below), the weather turned dramatically colder. There were frequent severe
frosts, with snow & hail reported throughout the month accompanied by
strong gales (occasional further severe gales/see below, especially around the
10th/11th). Eventually, this March, with a CET value of 1.9degC (anomaly ~ -3C)
turned out to be in the 'top 5' coldest such-named months in the series (from
1659). 6th: Northerly gales (F9, isolated F10 / squally) northern half of the British Isles. 23 fishing smacks from Hull were lost, with 135 crew-members dead. Over 70 other vessels were damaged. There was also a severe snowstorm over parts of Scotland (presumably north & east) as the cold air set in. |
23, CET |
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| 1883 (Spring) |
Lack of rainfall across Britain - 'drought' remarked upon across Scotland. Using the EWP series (not necessarily representative of the whole of Britain), the anomaly was between 60 and 70% of average for that season. A subsequent effect upon the harvest etc. | EWP | |||
| 1883: (August) | ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA (then Dutch
East Indies / now Indonesia Java). August 26th to 29th, (peak / major eruption on 27th) - major eruption ejecting material into the stratosphere led to an estimated suppression of world temperatures by some 0.5degC, a significant amount. The dust veil has no effect on long-wave / outgoing radiation, but intercepts the solar / short-wave radiation, in this case, a decrease of some 10% is estimated to have occurred. It also led to some spectacular sunrises and sunsets: these were world-wide within two weeks of the primary eruption, and lasted for many months. [ The following three winters were rather cold, at least in Europe. It also led to some spectacular sunrises and sunsets. As the dust veil spread around the globe: the main body of the cloud moved from east to west (in the stratosphere, showing for the first time that winds in these latitudes were predominantly easterly, at least in the summer half-year**), and completed at least two circuits of the earth in low latitudes. With one month, the cloud had spread laterally through the tropical belt but then took near 2 months to penetrate poleward across the northern-hemispheric sub-tropics. The noise of the explosion was heard for thousands of km and the pressure (gravity) wave was detected on barographs around the world. (**Because the existence of the strong easterly winds in the stratosphere were revealed by this volcanic eruption, they were known for a long time as "Krakatoa winds".)[Ref: Tropical Meteorology, H. Riehl, 1954] |
(various incl. VOLC) |
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| 1883 (October) |
On the 13th, after a quiet start to the month, the weather became markedly cyclonic, with a persistent run of W or SW winds until well into the second-half of the month. On the 16th/17th, widespread gales, coupled to abnormally high tides caused significant flooding in areas adjacent to the Severn Estuary. In particular, the workings of the nearly completed Severn railway tunnel were flooded. From contemporary reports . . . "Then out of the darkness, there suddenly emerged a tidal-wave engulfing the land with a solid wall of water six feet high". (var. histories of the Great Western Railway) | x | |||
| 1884-1902: | (DRY LATE VICTORIAN PHASE) For these 19 years, 15 had annual rainfall totals below the all-series average, with 5 of those years (1884, 1887, 1893, 1898 & 1902) notably dry. 1887 specifically was the third driest year in the EWP series (q.v.), and the other four had anomalies of 85% or lower. Notably low river flows recorded in parts of southern Britain, particularly over the chalks of SE England. It should be noted that this era coincided with rapid growth in urban areas, both in areal extent and population density: (The 'Sherlock Holmes' period!) |
EWP | |||
| 1884: (January) |
LOWEST MSL PRESSURE IN BRITISH
ISLES The mean sea level pressure dropped to 925.6 mbar at Ochtertyre, Perthshire (26th). This occurred during the passage of an intense depression across Scotland. The depression that produced the record-breaking low pressure (as above), was responsible for widespread gales/storms across the British Isles/NW Europe 26th/27th, with considerable damage to trees and buildings. [HS/23]<< |
23, Burt |
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| 1885 (Annual) |
A chilly year. The overall CET anomaly for the year was -0.6degC, and for the summer in particular it was -0.7degC on the long-term average. The chill was not confined to England, as there are reports of a 'cold, dry & windy' year across Scotland. Frosts were frequent and late (in Spring). | CET | |||
| 1886 (February / March) |
Significant snowstorm affected northern England end of February and early March. | 18 | |||
| 1886 (October) |
