THE WEATHER.

Southland Times, Issue 1066, 2 December 1868, Page 2

THE WEATHER.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS , IN OCTOBER, 1868. -„■:•; : * ■ „■'.. • .■■..■ Mabtbndale Station— October opened witii . generally fine, bat somewhat unsettled weather, ' the barometer fluctuating daily, but never rising to 30 inches. After the Bth, the weather changed for the worse, and several sharp gales from .the; ;•■ westward occurred, but were of very brief dura- „ tion. Each successive gale, however, i wassftttiiger, and each fall of the mercury lower ' than the last, ' and on the 13th there were marked indication! of . an approaching tempest of unusual severity.,:,. On the 13th, the barometer decreased to. .SKJj'fi^ rising in the afternoon to 29.40; a heavy" gale' blew during the following day from the "WiJ 'but ■' lulled at night, when the barometer again began '- to sink. On the morning of the 15th, it, fell' to : 2874, a strong gale blowing from^the.lT.^ ...Atj^ 11 a.m., it become perfectly calm, the scud ; J ; moving rapidly from W.N.W.— clear sliy alternafe* ing with passing showers. At 3 p.m. thVbarpme* ter decreased to 28*55, the lowest reading .eyer , recorded at this station ; it then remained steady x until sunset, when it suddenly dropped to 284&, and then sank rapidly to 28*32, the lowest ' posni at which I have ever seen a barometer,. At 11 p.m. a furioas gale set in from the WJf.W., soon increasing to a hurricane which blew with* unex« ampled violence throughout the night/and midet- ' ing an exceptionally high spring tide (raisedßeveraL ' feet higher by the pressure of tie wind)r— caused a serious amount of damage and loss of property. Fortunately no heavy rain, beyond a few passing showers, accompanied the hurricane, and Qic rivers were not flooded to any extent". ' The fore« : of the wind during four or five hours: was greater than hitherto registered at this place, in ten , years, and the anemometer failed to indicate the maximum strength, for after sustaining a preW sure of nearly 35lbs to the square fdotj it 'succumbed to the fury of the gale. The> cups. remained firm, but the. arms were bent out of ; shape, and the screws loosened so as to diaconnect the wheels. It is probable that thepresi sure considerably exceeded 401bs. : The"gile moderated at 8 a.m. on the 16th, but jreoommenced, although with greatly .jdiirdni»hed violence at night. The barometer rose to 28*95, but again decreased to 28*80, subsequenflj rising above 29 inches. In addition to the ample ' warning given by the barometer and hygrometer, , the appearance of the sky for several days before.. had been extremely threatening— strongly marked cirrus and cirro-stratus, prevailing' in 'theupper; regions, and cumulo-stratus on the horizon ; 'but ' the thermometer failed to give its usual i indication (exceptionally high temperature), nor WM . the usual storm haze (or mist) perceptible. The amount of ozone varied greatly during the month, but especially just before -and after the storm, often changing from the maximum tO the ■mininmTTi, within a few hours. , ■ The mean temperature of the month was 49*6 deg., which is 4*o deg. below the average of the : same month in ten years. ' -"■• ' ;: The rainfall was 350 inches, which is '72 in excess of the October average . during , the same .. period. Barometer.— -(Corrected and reduced to 32 dieg. Fah. and sea level)— maximum, 30*449 (2Sth), minimum, 28*322 (15th) ; mean, 29*646; range, 2*127 inches. , • . . i: . .. >■ Thermometer in shade.— Maximum 67*0 deg. (7th), minimum 330 deg. 1 (19th) ; mean, 49*5 deg. (4 deg. below nine year's average)— mean ; davy range, 18*9 deg ; total range, 34*0 deg. :.'■ - ■ Badiation. — Solar mean, 118*2 deg; solar maximum, 133*0 deg. (25th) ; terrestrial mean, 308 deg; terrestrial mini, 25*4 dftg. (20th.) '' ' : Hygrometer. — Mean dew-point, i a deg.'; vapor tension, 0*276 inch ; relative humidity, :*7B* Rainfall. — Total in month, , 3*50 .., uichesj maximum daily fall, *46 inch, (16th): rain fell on 15 days. ""' " ': '" Evaporation. — Total in monthi 2*65 inohes. : Cloud — Mean amount (OrlO), 6*7. ..: • '«;-..-.■.: Ozonometer. — Maximum, on 2lßt and. 24th, TTiinin^iimj on 14th and 18th, ozone was observed on every day in the month. ' _• - Wind.— Direction — N., 4-days; -W.^ 2j N.W., 15 days (no wind from any other quarter^) Anemometer. — Mean diurnal movement, ,246 miles; maximum, 590 (approx.), on l6th. ' Ghiles on 11th, 12th, 14thj ! lSthj 16th, ''Mflri 20th, 31st; thunder on llth and 16th ; snow oa 11th ; hail on 3rd, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 19th. No fogs or heavy rain. Solar halo'On lit. Zodiacal very bright light on sth* '' -^'-» ■■< - • • ■ Chablbb Botjs Mabtek, Director of Meteorological Stetionv,

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