The remarkable year of 1879

[Weather-history]

Posted a thread on this remarkable year, some years back but all the data and info that I gathered is all over the place, so I combined everything into one post. Going to post some Guardian/Observer reports from this year as well

 

1879 was a very cold year, the third coldest year on record with an annual CET of just 7.42

The months and their comparison to the 1961-90 average in brackets

Jan 1879: -0.7 (-4.5)

Feb 1879: 3.1 (-0.7)

Mar 1879: 4.7 (-1.0)

Apr 1879: 5.7 (-2.3)

May 1879: 8.9 (-2.3)

Jun 1879: 12.9 (-1.2)

Jul 1879: 13.6 (-2.5)

Aug 1879: 14.5 (-1.3)

Sep 1879: 12.6 (-1.0)

Oct 1879: 8.9 (-1.7)

Nov 1879: 4.1 (-2.4)

Dec 1879: 0.7 (-3.9)

The cold started November 1878 and the winter of 1878-79 is the 7th coldest on record.

The spring of 1879 is the 13th coldest spring on record.

The summer of 1879 is the 10th coldest summer on record

The autumn of 1879 is the 34th coldest autumn on record.

The winter of 1878-79 was very snowy, the first half of December 1879 was exceptionally cold

-21.1C: 2nd Dec

-26.7C: 3rd Dec

-22.2C: 4th Dec

-18.9C: 5th Dec

-18.3C: 6th Dec

-21.0C: 7th Dec

-17.8C: 8th Dec

December 1879 was bitterly cold in France, -25.6C was recorded at Paris and the Seine was frozen over

The cold extended into the following January of 1880, it wasn't until February 1880 that mild weather finally dominated a month for the first time since October 1878.

Number of days during 1879 with a CET mean of 0C or less: 42

Number of days during 1879 with a CET minimum of 0C or less: 90

Number of days during 1879 with a CET maximum of 0C or less: 11

Lowest CET minimum and highest CET maximum during 1879: -11.4C 7th Dec; 23.0C 12th Aug

A CET minimum of -1.3C was recorded on the 10th of May 1879

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The summer was exceptionally wet, the second wettest on record for England and Wales with 409.2mm. The period May to September recorded 580.3mm.

The agricultural year was a disaster with the coldness and the exceptional wetness of the growing season added to the fact that it was much delayed by the cold spells during the spring months.

At Ross-on-Wye, it was the coldest January since 1838, May since 1837, December since 1796 and as a year as a whole since 1814. The river Wye was frozen over for the first time to bear weight to cross since February 1855 during the December of 1879. By the end of December, it was the 14th consecutive month of below average temperatures for that station.

At Croydon, the highest maximum was the 30th of July with 25.2C and the lowest minimum was on the 7th of December with -10.2C. 38 days of falling snow were recorded that year.

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January

Camden Rd station in London record 9 ice days in January with a mean of just 0C

Holt in Norfolk recorded 24 air frosts in January, a mean of -0.2C, highest max of 9.3C on the 14th and a minimum of -15.4C

Bristol, a mean of -0.3C was recorded for January whilst Cheadle (Cheshire) saw 19 ice days

Hitchen

Highest Max: 44.0F (1st)   Lowest Min: 17.0( (5th, 10th, 11th)      29 air frosts    No sun for 10 days, constant N and E winds.

Banbury

Highest Max: 45.5F (1st)   Lowest Min: 15.5F (6th)    29 air frosts    Snow on 9 days

Culford

Average: 30.9F   Polar winds on 21 days      The earth, frost bound for more than two months

Shifnal   

Ground covered with snow except from 14th to 17th.    Frost nightly after 1st, ice 8 inches thick. Severn at Shrewsbury, frozen and will bear.   Highest Max: 48.0F (1st)    Lowest Min: 16.0F (12th)

Manchester   

The month maybe characterised as one of the good old-fashioned winters and the delight of skaters; the frost continued with scaracely any intermission and snow lay on the ground, the whole month. The min temp was below freezing every night but one.   Highest Max: 45.0F (13th,14th)    Lowest Min: 16.0F (6th)

Haverfordwest

Severe gales 7th and 8th with snow then black frost to 13th. A short thaw with floods midmonth then almost continuous frosts to the end of month.   Highest Max: 50.0F (14th)   Lowest Min: 14.0F (11th)

Hawick

Such a lenghtened period of frost and snow has not been experienced here since 1837. all otdoor labour has been suspended for about 8 weeks.

Braemar

A month of continuous frost and snow    Highest Max: 41.0F (15th)   Lowest Min: 3.0F (12th)   29 air frosts

Portree

The coldest January on record, almost continuous snow and frost. Such frost and snow was never known before in Skye

Dunrobin

Outdoor operations very much retarded by the continued snow. Sheep farmers are incurring great expense, hand feeding their flocks , as all herbage and heather have been covered up by snow since the beginning of December.  Highest Max: 45.0F (13th)   Lowest Min: 19.8F (3rd)

Omagh

Immense thickness of ice on lakes where skating has been continuous for two months  Highest Max: 45.0F (13th)    Lowest Min: 15.0F (22nd)   29 air frosts

Barrow-in-Furness

Mean Max: 36.4F   Mean Min: 28.4F      29 air frosts

Westwood Hall, Leeds

Mean Max: 33.6F   Mean Min: 24.8F

Camden Square

Mean Max: 35.8F  Mean Min: 28.7F    Mean: 32.2F

Jersey

Mean Max: 40.9F  Mean Min: 34.5F   Mean: 37.7F

Torquay

Mean Max: 39.4F   Mean Min: 31.9F   Mean: 35.6F

Worthing 

Mean Max: 38.3F   Mean Min: 30.4F   Mean: 34.3F

February

Driving snow was reported at Littlehampton on the 1st, 63cm of lying snow at Keith (Banffshire) on the 16th. Cheltenham recorded 8cm of snow on the 24th

