1850CE-2007(July): Weather History (more UK than Ireland)

From The Booty Website, compiled by MG Rowley (please note this is an evolving history and so the tables below will likely be more up to date on MG Rowley’s website) – published with kind permission -

This site attempts to collect together in one place the most notable events in our ‘weather history’ across the British Isles. It has been built up in a rather ‘ad-hoc’ fashion, initially just for the latter third of the 20th century, then worked backwards as and when I stumbled across data etc., and of course kept up to date as far as possible. I am aware that these data are heavily biased towards ‘UK’ events: I would like to add more for Ireland, so if you spot any significant missing events, please advise me.

I have tried to capture the “notable events”, but I am always open to suggestions! Inevitably, there is some element of subjectivity over what constitutes a ’significant’ event. Also, the further back in time we go, the scrappier the information & the greater the probability of missing something.

Much of the information contained in these records must of necessity be ‘tentative’ to say the least! Up to about 1000 years ago, we only have archaelogical evidence to reconstruct the record: some Roman chroniclers provide cursory evidence for the Romano-Celtic / British era, but it is not until roughly from AD 800 that documentary records make a major contribution – and of course, the era of instrumental record doesn’t really start until the 17th century, and even then, inconsistencies / errors in the instrumentation make the early record questionable. Prior to the age of scientific enquiry, the climatological data have been reconstructed using ‘proxy’ data, such as tree ring records (dendroclimatology), ice-core sampling, estate records, tales of war and the administration of great kings, monastic lists etc.

Temperature(T) = H/C (warm/cold events); Rainfall (R) = D/W (dry/wet events); Stormy events = S

