Abstract
A WEATHER REPORT from the Ben Nevis Observatory is now published daily, which gives the observations made at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., these being the hours adopted by the Meteorological Societies of the British Islands, to which are added the highest and lowest temperatures, the amount of rain and snow in all cases where it is possible to measure it, the height of the snow on the plateau, measured by the snow gauge, the hours of sunshine, taken directly from the sunshine recorder, and the quantity of ozone, droughts, changes of wind, auroras, glories, halos, electrical and other phenomena, recorded as they occur. The record is strictly one of observations, and as these are made at the usual observing-hours, British meteorologists and all persons interested in the weather are thus afforded the means of comparing their own observations with those made at Ben Nevis Observatory, which is by far the most valuable high-level station we possess, as furnishing data of the first importance in the study of the weather changes of Europe. In the winter climate of the Ben, the problem of hygrometric observation is beset with formidable difficulties. With a view to the practical solution of these it is part of the winter's programme that Mr. Omond conduct a series of investigations with a hygrometer of a novel description specially designed by Prof. Chrystal for the purpose. In the meantime, and until the problem be solved, the word “Sat,” meaning saturation, is entered in the wet bulb column in all cases when the wet does not read lower than the dry bulb, it being evident that in such cases the air is all but, if not altogether, saturated. Indeed, a saturated atmosphere at all temperatures may be almost regarded as a persistent feature in the climatology of the Ben. Occasionally, however, as recently happened about Christmas and the New Year, a sudden change sets in, the clouds clear away, the sun blazes out in a sky of marvellous clearness,-and a dryness of air comes on such as is rarely if ever experienced at lower levels. In these circumstances the dry and wet bulb readings separate to a degree so extraordinary that Glaisher stables are no longer of any use in calculating the humidities of the air. As the periods of sudden and intense dryness of the atmosphere are intimately connected with the anti-cyclonic systems prevailing at the time in north-western Europe, it is not improbable that a careful record and study of them will lead to a more exact forecasting of some of our most important weather changes.
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Meteorological Observations from Ben Nevis . Nature 29, 342–343 (1884). https://doi.org/10.1038/029342a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/029342a0