Cambridge recorded a mean of 3.1C

Elterwater a mean of 1.4C and a winter mean of -0.8C

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February

Selborne

Very cloudy, dense fogs in the early part of the month    Highest Max: 49.5F (7th,8th)     Lowest Min: 19.5F (24th)   15 air frosts

Shifnal

Sun scarcely visible throughout, max temp reached 50F only once   Highest Max: 50.0F (9th)   Lowest Min: 21.0F (20th)   18 air frosts

Leicester: 7 inches of snow on 23rd

Haverfordwest: Snow fell heavily on 6 days, snow on 21st 8 inches deep.  Highest Max: 52.5F (11th)  Lowest Min: 23.0F (24th)   10 air frosts

Hawick

Farm and garden work are far in arrear and nearly all garden vegetables have been killed by frost. A great winter in the annals of skating and curling

Sandwick

The ice formed on the Lochs in November remained till February 16th and new ice was formed on the 18th.   Highest Max: 47.7F (27th)  Lowest Min: 24.3F (19th)    13 air frosts

Weetwood Hall, Leeds

Mean Max: 39.2F   Mean Min: 31.3F   Mean: 35.2F

Camden Square

Mean Max: 43.0F  Mean Min: 34.0F   Mean: 38.5F

Jersey

Mean Max: 46.9F   Mean Min: 38.5F  Mean: 42.7F

Torquay

Mean Max: 45.8F  Mean Min: 36.1F   Mean: 41.0F

Worthing

Mean Max: 41.9F  Mean Min: 35.0F  Mean: 38.4F

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March

Southampton Water was slightly frozen on the 2nd, there was skating on the lakes in the Lake District. Ullswater had been frozen for 14 weeks at this stage.

Cheadle recorded a maximum of 0C on the 14th.

Addington a maximum of -1C on the 24th.

Foot long icicles wre seen in Cambridge at midday on the 24th

Many reports on how backward the vegetation was by month's end

Banbury

Highest Max: 59.0F (19th)   Lowest Min: 25.0F (2nd)    18 air frosts     High winds on 5 days, snow on 7 days. Violets in bloom on 28th.

Shifnal

Highest Max: 54.0F  Lowest Min: 23.0F (2nd)   15 air frosts   March this year both came in and went out like a lamb, but bitter cold intervened especially from the 22nd to the 29th when the equinotical gales coming from the east, with attempts of snow, were deadly cold. Snowdrops full out on 4th.

Grimsby

Highest Max: 55.0F (9th,12th)  Lowest Min: 25.0F (14th)  5 air frosts    Very cold month; young lambs suffered from cold with NE winds and snow. Two inches of snow on the ground on 14th.

Manchester

Highest Max: 55.0F (8th, 29th and 31st)   Lowest Min: 28.0F (2nd)   11 air frosts    The month opened rather mild but about the 20th the wind veered est and northeast and the weather became cold. Slight falls of snow on 25th and 26th. Thunder and lightning in afternoon of 25th.

Haverfordwest

Highest Max: 60.0F (19th)  Lowest Min: 22.F (2nd)   14 air frosts    A bleak cold month. First and last weeks very severe with easterly gales and snow. Remarkably fine and warm on 18th and 19th.

Hawick

Hurricanes on the 5th and 22nd. Snow fell to the depth of 7 inches on the 13th. Such a severe March has not been known or many years. Laurels have suffered severely and celery, turnips and all brassica have been reduced to pulp.

Portree

More frosts in this month than has ever been known before. Glaes on the 4th, 12th and 30th, Lambs suffering greatly from the cold.

Sandwick

Highest Max: 50.0F (8th)   Lowest Min: 21.6F (17th)   11 air frosts  During March there was generally a continuance of cold wintry weather with snow over the plains on 9 days and drifts on 2 of them.

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April

15cm of snow at Enfield on the 12th and 11 air frosts for the month. General snowfalls (12th-13th)

Hodsock (Notts) recorded a minimum of -4.7C on the 13th.

Bristol recorded a mean of 5.9C

Selborne    Winds mostly NE or NW, snow on 12th, 13th and 14th    Highest Max: 58.5F (26th)    Lowest Min: 22.0F (29th)   10 air frosts

Hitchin

Snow on 12th

Banbury

Snow daily from 11th to 15th

Culford

Heaviest fall of snow in 24 hours for at least 30 years occurred on 12th. Polar winds prevailed on 15 days

Cirencester

Snow on the 11th, 12th and 13th

Shifnal

Easter day (13th) the coldest for at least 45 years; min: 23F max: 40F, mean: 36F

Orleton

Snow on ground from 12th to 15th

Leicester

Snow daily from 11th to 14th

York

Mean temp: 43.5F (47.4F in 1878, 43.2F in 1877)

Haverfordwest

Snow on 11th, 12th and 13th

Cargen

Easterly winds on 24 days; vegetation about a month behind

Hawick

Unusual amount of snow, wild flowers very late.

Aberdeen

Mean temp: 41.2F, fog on 7 days

Dunrobin

Cold east winds most of the month. High tide and easterly winds on 7th and 8th did considerable damage on east coast.