1900-1909

1900 (February):
1. One of the WETTEST Februarys across England & Wales (using the EWP series).
1901 (December):
1. NE GALE/SNOWSTORM 12th: cut communications in all parts of England. (TEC). This was caused by a DEEP DEPRESSION moving east up the English Channel. In England, SNOW heavily blocked roads and caused havoc for livestock. Many telegraph wires were brought down and the railways were brought to a standstill.
1902 (31st January): HIGHEST RECORDED ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE BRITISH ISLES.
1. The mean sea level PRESSURE reached 1053.6 mbar at Aberdeen Observatory in north-eastern Scotland on the 31st January, 1902 at 2200GMT. (This value was incorrectly listed as 1054.7mbar for over 80 years, due to an incorrect conversion from inHg to mbar: see ‘Weather’/July 2006/S.Burt). This is the highest authenticated MEAN SEA LEVEL PRESSURE value known in the British Isles.
1902/03: (various): VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
1. The following volcanic eruptions are known about this time, which may have resulted (or at least played a part) in the ‘poor’ weather that follows:
8th May 1902: Pelee (Martinique) [ destroyed the city of St. Pierre, with 29000 deaths: possibly the deadliest volcanic explosion of the 20th century.]
24th October 1902: Santa Maria (Guatemala) [ killed at least 5000 - large ash deposit, noted as far away as San Francisco, California. ]
February & March 1903: Colima (Mexico)
>According to a diagram in [VOLC], the intensity of solar radiation decreased by between 10 & 20% after these events. (’The Weather’, Kimble & Bush; ‘Volcanoes’, Decker & Decker)
1902 (Summer):
1. The CET value of 14.3degC was low, but not exceptional in this series (about 1C below the all-series mean); however, according to the University of Berne (reported by the RMetS/’Weather’ 2004), this summer across the whole of Europe was the COLDEST in a joint proxy / instrumental series which began in 1500.
1902 (Annual):
1. A notably DRY year across England and Wales (using the EWP series).
1903 (February):
1. A notable RED RAIN (i.e. dust rain) event across the southern half of England & Wales (and large parts of Europe) 21st-23rd February, 1903. The dust/sand originated in the Sahara.
1903 (May to September): NOTABLY WET SUMMER & AUTUMN
1. These 5 months were all notably WETTER than average: the EWP % anomalies were 129%, 128%, 168%, 160% and 132% (relative to the 1961-90 mean), which is an average of 143% overall. As noted below, October was also very wet, and adding this month in, the six months total EWP was 715mm (161%). Specifically for the London area (based on Kew), the summer period in 1903 was the WETTEST in that series which started in 1697 (’Weather’ October 2004/R MetS/Mayes).
2. As to TEMPERATURES, for the three summer months (June, July & August), the anomaly on CET for these was -1.3, -0.6 & -1.3C. For Kew specifically, the mean TEMPERATURE anomaly was -2C, with June notably COLD. The anomaly on June MAXIMUM temperature at Kew was -3C. Using the Camden Square (Westminster) record, it was the COLDEST June for 46 years.
1903 (October): EXCEPTIONALLY WET MONTH OVER ENGLAND & WALES.
With 218mm in the long-period England and Wales Rainfall series (began 1766), this was the wettest month (any month) in that series. The next closest (20th century only) was November, 1940 with 197mm.
1903 (Annual):
1. Notably WET by the EWP series: in the ‘top-10′ of wet years in that series, and the wettest year since 1872. (For London/Kew Observatory specifically, it was the WETTEST year in a series that began in 1697).
1904 (November):
1. There was widespread SNOW between the 20th and 23rd in 1904 when a large area of southern Scotland and northern England averaged 46cm of level snow, with heavy drifting in places.
1905 (January):
1. PRESSURE (MSL) of 1053.1 mbar recorded at Falmouth Observatory (Cornwall) on the 28th. (According to Stephen Burt, the England & Wales record).
1905 (Annual):
1. A notably DRY year across England and Wales (using the EWP series).
1906 (Summer):
1. A fine summer. It ended with an intense HEATWAVE at the end of August 1906. TEMPERATURES reached or exceeded 32degC widely on four consecutive days from the 31st August. Of note, the September record MAXIMUM of 35.6degC was set at Bawtry, South Yorkshire on the 2nd September.
1906 (November):
1. A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE of 20.0degC was recorded on the 23rd November, 1906 at Lairg (Highlands/SE end of Loch Shin). One of only a handful of >=20degC readings in November in the reliable UK thermometer record.
1906 (December):
1. HEAVY SNOWSTORMS 26th-30th in much of Scotland, as a succession of polar lows/troughs moved south in an arctic airstream. Widespread SNOW elsewhere across Britain, the snow though not reaching the London area until early on the 26th. Severe transport dislocation across northern Scotland (Aberdeen and other centres isolated for at least 3 days), and snow disruption elsewhere over Britain.
1907 (July):
1. During the afternoon of the 22nd July, 1907, HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS occurred across a wide area of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. These caused extensive FLOODING in urban areas and severely DAMAGED standing crops in the countryside. In Watford (Hertfordshire), significant FLOODING occurred. This was caused by over 60 mm of RAIN falling in a couple of hours. In South Wales, at least 80 mm of RAIN was recorded from one location in Monmouthshire, together with a SEVERE HAILSTORM and associated LIGHTNING DAMAGE. The HAIL (possibly as large as ‘pigeons eggs’) completely blocked a river & stripped trees of bark and foliage and was still evident 10 days later (as ice). (Currie, TEC & others)
1907 (October):
1. Very WET, though there were at least 18 wetter such-named months in the England & Wales Precipitation series (1766-2005). The EWP figure of 153 mm represents roughly 170% of the series average, and as this is an ‘areal’ value, some places in England & Wales at least would have been much WETTER. For example, at Ross-on-Wye (Herefordshire), the monthly total was 216 mm (or about 8.5 inches), and in some parts of Dorset, over 250 mm (or nearly 10 inches) of RAIN fell. (Currie/Weather Eye & MWR/Met Office)
1908 (April):
1. In 1908 a SNOWY week over most of the United Kingdom culminated on the 24th and 25th in one of the heaviest spring snowfalls on record in southern England.
1908 (July):
1. Very high TEMPERATURE recorded in southern Scotland. On the 2nd, the maximum was 32.8degC at Dumfries (Dumfries & Galloway) .. see also 2003.
1908 (December):
1. 26th to 29th December: HEAVY SNOWFALL over many parts of Great Britain, causing significant road (& railway?) chaos. On the 29th, 18 to 20 cm of SNOW fell at Southampton, Hampshire and up to 25cm in Dumfries and Galloway.
1908 (Annual):
1. A notable year for HEAVY SNOWFALL.
1909 (Summer):
1. One of the 15 or so COLDEST summers using the CET record (13.9degC) across England & Wales [in a record back to 1659].
1909 (December):
1. 19th to 21st December: Scotland, Wales and England (except the south): HEAVY SNOWFALL. In Cardiganshire (Wales), the Peak District (central England) and along the Welsh coasts, roads were heavily blocked with SNOW.

