118 THE GREAT FROST OF 1890-91,
In the extreme north of Scotland, as well as in the west of Ireland, the mean was
10 deg. higher than in the south-east of England. In the southern Midlands,
and in parts of the south of England, the mean temperature for the fifty-nine
days was more than 10 deg. below the average, but in the north of England the
deficiency did not amount to 5 deg,, and in the extreme north of Scotland it was
less than 1 deg.
The lowest authentic reading was 0.6 deg. at Stokesay, in Shropshire, but
almost equally low temperatures occurred at other periods of the frost. At many
places in the south and south-west of England, as well as in parts of Scotland and
Ireland, the greatest cold throughout the period occurred at the end of November ;
and at Waddon, in Surrey, the thermometer fell to 1 deg., a reading quite unpre-
cedented at the close of the autumn. At Addington Hills, near Croydon, the
thermometer was below the freezing point each night, with one exception ; and
there were only two exceptions at Cambridge and Reading ; while in the Shet-
lands there were only nine nights with frost, although at Biarritz frost occurred
on thirty-one nights, and at Rome on six nights. At many places in England
the frost was continuous night and day for twenty-five days, but at coast stations
in the north of Scotland it in no case lasted throughout the twenty-four hours.
On the coast of Sussex the temperature of the sea was about 14 deg. higher than
the air throughout December, but on the Yorkshire coast it was only 6 deg.
warmer, and in the Shetlands and on parts of the Irish coast it was only 3 deg.
warmer.
The Thames water off Deptford, at 2 ft. below the surface, was continuously
below 34 deg. from December 23rd to January 23rd, a period of thirty-two days,
while the river was blocked with ice the greater part of the time. In Regent's Park
skating continued uninterruptedly for forty-three days, where the ice attained a
thickness of over 9 in. The frost did not penetrate to the depth of 2 ft. below the
surface of the ground in any part of England, but in many places, especially in the
south and east, the ground was frozen for several days at the depth of 1 ft. and at
6|in. for upwards of a month. In the neighbourhood of London the cold was more
prolonged than in any previous frost during the last century, the next longest
spell being 52 days in the winter of 1794-5, while in 1838 frost last lasted for fifty
days, and in 1788-9 for forty-nine days. At Greenwich the mean was 9 5 deg. below
the average, and in some parts it was more than 10 deg. below, while in the extreme
north of Scotland it was approximately in agreement with average conditions.
Mr. Harding also mentioned the singular fact that on only one day—January
13th—was the mean daily temperature at Greenwich in excess of the average
daily mean for sixty years. The frost throughout was remarkable on account of
the absence of any high temperatures. Nearly all the prolonged frosts of the last
century, said Mr. Harding, were followed by a fairly dry spring and summer, but
the accompanying weather was by no means always hot.
Mr. Harding explained the great difference between the temperatures of
Scotland and Ireland and that of England by the fact that during the whole
period there was a large area of high barometric readings over Europe which
maintained its own limits. The incoming disturbances from the Atlantic could
not make headway into Europe, but skirted to the westward of our islands, their
centres keeping well out into the Atlantic. Consequently our westward coasts
felt the warming influence of these disturbances, although the weather remained
comparatively quiet. England, especially as to the eastern parts, was not at all
affected by these disturbances.