Sandwick

April was remarkably cold, the thermometer on grass falling below 32F on 19 nights (April 1878: 7 nights). Bright aurora on 19th.

Monkstown

Heavy snow on 13th

Waringstown

Deep snow on Easter sunday (13th)

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May

Snow and severe frosts for the first half of the month.

Reports of hawthorn still not in bloom and oak trees not in leaf.

Babbacombe in Devon reported only 3 days of 16C+ for the month.

Bristol recorded a mean of 9.1C

Hitchen

Highest Max: 63.0F (21st,24th)

Tremendous thunderstorm occurred in the Lee valley on the 28th.

Bansbury

Highest Max: 66.5F (21st)

Snow and hail on the 1st and 5th.

Culford

Mean temp of 49.5F

North or east winds on 13 days. Severe thunderstorm on the night of 28th. Snow on the 6th and 7th.

Shifnal

Highest Max: 67.0F (21st)

Apple in blossom (26th); oaks only in tender leaf by 29th.

Orleton

Seventh month in succesion with a temperature below average.

Cherry trees came into full blossom about the 3rd, damsons about the 7th, pear trees about the 23rd and apple trees about the 27th.

Leicester

Highest Max: 67.3F (21st)

Hail on the 1st, snow on the 7th and 8th.

Boston

Highest Max: 70.0F (5th)

Cowslips not in flower till 11th, lilac not till the 28th, hwathron and laburnum till the 3rd of June, elms began to break into leaf about the end of the first week.

Grimsby

Highest Max: 63.0F (31st)

The scarcity of small birds, both in resident and migrant, shows what havoc the protracted cold period has produced amongst them.

York

Highest Max: 69.0F (6th)

Snow on 3 days

Arncliffe

Snow on 6th, 7th and 9th

North Shields

Highest Max: 62.4F (5th)

Snow on the 6th, 7th , 8th and 9th

Haverfordwest

Highest Max: 64.5F (20th)

Snow fell heavily on the 7th

Hawick

Hills white with snow on the 6th, 7th and 8th.

Aberdeen

Highest Max: 63.5F (5th)   Mean temp 46.5F, 1.8F below the average.   Snow on 3 days, hail on 5 days, fog on 5 days

Portree

Grass on pastures quite brown. More frosts and snow than ever known before in May. A third of the young lambs have succumbed to the cold.

Darryane Abbey

A harsh, cold month with northerly winds almost constantly#

Killaloe

A cold, backward month with almost continuous north winds

Omagh

Weather still harsh and inclement; vegetation very backward.

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June

Bromley had yet to record 21C so far that year by the end of June

Oxford recorded 27 days where rain fell

Cambridge recorded a mean of 13.9C

Walton-on-the-hill recorded just one day reaching 21C for the month

Hitchen

The wettest June for 30 years and the coldest since 1860   Rain: 5.22" (+2.58")

Highest Max: 67.0F (14th and 17th)

Culford

Mean temp: 58.1F, thunder on 5 days

Bodmin

The heaviest rainfall ever recorded for June; mean temp: 60.1F  Rain: 8.54" (+4.50")   Highest Max: 67.0F (20th)

Shifnal

Rain on 25th days thunder on 4 days; farmers couldnot get in their swedes; ash only bursting in leaf on the 5th; apples falling off.

Rain: 5.21" (+2.10")

Highest Max: 69.0F (14th, 17th and 20th)

Orleton

Rain on 26 days; heavy thunderstorms on 3rd, 11th and 24th; floods frequent on brooks and river Teme; up to 1st of July, the max in shade has yet to reach 70F, a case wihout parallel during the last 54 years

Boston

1.09" of rain on the 11th left standing water for several days. River Witham very full. All vegetation is at least 1 month behind. Slugs and caterpillars are numerous and destructive.   Rain: 4.18" (+1.99")  Highest Max: 74.0F (10th)

Manchester

Rain: 4.66" (+1.58")   Highest Max: 75.0F (14th and 28th)

North Shields

Thunderstorms on 8th, 12th, 17th and 29th.

Haverfordwest

Wettest June on record. Turnips cannot be sown    Rain: 7.39" (+3.74")   Highest Max: 68.0 (15th)

Braemar

Snow on hills on the 1st; thunderstorms on the 10th and 14th.   Rain: 3.23" (-0.21")   Highest Max: 67.0F (15th)

Culloden

All forest trees are late in flowering

Killaloe

All crops are a month late, no hay cut by end of month.  Rain: 5.62" (+1.99")   Highest Max: 75.0F (25th)

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July

Holt in Norfolk recorded rain every day frm the 23rd to the 6th of July with 77mm in total. It recorded a maximum of 26.1C on the 29th. The highest maximum for that station that year.

Bristol recorded a mean of just 13.9C

Walton-on-the hill recorded a maximum of 24.1C for the month.

Hitchin

The coldest and most sunless July on record exception 1875. Harvest cannot commence until September, half the hay is still out and spoilt    Highest Max: 73.0F (30th)   Rain: 3.78" (+1.88")

Culford

A month of almost continuous rainfall, resulting in destructive floods. Even rye showing no indication of changing colour yet, while in 1868, the entire harvest was completed by the last day of the month. Mean temp: 58.2F

Bodmin

Mean temp: 61.2F    Rain: 4.92" (+1.81")   Highest Max: 76.0F (29th)

Cossey

A dull cold month, only 6 days which reached 70F

Orleton

On the 18th, the thermometer reached 70.8F which was the highest temperature registered since last autumn.

Cargen

Vegetation has made little progress during the month; peaches, apples and pears will apparently be a complete failure.