14th-16th: a depression (small-scale but intense) tracked ENE'wds across central Ireland during the 15th, with lowest pressure estimated ~969 mbar. Gales, at least BF10, were reported by most ships and some coastal stations across the southern part of the British Isles, with ENE'ly gales across Scotland (north of the depression track). The low then moved slowly ESE to central-southern England (perhaps deepening a little) on the morning of the 16th, allowing N'ly gales (at least BF10) to affect the Hebrides. Many trees were blown down across Ireland, the English Midlands & in counties bordering the English south coast. Damage also occurred to standing crops, and the high winds were accompanied by heavy rain, which brought river flooding to England, Wales & Ireland - delaying the harvest - which was already compromised by the wet/windy weather. Some bridges were swept away. | 23 | |||
| 1886 (December) | One of the deepest depressions on record
crossed the north of Ireland this month in 1886. Around 1400hrs on 8th
December, 1886, the sea level pressure at Belfast touched 927.2 mbar, a value
that still stands as the British Isles December record. (as at
2006)(Burt/'Weather'/Feb2007) In association with the event (above), severe gales were reported widely across the British Isles (& adjacent regions of maritime NW Europe). Lamb notes Bft 11, ocnl Bft 12, the latter at some points on the west coasts of Ireland and France and in the Channel on the 8th. In Wales, great damage to tree stands. On the 26th, a heavy snowfall over southern Britain. The snowfall wrecked overhead telegraph wires and trees for several miles around London, as well as southern and SW England. Kent received over 30 cm of snow, with snowdrifts up to 2.5 metres. Exceptionally sunny over England & Wales. |
23 | |||
| 1887 (Annual) |
An exceptionally dry year by the EWP
series: 669mm. [ Driest in the series (up to 2002), were 1788 with 614mm and
1921 with 629mm ] . Severe drought recorded across Britain (i.e. not just
England & Wales). Major impact upon water supplies, via rivers, wells,
aquifers etc. 2. The focus of the drought occurred from February to July with anomalies across Britain roughly 50-75% of long term average for these 6 months. |
EWP, 18 | |||
| 1887: (Spring) | Notably and persistently cold by the CET series. Relative to modern-day means, the anomaly for March, April & May combined was over -2C. | CET | |||
| 1887 (October) |
Snow reported as lying on the streets in London on the 11th. | 8 | |||
| 1888 (Summer) |
In July of this year, ice is reported to have disrupted the fishing fleets in/out of the Faeroes .. this must imply markedly cold conditions at these latitudes, probably extending to at least the Shetland Isles. By the CET series, it was a notably cold summer, with a mean of 13.7degC - in the 'top-10' of coldest summers in that series. | CET, 1 | |||
| 1890 (Summer) |
A notably cold summer in the CET record. The anomaly on the all-series mean was around -1.3C (much more on modern-day values), and this summer was one of a cluster of four 'poor-to-indifferent' summers in the first half of the 1890's: 1890 itself, 1891, 1892 & 1894, all with anomalies of -0.7C or greater on the all-series mean. | CET | |||
| 1890/1891 (Winter) |
The winter of 1890/91 was remarkable for
its long duration, from 25th November to 22nd January, rather than for the
intensity of the frost. During this period the average temperature was below 0
degC over nearly the whole of England and Wales and below (minus) 1 degC in
East Anglia and the south-east Midlands. Skating in Regent's Park occurred on
43 days, the thickness of the ice exceeding 9 inches (circa 23cm) but the frost
penetrated in the ground to a depth of only about 30cm. At Worcestershire, on
the Rivers Severn & Avon, the ice was thick enough to allow ordinary road
traffic to pass over the ice-covered river and to permit sheep & pigs to be
roasted on the surface. The first heavy snowfall of the year (1890) occurred between the 25th and 28th November with heavy snow falling over England, especially Kent when up to 60 cm of snow was reported, with 40 cm of snow falling at Ipswich, Suffolk. In Sussex, 30 cm of snow fell at Crowborough on the 26th. In the Ashdown Forest the snow caused evergreen trees to be damaged on the 27th. A heavy snowfall occurred in England and Wales between the 18th and 20th December. A snowfall of 45 cm occurred at South Petherwin, Cornwall on the 20th, with over 30 cm of snow falling at Batheaston, Somerset on the same day. On the 18th, Llanfrechfa Grange, Gwent had just over 20 cm of snow, and on the 19th, Chepstow, Gloucestershire had a snowfall of 18 cm. (CEPB): The synoptic pattern was dominated by a large anticyclone covering northern Europe with a marked ridge extending over southern England, giving almost continuous east or northeast winds. [ similar severity to 1946/47 ] The CET value for the winter (DJF) was 1.5degC, representing an anomaly on the all-series mean of around minus 2C, and compared with 'modern-day' winters, something like minus 3C! In particular, December 1890, with a CET value of -0.8degC/~5C below average, is the coldest December in the CET record. |
