Papers on meteorology : relating especially to the climate of Britain, and to the variations of the barometer / by Luke Howard.

  • Howard, Luke, 1772-1864.
Date:
1850-1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Papers on meteorology : relating especially to the climate of Britain, and to the variations of the barometer / by Luke Howard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    trace by their means the connexion of fair weather, rains, thunder, frosty seasons, &c., with the attendant and prevailing winds and temperatures; and if he refer back upon occasion also to the register itself, he cannot fail to acquire considerable insight into the peculiarities of our climate. Tottenham, 31 st March, 1841. Preface to the Tables. The divisions headed “ south,” &c. comprise portions of time usually of seven days, sometimes of six or eight, dividing the moon’s whole period of declination into four weeks; in the midst of each of which she is to be taken as in full south or full north declination, or on the equator going north or south. The extent of the four is de- termined by the dates in the first column. The wind noted for the week is usually that which has most prevailed; but this is sometimes departed from to preserve the succession of different winds, and the oc- currence (even for a day) of winds deemed critical and important. The temperature is the mean, including day and night, of the whole of the week in question. The rain is that which was afforded by the gauge during the week. In a very few cases it was found needful to divide between two weeks, by estimate, the whole or some part of the result. The mean and total results at the foot will be found applied to use in the General Table or Synopsis, p. 61a. A mark (f) is put to those amounts of rain which were* found connected with thunder, and those weeks are also distinguished [by the degrees of mean temperature being given in old numerals underlined] which from the tem- perature by day and night may be designated frosty*. * [The diagrams which accompanied this paper, as communicated to the Royal Society, are now omitted, together with the paragraphs relating to them ; but the author has substituted for two of them, in the Synopsis, p. 61a, new diagrams of the Yearly Mean Temperature and Yearly Rain.]