Hawick

The dragonfly has never yet been seen.

Aberdeen

A cold, wet ungenial month, only on 6 days did the temperature rise above 65F

Rain: 3.96"

Highest Max: 70.7F (28th and 29th)

Sandwick

West winds has been rare, not only during the month, but during all this year and this no doubt been the cause of our remarkably cold winter and summer.

Rain: 3.17" (+1.28")

Highest Max: 63.2F (29th)

Killaloe

A very bad month for haymakers, only 8 days without rain. All crops from a month to 5 weeks late; potato blight appearing everywhere.

Rain: 3.88"

Highets Max: 80.0F (18th)

Edenfel

Altogether agricultural prospects have not been so bad since 1816

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August

Babbacombe recorded a maximum of just 21.7C on the 13th and was the highest maximum for that year for that station.

Torrential rain across parts of the West Midlands, NW England and Wales where as much as 6 inches fell from 15th-17th.

Severe flooding reported.

here were severe thunderstorms and violent hailstorms on the 2nd and 3rd of August. Here are some reports of this event

Halford House: A neighbour gathered some of the stones; the weight of four of them weighed more than 1lb

Dunster Lodge: The largest measured was 5.75 inches in circumference

Surbiton Hall: Conservatories destroyed

Kingston: Hailstones were picked up by the inspector of police which measure 5 inches in circumference.

Teddington: This town did not escape the severity of the storm and much glass is destroye din a ll directions.

Teddington station: A few lamp-tops smashed

Twickenham: At about 2 o'clock (morning), a severe storm of rain was suceeded by a tremendous downpour of hailstones the size of walnuts. Perhaps the greatest individual loss is that which has happened to Messrs T and J. Smith of Richmond Rd, who have no less than 13,740 square feet of glass completely pulverised, involving a loss of between £200 and £300.

Richmond: The windows all along the riverside of Hill St and King St have been smashed without mercy.

Roman Catholic Chapel, Richmond: One side faces NE and although not in an exposed position, nearly one fourth of the panes, both of ground and coloured glass were broken.

Guildford: We had an awful thunderstorm for two hours or more, from 11pm to 1am. I never saw the like before - one continued blaze of light and one continuous roll of thunder.

Granchester Mill, Cambridge: Lightning and thunder was incessant, there was about 56 flashes per minute.

Cambridge Observatory: Terrible thunderstorm passed over Cambridge during the night of August 2nd and morning of the 3rd, the severity of which has not been equalled in Cambridge since the memorable hailstorm of August 9th, 1843. The weather during the morning of the 2nd was pleasant, slight haze was noticed round the horizon, with a moderate breeze from east; by 5 o'clock cumuli began to collect from the southeast and the atmosphere became rather oppressive and slight fears were entertained that a thunderstorm might occur but towards 8.00pm, the clouds began to move and break up and it was not until 9.45pm, that thunder was first heard, the wind then having very strong; by 10pm the violence of the storm was over us, the sky was illuminated for 1 hour with incessant flashes of sheet and forked lightning, whilst there was a continuous rorar with thunder rain and wind. At 11pm, the moon began to break through the clouds and hopes again were entertained that the worst was over but at 1.45 am another storm arose far more severe, lasting till 5am, the rain the whole time was alarming and the sky was blazing with incessant sheet and occasional forked lightning.

Haughley, Suffolk: We had a most fearful storm of lightning, thunder and rain about 2.30am till about 4.15am. The whole atmosphere was kept alight by lightning , the darkness being momentary.

Selborne

Thunder 6 days   Rain: 6.45" (+3.27")   Rain days: 22    Highest max: 79.0F (12th)

Hitchen

Cold wet month    Rain: 4.61" (+2.26")   Rain days: 18    Highest max: 71.0F (11th, 15th)

Banbury

The storm of 2nd, which was very severe, commenced a little after 8.00pm, with lightning of a purple colour and very frequently accompanied by rattling thunder.  Rain: 4.31" (+2.18")   Rain days: 19   Highest max: 76.0F (12th)

Culford

The thunder and hailstorm of 2nd and 3rd was most terrific; the thunder was one continuous roar and the hailstones were a tremendous size, some of them measuring 5 inches in circumference; upwards of of a thousand panes of glass were broken here.

Cossey

The nights were cold and the crops matured slowly. Harvest commenced here on the 29th, 8 days later than in 1860. During the height of the storm on the morning of the 3rd the sheet lightning came in regular waves with forked lightning very few seconds followed by loud peals of thunder. No such storm has been known here since 1843.

Shifnal

Thunderstorm with violent wind on the night of 2nd. Tomatoes on wall do not even blossom.  Rain: 6.16" (+3.29")  Rain days: 18   Highest max: 74.0F (11th, 12th)

Killingholme

A cold month; no harvest work begun beyond cutting some worthless crops of peas. Apples, pears and plums a failure.

Haverfordwest

Wheat and barley will not be half a crop. Very severe thunderstorm on the 2nd.   Rain: 7.59" (+2.71")   Rain days: 22   Highet max: 74.0F (12th, 13th)

Hawick

Oats and barley are only beginning to colour. Apples and pears will not ripen this season and no plims. Potato disease very bad.

Braemar

A month of changeable cold damp weather  Rain: 4.15" (+0.31")  Rain days: 21   Highest max: 73.8F (12th)

Darryane

Potato disease spreading much. Harvest very backward.

