LOW AIR TEMPERATURES, OXFORD, FEBRUARY 1986

The photograph at the top of p. 87 was taken by J. Dalton of the MeteorologicalOffice, Odiham, and shows ice accretion over the fountain in front of the RadcliffeInfirmary, Oxford, on 20 February 1986. The lower photograph was taken at our requestby C. D. Walshaw in September 1986 and shows the fountain as it normally is.

Whilst Mr Dalton provided meteorological data in respect of his own station,conditions at the Radcliffe Meteorological Station have been obtained from the Schoolof Geography, Oxford University, for its site is only 200 metres away from theInfirmary.

On 20 February itself, the temperature at 0900GMT was -7.5 °C and it rose only to-O.4°C as the day's maximum. The night of 19-20 February was the sixteenth night insuccession that the screen minimum temperatures were below zero - two were as low as-1O.5°C, and in that period were two days when the maximum remained below O°C.

Over February 1986 as a whole, it was the 8th coldest month on record since recordsbegan in 1815: in terms of the mean air temperature, it was the fourth coldest February,and its -1.2 °C was the coldest this century apart from the notorious 1947. The highesttemperature during the whole month of February 1986 at Oxford was only +3.5°C, thelowest absolute maximum in any February since records there began. On the 14 days,6-19 February 1986, Oxford reported 'snow lying' at O9OOGMT.

What is interesting about the top photograph is that temperature of the water supplymust have remained above freezing right up to the fountain's orifice to provide thesupply of spray to permit the growth of the icicle formations: indeed, the spray from thetop is visible in that icy photograph. The water in the pond around the statue was notfrozen. either.

KENNETH WOODLEY

WEEKEND FIELD COURSEUNDERSTANDING MOUNTAIN WI:A7HI:R 24-26 OCTOBER 1986. CO-SPONSORED BY THEROY AL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY AND THE SPORTS COUNCIL. HELD AT THENATIONAL CENTRE FOR MOUNTAIN ACTIVITIES. PLAS YBRENIN. CAPEL CURIG.GWYNEDD

Despite gale force head winds. hill fog and heavy rain. and many man-maderoadworks delays. eight course members and Instructor John George managed to reachthe Centre in time for the introductory session at 8 pm on the Friday. With a lot of variedexperience present the course promised to be a uvely one, and nature contributed witha dynamic sequence of deepening lows, and mobile ridges of high pressure.

Course members were aged between 20 and 40 with two having travelled from anoutdoor centre in Norway; five concerned with various aspects of outdoor education inthe UK; and one graduate who was a hillwalker. All were working towards the variousMountain Leadership or Mountain Instructor Certificates, which contain a meteorologysection. and some of the members had passed Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

The BBC Shipping Forecasts were tape recorded and plotted, and the development.movement and decay of a depression of 964 mbar over Malin, followed by its mobileridge and next depression, provided exciting and simple charts. while the Centrebarograph was never so regularly watched. as pressure fell and rose by over IOmbar inthree hours! At one time the forecast for the Irish Sea (and adjacent mountain summits)was for severe gale force nine to violent storm force eleven!

The informal lectures were made more lively by constant study of a set ofcircumpolar surface, 500mbar and 250mbar charts for both hemispheres; anticyclones,travelling depressions, wind circulations, fronts, air masses, jet streams. were all

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From a colour print by J. DaltonThe iced-up fountain in front ofthe John Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, taken on 20 February 1986.

From a colour print by C. D. Walshaw

The fountain of the John Radcliffe Infirmary as it is normally seen, taken September, 1986.

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portrayed on the charts, while talks ranged from local mountain wind circulations to thevast semi-permanent oceanic anticyclones.

The usual field trip up adjacent Moel Siabod (872m) on Saturday afternoonpromised to be exciting, with readings at the Centre being west-south-west 25mph,moderate rain and 7°C, with hill fog above 488m; and as the previous day's 24 hourrainfall had been nearly an inch (25mm), with white water flowing down all themountainside hollows, waterproofs and strong boots were essential. In the forest thewind was calm, but the roar of the gale in the tree tops could be heard, and indeed onentering the gully above the forest the ventimeter read south-west 47mph with gustsreaching 55 mph - the top limit of the scale. At 488 m above MSL the temperature was5°C, and wind west-south-west and a steady 54mph - which blew the instructor overtwice - helped by the fact that his frame rucsac acted as a sail! It was forecast that thesummit temperature would be 3°C, and summit wind force ten, but increasing dampnessand encroaching darkness made a hasty return to the Centre advisable. The betterweather on Sunday in the cold north-westerly behind the depression was forecast to giveway to the freshening south-west winds and rain associated with the next deepeningdepression, although the rain forecast for mid-afternoon did not arrive until aftermidnight, allowing the course members to travel home in reasonable weather.

Two weekend courses on Mountain Weather are planned for 1987 - on 6-7 and27-28 June, and further details can be obtained from the Society's office, or the Centreat Plas y Brenin, (telephone 0344 422957 and 06904 230 or 280 respectively).

Meteorological Office JOHN GEORGE

MASTER BUILDER TURNED METEOROLOGIST:GEORGE DINES 1812-1887

At best, George Dines would have had just the vaguest early recollection of hisfather, a Hertfordshire gamekeeper shot dead by poachers in 1815. One of a large familydeprived of male parental guidance from an early age, young George matured rapidly,determined to help his sisters to plant a future on solid foundations. Through hard workhe rose rapidly with a building firm in Pimlico to become Thomas Cubitt's 'youthful buttrusted' general foreman engaged in building Osborne House for Queen Victoria on theIsle of Wight.

His personal knowledge of the strengths of building materials led to scepticismabout the high values of wind pressures sometimes quoted, and hence to doubting theaccuracy of existing recording anemometers. He often said that he did not believe suchhigh pressures as 301bs to 401bs to the sq. ft. would leave a single chimney in Londonstanding!

At Windsor on 15 March 1862, Frogmore Mausoleum foundation stone was laid byQueen Victoria, with George Dines now Master Builder in charge of the project. OneSunday soon afterwards, a message was received from the Queen requesting hisimmediate presence to discuss business personally. George replied that he would attendHer Majesty at any time of the day or night but not on Sunday. The Queen did notchastise Dines for insolence but instead made him a wealthy man.

Having become well off in middle age, and with an interest in the weather from hisearly upbringing, George as a successful professional builder was able to devote time tometeorology. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society in 1864.

The need to determine the best sites for new building work led to his studies oftemperature and rainfall distribution with altitude and geographical location. Dampness,hence evaporation and condensation were of prime importance and so of great interestto Dines. Under the microscope he measured the sizes of fog droplets and estimated their

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