1910-1919

1910 (January):
1. 26th and 28th January: HEAVY SNOWFALL over Scotland and northern England.
1911 (31st May): SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER ENGLAND.
1. Violent thunderstorms were reported from many parts of lowland England on this day, with local flooding/landslips, lightning and gust damage. In particular, a total of 17 people were killed in the London area, and 4 horses died on Epsom Downs on this ‘Derby Day’.
1911 (Summer):
1. Notably WARM (& for some SUNNY, see below) summer: one of the top 7 or so of the century, and just in the ‘top-10′ all-series summers (as at 2007). Using the CET series (began in 1659), the values for the three ’standard’ summer months of June, July & August (with all-series anomalies) were: 14.5 (+0.2), 18.2 (+2.3), 18.2 degC(+2.6C). The July value placed that month just outside the ‘top-10′ for that month, but that for August is ranked about 6th or 7th: certainly in the ‘top-10′ in this very long series! All the more remarkable, as the 50-years 1900-1949 contained only 4 VERY WARM summers, compared for example with 7 in the period 1950-1999.
2. MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE on 9th August at Raunds (Northamptonshire) and Canterbury (Kent) 36.7degC (98degF/converted?). Until the Augusts 1990 & 2003, the highest known / accepted in UK).
3. July 1911 was a spectacularly SUNNY month. There was an average of over 10 hours of bright sunshine (as recorded by the Campbell-Stokes recorder) over much of southern England. 384 hours of bright SUNSHINE were recorded at Eastbourne and Hastings, East Sussex during this month, and these are thought to be the highest sunshine totals recorded anywhere for any month in the UK. (NB: in July, not June!). For the SE of England as a whole, with something like 300-350 hours of BRIGHT SUNSHINE, this month (with July 2006) is regarded as the SUNNIEST month (any month) on record, though comparison with late 20th century / 21st century figures are difficult due to changing instrumentation.
1912 (January):
1. 8th January: HEAVY SNOWFALL on this day. 25cm in Tayside at Crieff. Later in the month, on 17th/18th January, the HEAVIEST SNOWFALL of 1912 occurred, affecting all parts except southern England. Disrupting traffic and breaking down trees.
1912 (March):
1. Notably WET across England & Wales (using the EWP series).
1912 (Summer):
1. Notably WET for the months of June, July & August. 409mm in the EWP series ~ 200% of modern-day averages. The WETTEST such defined summer in the EWP series. August 1912 was EXCEPTIONALLY WET with 193mm of RAIN, the wettest such-named month in the EWP series.
1912 (Autumn):
1. A notably COLD period August, September and October: CET values were (with anomalies to 1961-90 averages): August: 12.9(-2.9)/coldest such-named month in the entire series, September: 11.1(-2.5)/in the ‘top-10′ of coldest Septembers, and October: 8.2degC(-2.4C); The prolonged spell of depressed temperatures may have resulted from the eruption of a volcano (Katmai) in Alaska on 6th June, 1912. From a diagram in ‘Volcanoes’ [VOLC], the decrease in intensity of solar radiation following this event was between 10 & 20%, and may have been greater than that for Krakatau in 1883.
1912 (November):
1. 29th/30th November: A depression advanced east across southern regions of England, with SNOW in many places. In the northern parts of Great Britain, SNOW fell to 20 or 25cm, as far north as Strathclyde.
1913 (January):
1. 11th/12th January: a HEAVY SNOWFALL in southern Scotland and northern England. SNOW fell in a considerable depth, especially in Perthshire with SNOWDRIFTS of up to 3m in places. Railway and postal services were delayed.
1914 (March):
1. A very WET March across England & Wales. The EWP value was 120mm, around 160% of LTA and within the ‘top-10′ of wet Marches in that series. The WET weather was particularly a problem for East Anglia, with local anomalies of around 200% leading to much FLOODING. In London, it was the WETTEST March until 1947.
1914 (December):
1. 28th December: HEAVY SNOW event over England. SNOW, very thick and of an ‘unusual’ size (?) caused damage to many trees. At Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire HEAVY SNOW fell for 4 hours amounting to a depth of 18cm.
1914 (Annual):
1. 31 DEATHS from LIGHTNING in this year. (TORRO).
1914/1915 (Winter):
1. The WETTEST winter in the EWP series (as at 1999) with 423mm for December, January and February. At Coulsdon (Surrey) the total was some 500mm.
1915/1916 (Winter):
1. A notably WET winter by the EWP series. 374mm for December, January and February. (see also 1959/60). NB: this might also imply that areas across the English Channel were also WET, and of course at this time, the protagonists taking part in the ‘Great War’ (UK, France, Germany & their allies) were suffering in the ’sea of mud’ in the trenches of NE France & the Ardennes.
2. A notably WET February across England & Wales (using the EWP series).
1916 (March):
1. A WIDESPREAD SEVERE NORTHERLY GALE (STORM TO SEVERE STORM-FORCE in southeast England) & associated BLIZZARD affected much of East Anglia, the east & south Midlands, parts of Southeast England & the West of England/West Country during the 27th & 28th March, 1916. Large numbers of trees brought down due to combination of wet / sticky SNOW freezing on boughs, and HIGH WINDS/northerly (over eastern areas to at least Beaufort Force 9 or 10, with Kew Observatory reporting Force 11 for a short time early evening of the 28th as the parent low moved NE across SE England and onto the Netherlands by the 29th**). The SNOW set in after nightfall of the 27th, and in some places lasted over 24hr. SNOW depths were difficult to ascertain due to DRIFTING / BLIZZARD-conditions, but some reports of 15-20cm over East Midlands seem credible. 48hr RAIN/SNOW totals in a broad swathe from the Wash / Norfolk, across the northern & far western Home Counties, to Somerset, Devon & Cornwall exceeded 25-30mm, and in the Fens/East Midlands, upwards of 50-60mm fell, with stations in Northamptonshire recording over 70mm for these 48hr. (It was also very WET (mixed RAIN/SNOW here) in Cornwall.) Much DISRUPTION to transport, both road & railway, across the southeastern ‘quadrant’ of England – also large number of telephone / telegraph lines cut due to weight of snow. At Margate (Kent) much DAMAGE to shop fronts, with Dover recording GUSTS to 75kn. (**lowest PRESSURE estimated for this system 968mbar in Lyme Bay at 0100GMT on the 28th.) [ based on article in 'Weather' / RMetS 2004 ]