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September and October were cold with frosts at times

September

Banbury

Highest max: 68.0F (3rd)    Some corn still uncut. Harvest both deficient in quality and quantity

Culford

Mean temp: 55.4F    Polar winds on 8 days. Severe thunderstorm on the night of the 16th

Bodmin

Highest max: 67.0F (15th)    Mean temp: 57.8F

Shifnal

Highest max: 67.0F (6th)    Harvest sadly prolonged.

Orleton

11th month in succession below the mean average. Latest harvest ever remembered.

Boston

Highest max: 73.0F (3rd)     The harvest is the lastest known since 1860. Wheat was not in ear until the end of the first week in July, in 1860 it was a few days later. The average time for this district is 16th of June, the earliest being 27th May 1868, in which year the mean temp of May, June and July respectively were 8F, 3F and 2F above the average; this year the temps of those month were 5F, 2F and 5F below the average.

Grimsby

Highest max: 70.0F (7th)     The unsettled weather of the previous months still continued and harvest work still a gloomy and depressing task.

Hawick

The potato crop has not failed so completely in this district since 1847

Sandwick

Highest max: 61.0F (8th)   Mean temp low, in fact that all of the months this year has been below the average of the last 52 years. Sleet on the 29th.

Killaloe

A very unfavourable month for harvest work; crops ripening slowly and unevenly from wet and absence of sunshine.

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October

Selborne

NE winds prevailed during the dry part of the month.   Highest max: 63.0F (6th)    Lowest min: 28.0F (26th)

Hitchen

Harvest still not completed   Highest max: 60.0F (1st)   Lowest min: 29.0F (15th)

Culford

Polar winds prevailed during 10 days.

Shifnal

Fog or mist daily, from 5th to 14th, with high bar. Apples almost a failure, pears abundant but many spoilt by cracking.   Highest max: 61.0F (1st)    Lowest min: 27.3F (16th)

Boston

A great deal of dull foggy weather. Slight fall of snow on 15th.

Grimsby

Short crop of apples and pears. Turnips very small on clay land.   Highest max: 60.0F (1st, 24th)   Lowest min: 33.0F (26th)

North Shields

Snow and hail on 14th and 15th.  Highest max: 59.2F (23rd)   Lowest min: 31.4F (26th)

Haverfordwest

Finest and driest October for many years.   Highest max: 63.0F (6th)  Lowest min: 37.0F (25th)

Quinish

A fine month on the whole with a very unusual amount of calm and fog. Slight hoar frost from 25th to 29th.

Aberdeen

A fine, dry month, though at times cold.   Highest max: 61.2F (10th)    Lowest min: 30.1F (27th)

Darrynane Abbey

A fine month with northerly and easterly winds and very calm sea.

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November

The last third was very cold and wintry.

10cm of snow at Cheltenham on the 21st, 20cm at Hodsock Priory

Skating at Cheltenham on the 30th.

Enfield record 9 days of falling snow and 17 air frosts.

Culford

A month of exceedingly cold and winterly, snow falling more or less on 11 days. NWly prevailed during the greater part of the month.

Cossey

Snow about 5 inches deep on the level on the 30th.    Highest max: 51.0F (5th)   Lowest min: 23.5F (22nd)    Air frosts: 11

Shifnal

First snow fell on the 20th; Winds persistently from NW, N and NE. Ice would bear on 16th.   Highest max: 54.0F (18th)    Lowest min: 19.0F (15th)   Air frosts: 16

York

First snow on 1st, ice bore on the 15th.   Highest max: 57.0F (5th)   Lowest min: 24.0F (23rd)   Air frosts: 12

Annahill

Prevailing winds NE and NW   Highest max: 54.8F (20th)   Lowest min: 24.0F (30th)   Air frosts: 12

Quinish

Hard frosts from 24th to 30th

Portree

Four last days of month frosty with showers of snow

Sandwick

The weather was open until 29th, when a snowstorm began and still continues (Dec 2nd)  Highest max: 53.0F (9th)   Lowest min: 28.8F (30th)   Air frosts: 3

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December

Uxbridge: continuous fog from 14th to 28th

Enfield: 27 air frosts. -13.9C on the 7th, the lowest minimum there since 3rd January 1867

Remarkable rime frost on the 25th, three quarters of an inch rime on trees.

2nd: Coston Rectory -19.7C at 9am; -21.1C at Thorpe Arnold; -17.8C at Lincoln Water Works

3rd: Milton Malbay Ice 4 inches thick

4th: Melrose -20C

6th: Diss -12.7C; Cambridge -19C; Gedling Rectory -20C

11th: Soil frozen to depth of 25cm at Addiscombe

15th: 25 consecutive days of lying snow at Addiscombe

Skating on the lakes and many rivers covered with ice in the Lake District.

The weather became much milder during the last few days of December

Camden Square

A month of fogs    Highest max: 52.8F (28th)   Lowest min: 16.1F (7th)   24 air frosts

Selborne

Heavy snow on 5th, prevailing wind north   Highest max: 47.0F (28th)   Lowest min: 8.0F (7th)

Banbury

Mean temp: 32.0F  Highest max: 52.0F (28th)   Lowest min: 8.0F (6th)

Culford

A remarkably cold month (mean themp: 30.4F) with much hoar frost and fog. Only 5 nights which did not fall below 32F and 10 days where it did not exceed as 32F for maximum. On the 6th, the thermometer registered 1F and on the surface of the snow, -6F.