18, CET |
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| 1891: (March) | 9-13th March 1891, easterly
"blizzard"**. Heavy, fine powdery snow and strong easterly winds
raged across SW England, southern England and Wales, with over half a million
trees being blown down, as well as a number of telegraph poles. On the 9th (and
later?), great snowstorm in the west of England, trains buried for days: E-NE
gale, shipwrecks, many lives lost. (Eden notes: 220 people dead; 65 ships
foundered in the English Channel; 6000 sheep perished; countless trees
uprooted; 14 trains stranded in Devon alone.) Although the West Country was the
worst affected, southern England, the Midlands, and south Wales also suffered.
snowdrifts were 'huge' around some houses in the London - would be accounted a
most remarkable sight nowadays! A man was reported found dead at Dorking,
Surrey, while snowdrifts of 3.5 metres were recorded at Dulwich, London and
Dartmouth, Devon. At Torquay and Sidmouth, Devon over 30 cm of snow fell. **This may be the first time in the UK that the word 'blizzard' was used. Thought to derive from a German expression: " Der sturm kommt blitzartig", which translates as "The storm comes/came lightning-like". |
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| 1891 (May) | On the 18th May 1891 snow fell over a wide area in the Midlands and East Anglia, to a depth of 15cm. | x | |||
| 1893 (Spring/early Summer) | A notably dry season over England and
Wales. (see also 1990). Some places in SE England had no rain for 60
consecutive days, from mid-March to mid-May with the longest absolute drought
of all being at Mile End (London) from 4th March to 15th May. This (at 1993) is
thought to be the longest period without measurable rain ever recorded in the
British Isles. During the period March to June, in the SE of England some areas
experienced less than 30% of average rainfall & over a wider area of
England & Wales, the anomaly was under 45%. Notably persistent warm weather over period April to June. The combined effect of the drought, above average temperatures and often intense/prolonged sunshine meant that by the 21st of June, many agricultural areas of southern England and the east Midlands were undergoing great stress: the ground parched, meadows burnt dry with many crops declared a failure. Fruit was withering (not helped by some sharp/late frosts in May) and the hay crop was much reduced; root crops also severely affected. (See article R. Brugge, 'Weather' May 1993). |
18, EWP | |||
| 1893 (August) | On the 10th August in 1893, at Preston (Lancashire) a rainfall of 53mm in 35 minutes is thought to have included the highest known 5 minute fall in the United Kingdom - 31.7mm. | x | |||
| 1893 (Annual) |
In this year, a station on Jersey (details unknown at this time) recorded 2340 h of bright sunshine. If this value was recorded using a Campbell-Stokes recorder exposed & used to a standard practice, then it would represent the highest known annual sunshine total within the British Isles in the sunshine-recorder record (starts ~ 1880). (See also 1959) | MWR | |||
| 1894 (November) |
MAJOR THAMES-VALLEY FLOOD 1. Major flooding across the mid/upper Thames Valley (i.e. non-tidal leg). The differences above the normal ("summer") prediction at various points were: Oxford +3.7ft; Reading +6.8ft; Maidenhead +7.9ft; Windsor +8.9ft; Kingston +11.5ft. (TEC). At the upper Thames recording point of Shillingford Wharf, the flood-level was 46.96m above OD, the second highest at this point, (and up to 2003), in that record. The Thames burst its banks and affected scores of towns / hamlets along the river, and many thousands were driven from their homes. (The peak date of the flood events is given as the 17th November.) The floods were stated at the time to be so spectacular and widespread as to be regarded as the greatest floods ever, and a 'yardstick' by which future inundations are measured. [ see also 1774 ] Using the EWP series, the anomaly for October + November ~ 130% of the all-series average. |
6, EWP | |||
| 1894/95 (Winter) |
Exceptionally cold / wintry from
30/12/1894 to 05/03/1895. To horticulturists and ice skaters in East Anglia, it
was the winter of the ' twelve week frost '. Thousands skated on the frozen
Serpentine in London, including a detachment of soldiers. Records from
Cambridge Observatory show that there were actually air frosts on 70 of the 84
nights between 26th December 1894 and 20th March 1895. In particular, the mean
air temperature recorded in London from the 26th January to 19th February was
around -3degC: From the 9th to the 17th February, the whole of the Thames was
reported as more or less blocked by ice-floes, some 6 to 7ft thick (circa 2m).