1916 (October):
1. On the 11th in 1916, 208.3 mm of RAIN fell at Kinlochewe (Kinlochquoich / western Scotland). At the time, the highest 24hr rainfall recorded in the British Isles, and now amongst the top 6 or 7 such events – still (at 2005) the HIGHEST for October.
1916/1917 (Winter):
1. One of the most SEVERE WINTERS of the 20th century up to 1939/40. A major problem in the Great War for all the parties to the conflict.
2. Feb/Mar/Apr CET values (anomalies) were: Feb: 0.9(-2.9), Mar: 3.2(-2.5), Apr: 5.4(-2.5).
3. 16th January 1917: HEAVY SNOWFALL in England. 31cm at West Witton, West Yorkshire and 15cm at Durham. This was followed by a HEAVY SNOWFALL in England between the 25th and 26th January.
4. 26th January: HIGH TIDES and SEVERE GALES combined to bring a disaster to the English Channel coast of the SW peninsula. The small fishing village of Hallsands (South Hams of Devon, close to Start Point) was all but destroyed when high winds / high seas broke over the few cottages in the village. No-one was killed, but the village was virtually abandoned. (Apparently previous dredging elsewhere to support the enlarged harbour at Devonport down the coastline was a contributory cause, with the fore-shore becoming destabilised as a result.)
1917 (Summer):
1. A WET summer in the EWP series, with 138% of LTA (1916-1950). It was especially WET in the Kew Observatory series: 314mm was recorded there for the three summer months, representing nearly twice the long-term average. I think it reasonable to assume that this excessive RAINFALL was also representative of conditions across the Channel along the northern portions of the War Front (French/British/German).
2. On the 28th of June, a shallow depression moving eastward along the English Channel brought remarkably HEAVY RAINFALL to a large area of southern England: falls in excess of 50 mm were recorded from Cornwall to Sussex with a daily/24hr RAINFALL total of 242.8mm recorded at Bruton in Somerset (about 127mm in 3 hours and 165mm in 5 hours). With only sporadic thunder, the bulk of the fall was made up by a spell of steady/heavy rain over a wide of areas during the night. The Bruton event is the highest known for June, and amongst the top 3 or 4 for the entire record. 213.1mm was recorded nearby in the Quantocks, at Aisholt, and 150mm at Street, Glastonbury. Needless to say, such rain led to FLOODING.
1918 (January):
1. 7th January: HEAVY SNOWFALL: northern Scotland badly affected. At Deemess, Orkney, SNOWDRIFTS of 120cm were reported, while the Highland railway in Sutherland and Caithness was blocked by SNOW for some days. This was followed over England by HEAVY SNOW between the 15th and 16th January. In the East Anglian Fens, SNOW fell to a depth of 15cm, while in the Welsh mountains a number of sheep were lost in SNOWDRIFTS.
1919 (January):
1. The first major SNOWFALL of 1919 occurred in the first week of January between the 3rd and 4th. HEAVY SNOW occurred in the Midlands and northern England, causing damage to telegraph wires in Derbyshire and 35cm of SNOW to fall at Buxton, Derbyshire. On the 3rd, 22cm fell in Manchester. This was followed at the end of the month by another HEAVY SNOWFALL in the Midlands and northern England between the 27th/28th.
1919 (March/April):
1. A COLD couple of spring months (CET anomalies -1.6C and -0.8C respectively) and one of the WETTEST Marchs over England & Wales (using the EWP series); April had near-average RAINFALL.
2. During March 1919 there were several falls of SNOW in the London area, the heaviest fall being on the 27th with a depth of 23cm noted.
3. In April, the widespread deep SNOWFALL as late as the 27th was most remarkable. It was deepest in the eastern half of England, including the London area, where in many places there was 30 cm of level snow.
1919 (September):
1. A late spell of HOT weather early in the month. (Raunds, Northamptonshire max on the 11th was 32.2degC, Nottingham on the same day 29.4degC: the next day [ 12th ] Nottingham MAXIMUM was just 13.9 degC).
2. Following the hot spell (see above), there was an exceptionally EARLY SNOWFALL overnight 19th / 20th of several inches (at least 2 inches/ 5cm at Princeton) on Dartmoor and other elevated areas (Herefordshire specifically known: elevation ~300ft), with snow of lesser cover being reported from Wales, The Midlands, Dorset & Devon. Reports of snow cover at low levels in Scotland & Northern England, with a substantial covering over higher ground throughout Wales (lying on slopes of the Black Mountains/SE Wales down to an altitude of 1300ft), covering the Clee Hills in Shropshire and also over Exmoor and Dartmoor (see above). Sleet showers observed at lower levels as far south as the Thames Valley. Cyclonic/northerly flow.
1919 (November):
1. The 11th (the first anniversary of the armistice), saw the start of a notably SEVERE/WINTRY spell. On the night 11th/12th, a SEVERE SNOWSTORM occurred, depositing 8 inches (20 cm) in the streets of Edinburgh, 12 inches over Dartmoor, and 17 inches at Balmoral.(GPE) Even in southern England, SNOW fell on 7 days or more during the month.