Cossey

A dry cold month, Min in air on 2nd, 4F, and on snow -8F

Cirencester

Very cold with great prevalence of E and NE winds

Shifnal

The ice was 3 inches thick on the 1st and 4 inches by the 7th. Very little snow; much fog, especially from 16th to 19th. Milder weather set in on the 28th   Highest max: 53.0F (28th)   Lowest min: 11.0F (7th)   23 air frosts

Orleton

The rivers were all frozen by the 3rd. Highest max: 57.0F (28th)  Lowest min: 13.0F (7th)  25 air frosts

Boston

During the first 2 weeks, the weather was intensely cold, the mean temp of that period being 24F or 16F below the average. The mean min temp 17F   Highest max: 53.0F (31st)  Lowest min: 0.0F (7th) 26 air frosts

Manchester

On the whole dry and cold, fog more prevalent than usual and on the 12th most intense. The cold on the 7th was also very intense and the temp recorded was 10F at Alexandra Park. 4 inches of snow on 6th. Highest max: 48.0F (27th)  Lowest min: 10.0F (7th)

Haverfordwest

The frost during the first 5 days very intense, the river Cleddy more or less completely frozen. The frost continued till the 24th and skating was enjoyed almost the whole of that time.  Highest max: 52.2F (31st)  Lowest min: 11.0F (5th)   19 air frosts

Hawick

Thermometers at zero on 3rd and 2 below on 11th. Many of the more tender shrubs are much injured.

Killaloe

Severe frost every night till 14th.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some other comments on 1879 weather

"A year of two winters and no spring or summer."

"apples and pears about one fourth of an ordinary crop, many vegetables such as tomatoes and marrows would not ripen at all; potatoes nearly all rotted."

"no fruit ripened to perfection; no continued summer weather."

"Year remarkable for the great absence of sunshine; there was only 92 days on which the sun shone for more than two hours."

"snow fell in eight months; vegetation much retarded by cold."

"Corn crops, hay and wall-fruit all very bad."

"the pecularity of the year is the great absence of sunshine."

"Cloudy and sunless in a remarkable degree, with a low mean temperature; vegetation weak, fruits small and deficient in flavour."

"Snow on the ground from November 20th to December 27th (Bromley)"

"Wretchedly wet and gloomy....Nothing ripened."

"Snow fell on November 20th and 21st to a depth of nearly 12in and remained on the ground nearly a month." (South Downs)

"Max. temp. for the year only 75 degrees." (Southampton)

"Crops of corn bad. Great absence of small birds."

"The rainfall in June, July and August is the heaviest I have known for 50 years and the year was the most unfavourable for all agricultural operations that I have known during that period."

"Very wet, cold and sunless" (Cambridge)

"Spring and summer cold and wet. Autumn cold with severe frosts."

"The winter left late and returned early....The dews were excpetionally heavy in the autumn."

"Spring bleak and wintry, summer late and cheerless with very little sunshine."

"The year will was chiefly remarkable for its protracted winter, its late and cold spring, its wet and sunless summer and autumn."

"A wretched summer, temperature persistently low, and a most marked absence of sun."

"Great absence of sunlight throught the year and the scanty crops are probably due in great measure to this cause."

"Remarkable absence of sun; on only 10 days did the temperature reach or exceed 70 degrees." (Great Torrington)

"A cold, cloudy, damp and disastrous year."

"Remarkable year, being cold and sunless throughout."

"Unusual absence of sun and continuousrain have resulted in a very barren year."

"intense frost set in at an unprecentedly early date."

"very cold damp and sunless; frost in every month except August."

"trees just coming into leaf at the end of May."

"All the year is very sunless; unusually severe frost in January and December."

"A very dull and damp year and depressing year, noted for great absence of sunshine and for much cloud even when not raining. Garden produce small and inferior in quality."

"A year without a summer"

"Dry frost till the end of May."

"A cold and backward spring, wet and unfruitful summer, a dry autumn, with early and severe winter, the first week in December being the coldest ever recorded in Hull. There was also an unusual prevalence of cloud throughout the year."

Temperature records for Hull

January:- Mean min: -2.7C Mean max: 1.2C

February:- Mean min: 0.4C Mean max: 5.2C

March:- Mean min: 1.0C Mean max: 8.6C

April:- Mean min: 2.2C Mean max: 10.1C

May:- Mean min: 4.1C Mean max: 13.9C

June:- Mean min: 9.1C Mean max: 18.7C

July:- Mean min: 10.2C Mean max: 18.7C

August:- Mean min: 10.8C Mean max: 19.6C

September:- Mean min: 8.2C Mean max: 17.2C

October:- Mean min: 4.9C Mean max: 13.0C

November:- Mean min: 1.4C Mean max: 7.3C

December:- Mean min: -3.8C Mean max: 3.9C

Annual mean min: 3.8C

Annual mean max: 11.4C

Annual mean: 7.0C

Melrose

Max. temp of the year: 25.6C (12th Aug.)

Min temp of the year: -15.0C (4th December)

Mean annual temp: 4.8C

Tarbert recorded only 4 occasions from the 22nd of October 1878 to 20th May 1879 with no frosts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Weather-history]

Some graphs from the Observer from January 1879

There was a rapid thaw at the end of 1878 which caused flooding

New Year's Day   Terrible flooding in Scotland    Cold weather returns  Snow issues for Scotland 

Ice skating     Bristol snowstorm     Ice floes on the Thames    Ice skating in London 

 

Thames full of ice       Severest cold since winter 1854-55?     More snow in north    

More snow for north of Scotland     Ice skating in the Manchester area    River Tay choked with ice 

[Weather-history]

February 1879 wasn't a standout 

Observer graphs

 

Large quantity of ice particles falling on London      Milder  weather finally arrives   

 Strange gloom for London and more snow for north of Scotland     Very cold in the far north 

London snow   

 

[Weather-history]

March 1879, a real potent blast towards the end of the month

Observer graphs

 

Northern Scotland hit by more snow     30 hours of continous snow in the very far north 

Very mild day for London   London snow 

 

[LetItSnow!]