[ It is not clear where this observation was made, but I suspect that this was
referring to the Pool of London - a very important port for transfer of goods.]
Water mains were frozen well below the surface to a depth of 2 to 3 ft (just
under 1m). January 1895: A lot of snow, both from frequent showers off the sea, and midmonth heavy snow over England and Wales with 1m or so of snow reported from Faringdon, Berkshire, and many places reported 8 to 15cm deep, with strong SE winds (classic block/anticyclone to NE of British Isles, with Atlantic frontal systems attempting to penetrate from the south & SW). After a relatively mild spell mid month, renewed heavy snow in strong northerly winds with trains again getting stuck in NE Scotland & East/NE England. The month of February 1895 stands out at Oxford as having the lowest average minimum temperature (minus 5.6 degC) and the highest number of ground frosts (27) for any February in the 113 years to 1993 at the Radcliffe Observatory. From the 9th to the 17th February the whole of the Thames was more or less blocked by ice-floes, some of them 6 or 7 feet thick. The non-tidal mid/upper Thames frozen at various times, with reports of an Ox being roasted on the Thames at Kingston & coaches (horse-drawn) crossed the river at Oxford. Similar tales of thick ice, with "roasts" etc., are listed for the Rivers Severn & Avon in Gloucestershire & Worcestershire & adjacent counties. 2. Second coldest winter in a Manchester long-period record (from 1888), comprising Manchester (Prestwich) 1888-1900; Manchester (Whitworth Park) 1901-1941; & Manchester (Ringway) from 1942. The coldest winter was, as in many places in England & Wales, in 1962/63. However, in the CET series, the winter of 1894/95 did not appear in the top 7 cold winters, so the fact that Manchester stands out is interesting. 3. The UK lowest (known) air temperature was recorded during this winter: -27.2degC at Braemar (Grampian) on the 11th February 1895. [ It is equalled by the same value at the same place recorded on the 10th January, 1982. ] |
18 | |||
| 1895 (February to June) |
A five month drought, with anomalies on long-term average circa 60-70% over the whole of Britain, but some places notably less. | 18 | |||
| 1896 (January to May) |
A dry period across Britain: anomaly circa 60-80% taking these 5 months overall. | 18 | |||
| 1897 (January) | Some of the few heavy snowfalls of this year occurred on 22nd/23rd January. Blizzards occurred between Aberdeen and Kent. | x | |||
| 1897 (November) |
Exceptionally heavy daily rainfalls included 204mm at Seathwaite (Cumbria / Lake District) on the 12th November in 1897. [This was noted at the time as 15mm higher than the previous daily highest fall on a record at the site back to 1844.](See Burt & others, 'Weather'/RMetS/August 2005) | x | |||
| 1899 (Summer) | Notable drought with extended heatwaves. The total rainfall for the summer months amounted to roughly 65% of the long-term average, so not particularly exceptional, but coupled with the high-heat, and the fact that the previous year (1898) was very dry, extreme distress resulted. The summer (June, July & August) temperature (average=16.9degC) in the English lowlands are said to be on a par with those of 1995 (q.v.). | CET, EWP |
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