1920-1929

1920 (May):
1. THUNDERSTORMS in central and northern England on the 29th May in 1920 resulted in serious damage, and people were DROWNED in their homes: in Louth, Lincolnshire, at least 104mm of RAIN fell in two hours (and 117 or 119 mm in three hours depending upon source, from about 2pm – see below), flooding the town. The “Louth storm” was probably one of the most SEVERE in the 20th century. A depression moved north on the 29th. A storm developed on its cold front. Not only was the rain heavy at Louth, but at Elkington Hall, three miles to the west, 117mm (or 119mm, sources differ) fell in three hours. Even more probably fell to the west, and recent estimates state at least 150mm during the storm, possibly much more. As water fell on the Lincolnshire Wolds, the River Lud rose by 6 feet (about 2 m) in 10 minutes, with FLOODING, destruction of bridges, and 23 people were drowned as a torrent 200 yards wide swept through the village of Louth, which formed a bottleneck to the river and its tributaries. The river rose to 15 feet (4.6m) above normal, in just 15 minutes if eye-witness reports can be believed. (NB: on the same day 42mm fell in twenty minutes and a total RAINFALL for the storm of 82mm at Leyland, Lancashire.)
1920 (Summer):
1. A notably COLD summer using the CET record. The value was 14.0degC, placing it in the 15 or so coldest summers in the series.
1920 (December):
1. Eastern and southern England: HEAVY SNOWFALL 11th/12th December – The SNOW was reported as ‘very dry’. It fell without any wind, and as a result, no drifting occurred. Clacton (Essex) and Salcombe (South Hams of south Devon) received depths of 35cm. Further HEAVY SNOWFALL was reported daily until the 16th. In Plymouth it lay on the ground for 10 days. This was considered (at the time) to be the worst snow in the district since the blizzard of March 1891.
1921 (March – November):
1. In the EWR series, the DRIEST such period in the entire series (started in 1727).
1921 (July):
1. Within a remarkably DRY (extended) spell [ see above & below ], this month was both DRY & very WARM. The EWP value of 29 mm was no record, but represented around 50% of the long-term mean. However, the TEMPERATURES averaged over England & Wales came out at 18.5degC (CET), an anomaly of some +2.5C, and well into the ‘top-10′ of WARMEST Julys in that series (started 1659).
1921 (19th to 21st November): PERSISTENT DENSE FOG EVENT
1. Dense fog blanketed many parts of England during this period, causing many road traffic accidents and seriously disrupting railway services, in the days before automatic warning and signalling systems. Severe delays to shipping on the Thames – in those days the Ports of L s