The thought of a year not even getting to 21C by the end of June as far south as Bromley is hard to even comprehend, probably impossible unless a severe dimming event or volcanic eruption occurred. I imagine the same synoptics as 1879 would probably produce a year in the 8s now. It’s also good to remember that urban warming was not so much a thing so that definitely attributes to how cool the summer was, slightly less so the winter. In these times of a mild and easy climate, the destruction and panic that would ensue say if 2023 turned out to be so cold and wet. I’m particularly fascinated by the thunderstorms of the 2nd/3rd of August - also the massive switch from wet to dry in the summer and autumn, somewhat like a more pronounced version of 2007 in a way. 

[Badgers01]

What caused this anomalous year ??

[cheeky_monkey]

8 hours ago, LetItSnow! said:

 In these times of a mild and easy climate, the destruction and panic that would ensue say if 2023 turned out to be so cold and wet. 

why would there be destruction and panic??

[LetItSnow!]

2 hours ago, cheeky_monkey said:

why would there be destruction and panic??

since the media hypes gentle northerlies, can you imagine an 1879 in our midst.we would cope, we coped then. in a twisted way it would be quite interesting to relive from a meterological perspective.

[Weather-history]

April

Observer graph

 

Up to a foot of snow at King's Lynn 

[Weather-history]

May

Observer graphs

Snow, Manchester   Lightning deaths  Heavy rain, lightning  Hail damage 

Thunderstorm, London 

[Weather-history]

June

Observer graphs

Thunderstorms/snow     Floods   Thunderstorms 

 

[Summer8906]

On 26/04/2022 at 01:17, LetItSnow! said:

since the media hypes gentle northerlies, can you imagine an 1879 in our midst.we would cope, we coped then. in a twisted way it would be quite interesting to relive from a meterological perspective.

For much of the year I would agree but could do without that horrendous summer!

[Weather-history]

July 

Observer graphs

Gales    Floods       Thunderstorm  Snow at Jura?   Thunderstorm 

 

Flood   How cold   Gale floods    

 

[LetItSnow!]

Some charts picked out from me from wetterzentrale for each month of 1879

January: A lack of any noteworthy mild patterns but the charts aren't as severe as you'd think. As with most winter months then, it seemingly was much easier for easterly winds to hold off the Atlantic.

The northern blocking sends the low pressure south then introduces a northerly plunge, but then it looks as though the Atlantic will return before a long and cold week courtesy of genuinely bitter winds courtesy of a Scandinavian High. This clears for a week with a more westerly influence before the rest of the month is dominated by high pressure and surface cold.

February is a strange one, generally mild and very wet looking until the 15th when we get a major cold plunge to our north that looks set to miss us (similarly to February 2001) but instead it creates about 4 days of a slack northerly with low pressure across Scandinavia (like December 2020) but eventually ending in a cold and snowy northeasterly. Not seen synoptics like that before.

The first half of March looks quite springlike with some unsettled weather at times but also fine under high pressure - then an abrupt shift into northerlies around the 11th, it stays generally cool with slack pressure until a spell of cold and snowy easterlies from around the 22nd to the 27th. Ending milder but still unsettled.

April is persistently cool and unsettled. Not a single day with southerly winds and often under the mercy of a cold low pressure system. Persistently unsettled from the Atlantic before blocking descends menacingly from the north, bringing a long and cold week mid-month courtesy of northeasterlies, then even more low pressure - this time northerlies. The only high pressure all month came in the closing days and also had a northerly element - a disastrous month for farmers.

May started probably quite fine and dry with pleasant afternoon (but cold nights), until another northerly plunge from a retrogressing high that results in pretty much ten days of gentle but dismally dull and chilly northerlies. The west may have fared okay but for the east this must would have been disastrously unseasonable. A semblance of a warm pattern tries to establish from the 21st to the 24th, but it comes to nothing, and the month ends with a trough of low pressure with a northerly element parked over the country from the 25th to the very end of the month - no doubt a thundermaker.

June is pretty much a trough magnet over the country - unsurprising as it was so wet. The ironic thing is there appears to be quite a lot of heat to our south at times during this month but it never makes it to us apart from a very weak slack southerly around the 14th and a couple days of humid southwesterlies from the 27th to the end of the month, still associated with low pressure. The amount of northern blocking is astounding.

July looks to be one of the worst I've ever seen synoptically. Permanently cold and unsettled until the 22nd due to persistent and unusually strong areas of low pressures that repeatedly attack from the Atlantic, give strong winds then die out bit remain in situ, only to get replaced with another one + repeat. It looks unusually windy and probably chronically dull. There is a brief spell of southerly winds that brings some "hot" southerly winds on the 28th and 29th but even then, it's very slack and probably there were some thunderstorms around.

August was definitely the best of the three summer months, though would still be regarded as rather poor - especially by today's standards. There was actually some hot air around during the first half and unlike June and July, August managed to have at least a couple days here and there under warm high pressure. Don't let me sugarcoat it too much though, there was a often low pressure around and some fairly autumnal charts, especially later on. What shocks me is the 20C isotherm grazed the southeast on the 3rd, which explained the vicious thunderstorms as it hit much cooler air (especially in a cooler world). For such a cold year, to achieve the 20C line so close is remarkable and another sign of how unusual this year was.