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Where possible, I have listed the sources above, but remember that these often simply quote others – refer to the original work for a full bibliography.

1. Climate, history and the modern world.
H.H. Lamb
Methuen
1982

2. Woodlands.
W. Condry
Collins
1974

3. The Observer’s Book of Weather.
R. Pearce
Warne
1980

4. World Climate from 8000 to 0 B.C.
[ Proceedings of the International Symposium held in 1966 ]
Various contributors
Royal Meteorological Society
1966

5. British floods & droughts.
C.E.P. Brooks & J. Glasspoole
Benn
1928

6. The English climate.
H.H. Lamb
English Universities Press
1964

7. The Elements Rage.
F.W. Lane
David & Charles
1966

8. London Weather.
J.H. Brazell
HMSO (Meteorological Office)
1968

9. Contemporary Climatology.
Henderson-Sellers & Robinson
Longman Scientific
1986

10. The climate of the British Isles.
P. B. Wright (Ed: Chandler & Gregory)
Longman Scientific
1976

11. Regional climates of the British Isles.
D. Wheeler and J. Mayes
Routledge
1997

12. The Bude Canal
Helen Harris & Monica Ellis
David & Charles
1972

13. Weatherwise
Philip Eden
Macmillan
1995 (and updated)

14. The Weather Factor
Erik Durschmied
Hodder & Stoughton
2000

15. Shell Guide to Britain
(ed.) Geoffrey Boumphrey
Ebury Press
1969 (but data checked / amended against later sources)

16. The Penguin Atlas of Medieval History
Colin McEvedy
Penguin Books
1961

17. The Daily Telegraph “Book of the Weather”
Philip Eden
Continuum
2003

18. “Climate in Everyday Life”
C.E.P. Brooks
Ernest Benn
1950

19. “Encyclopædia Britannica (Multimedia ed.)”
(various)
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1999

20. “The Long Summer”
Brian Fagan
Granta Books
2004

21. “Weather”
Abercromby & Goldie
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd.
1934

22. “Weather Men”
Bernard Ashley
Allman & Son
1970

23. “Historic Storms of the North Sea, British Isles & NW Europe”
H. H. Lamb
Cambridge University Press
1991 (paperback)

(Source abbreviations:
CEPB = Climate in Everyday life/Brooks;
CET= Central England Temperature series (Met Office / Hadley Centre);
CHMW/Lamb = Climate, history & the modern world/HH Lamb);
CUMB = Chronicle of Magistrates, Cumbrian Genealogy (homepages.Tesco.net/~rolygrigg/);
DWS/MWS= Various Monthly/Daily Weather Summaries (UK Meteorological Office);
EWP= England and Wales Precipitation series (Met Office / Hadley Centre);
GPE = Philip Eden’s articles in the Daily Telegraph & elsewhere;
LW = London Weather/Brazell;
LWH= Landmarks of World History web site (www.phenomena.org.uk/);
RJP = Bob Prichard’s summaries of the 20th century; var.
RMS = Royal Meteorological Society ‘Weather Log’;
TEC = The English Climate/Lamb;
TREF= Web site: www.timeref.com
usw = contributors to uk.sci.weather newsgroup);
VOLC= Volcanoes/Decker & Decker; )