September looks like very typical of its type with alternating spells of dry and fine weather and more unsettled spells from the Atlantic, including quite a few westerly gales - overall though, not that notable. In true fashion, it turned warmer and drier (especially in the south) just as September rolled in.

As the records suggest, October was a mostly fine month though it has a more unsettled spell from the northwest in the third week. I would even dare say the potential for some quite fine weather in the first half of the month - there was a permanent anticyclone from the 3rd to the 14th. No potent northerlies this month but there probably would have been a great deal of ground/air frost.

November looks mostly anticyclonic with no great deal of wind or rain. It started cold with a northerly on the 2nd before it turned milder but stayed fine for a good week or so, then high pressure increased its ascendancy to eventually bring in easterly winds in the third week. A brief restbite occurred before a very cold plunge from the 29th onward.

The first week of December brought ultimate the ultimate snowstorm synoptics + with very cold air over the country that had stagnated in place over several days, hence the exceptionally low temperatures. It quickly cleared and turned anticyclonic until just before Christmas, it then turned very mild and extremely stormy with multiple exceptional gales.

__

A truly remarkable year for the statistics, however I do wonder if these same synoptics occurred nowadays would we see anything like the low temperatures we did in 1879? The obvious answer is no - but I think it's down to more than just climate change alone. One does have to bear in mind, these synoptics aren't going to be as accurate as they are for today - but it makes me think of the conditions of a lot of these recordings, not being false, but take a city like London and compare it then to now... I do feel like some of the synoptics of these months now, in a climate change/UHI country would yield far different results. It's why I don't think, bar a major climactic event, we'll ever see a year as cold as 1879 ever again. Some of the synoptics of these months I feel wouldn't even return especially below average (particularly September, also the second half of December '79 probably wouldn't be overly cold even under the high pressure, see January 2022). It's something that always crossed my mind in the winters of then and the winters of now. For some reason, areas of high pressure even back then would be a lot colder and foggier then. Clean air act is most likely, I think that's part of a reason why winter temperatures have lifted in the past 40 years, as well as UHI for city locations for the warmer months of the year, boosting an already warmer signal. But this isn't a debate on that here, just some of my thoughts.

I hope this was interesting to read and informative!

 

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by LetItSnow!
Slight rewording

[Weather-history]

August

Whirlwind/storm  Manchester rain   Floods     Belfast/Midlands thunderstorm 

Bournemouth thunder  Flooding   Floods     

North Wales flooding                     

Thunderstorm    East Manchester thunderstorm   Floods  Whirlwind 

[Weather-history]

September

Scottish thunder   Snow on Grampians   Scottish gale    "we have sheep"  Scottish gale 

Floods    Manchester thunder   Cheshire rain 

 

[emmett garland]

Wow ,just reading those newspaper cuttings whilst sunbathing in glorious Dublin it just reads like the weather is an army on the march lierally causing dread and misery. If it was these days a lot on here would be over the moon at the thoughts of a biblical thunderstorm in any area. I can imagine many at the time waiting religiously for the paper to read what was going to happen next.. Wonderful descriptions and many thanks I really enjoy reading these articles..

[LetItSnow!]

Interestingly, it seems that we were quite alone in this pocket of the world in terms of the exceptionally cool weather, away from the northwest coast of America/the far east of Canada. A large swathe of America, Canada, South America, Asia, and especially the Middle East, all had quite the very warm year in 1879. we were quite unlucky!

[cheeky_monkey]

On 29/05/2022 at 07:22, LetItSnow! said:

Interestingly, it seems that we were quite alone in this pocket of the world in terms of the exceptionally cool weather, away from the northwest coast of America/the far east of Canada. A large swathe of America, Canada, South America, Asia, and especially the Middle East, all had quite the very warm year in 1879. we were quite unlucky!

im not sure how you can reconstruct a global climate analysis of 1879 when outside of NW Europe and USA/Canada there few if any weather stations

[LetItSnow!]

1 hour ago, cheeky_monkey said:

im not sure how you can reconstruct a global climate analysis of 1879 when outside of NW Europe and USA/Canada there few if any weather stations

that you will have to ask climatereanalyser•org, not me

[LetItSnow!]

As stated before but never shown, here are the uppers for August 3rd, 1879 showing the very hot air mass to our south with the 20 line scraping the Kent coast. No way this would return below 30C nowadays. The unusually severe thunderstorms were likely due to extreme instability from very hot uppers in a cooler atmosphere. 

I feel like @WYorksWeatherwould find this chart (and thread) fascinating for historical purposes. 

[Weather-history]

 LetItSnow!

Paris recorded 89°F (very sultry) according to a report in the Standard and a station in London had a minimum of just 68°F

Rome: 95°F

 

 

[LetItSnow!]

 Weather-history I don’t know why I get surprised by these modest figures for old times at first - then it hits me and I’m like “ohhhh yes that’s why”

[WYorksWeather]

 LetItSnow! Yeah it's just cooler everything. Generally the continent was much wetter in summer than it is today, especially Spain, so you tended to get massive inversions which also mean that not only were the 850hPa temperatures lower, but you also get a lower temperature from the same 850s as you would do today.

[Metwatch]

Can only imagine such a dreadful year in modern times.

The autumn looks to have been the only respite with it being the 13th driest in the EWP series with 168mm. November was the 7th driest with 37.3mm and October 21st driest 41.0mm. However it was too late by then to save much of the harvest following so much rain and low temperatures.