Publications
The Passage of the Hurricane from the Sea-side at Bexhill in Sussex to Newingden-Level, May 20 1729, by Richard Budgen, published 1730 (28 pp., London: John Senex) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries
To which is added an account of a new engine to work by the wind … also an account of a chain and buckets only, to raise water … without any other assistance … besides that of a small fall of water.
A Letter from John Fuller, Esq; jun. F. R. S. to Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. Late President of the Royal Society, concerning the Same Meteor, in Sussex, by John Fuller, F.R.S., published 12 December 1741 in Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (vol. 41 (1739-1741), article, pp.871-872)
Account of the Violent Storm of Lightning at East-Bourn, in Sussex, Sept. 17, 1780, by Owen Salusbury Brereton, published 14 December 1780 in Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (vol. 71 (1781), article, pp.42-45) View Online
Climate: Medical Review of the Southern Coast of England generally, and of Sussex in particular, by William King, Esq., M.D., published 1835 in The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex (appendix no. I, pp.1-4) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2397][Lib 3212] & The Keep [LIB/507380][Lib/500088] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Brighton, and its three climates: with remarks on its medical topography, and advice and warnings to invalids and visitors, by Arthur Ladbroke Wigan, M.D., published 1843 (71 pp., Brighton: Robert Folthrop & Co. Ltd. And London: Samuel Highley) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
The Climate of Brighton, by William Kebbell, published 1859 (187 pp., London: Longman Green Longman and Roberts) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503780] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Hastings and St. Leonard's on Sea: their meteorology and climate, by John Charles Savery, published 1859 (58 pp., London: J. Churchill) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries
On the Climate of Worthing: Its Remedial Influence in Disease, Especially of the Lungs, by Walter Goodyer Barker, M.B. Lond., published 1860 (72 pp. + XIV, London: Churchill) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 5984] & West Sussex Libraries View Online
Storm of November 26th 1703, by Thomas R. Turner, published 1864 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 16, notes & queries, pp.307-308) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2101] & The Keep [LIB/500235] & S.A.S. library View Online
Observations upon the Climate of Uckfield constituting a meteorological record for the district from 1843 to 1870, by Charles Leeson Prince, published 1871 (242 pp., Lewes: J. and A. Churchill) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503498] & East Sussex Libraries
Sussex Meteorology, 1871, Being a Complete Summary of the Meteorological Observations Made in the County, by Frederick E. Sawyer, published 1871 (Robinson)
Meteorological Observations. The Climate of Brighton, by F. E. Sawyer, published 1871 in Brighton Daily News (article, Sept to Dec, 12 pp.) accessible at: British Library
Rain, with special reference to the Rainfall of Sussex, and how it is influenced by the South Downs, by F. E. Sawyer, published 1872 in Proceedings of the Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society (article, pp.43-)
The Rainfall of Sussex, by F. E. Sawyer, published 1872 in Proceedings of the British Association (article, pp.58-)
The Climate of Sussex, by F. E. Sawyer, published 1873 in Proceedings of the Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society (article, pp.58-)
The Erosion of the Sussex Coast, with special reference to Great Storms which have visited the County, by F. E. Sawyer, published 1873 in Proceedings of the Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society (article, pp.129-)
Winds, with reference to those prevalent in Sussex, by F. E. Sawyer, published 1874 in Proceedings of the Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society (article, pp.67-)
The Meteorology of Sussex, by F. E. Sawyer, published 1875 in Brighton Herald (article, May 23, 1874 to April 3, 1875)
The thunderstorm at Brighton on October 8th,1873, and effects, by F. E. Sawyer, F.M.S., published 1875 in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society (vol. 2, issue 9, article, pp.5-8) View Online
The Climate of Brighton, by Frederick E. Sawyer, published 1881 (D. B. Friend)
Geology and Climate of Brighton, by Dr. Edward Mackey, published 1881 in Brighton Health Congress 1881 (article, pp.57-64) View Online
Observations upon the Late Great Comet and Transit of Venus, Made at Crowborough, Sussex in the Year 1882, by Charles Leeson Prince, published 1883 (Lewes: H. W. Wolfe) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries View Online
Observations upon the Topography and Climate of Crowborough Hill, Sussex, by Charles Leeson Prince, published 1885 (312 pp., Lewes: Farncombe & Co.) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503802] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
Observations upon the Climate of Uckfield constituting a meteorological record for the district from 1843 to 1870: with some additional observations and statistics of rainfall to the end of the year 1885, by Charles Leeson Prince, published 1886 (2nd edition. 290 pp., Lewes: H. Wolff) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
Brighton beaches after the storms of October 15 and December 8, 1886, by W.G. Black, published 1887 in Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society (vol. 5, no. 3, article, pp.399-406)
An analysis of forty years' consecutive observations of storms in the county of Sussex, by Charles Leeson Prince, published January 1887 in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society (vol. 13, issue 61, article, pp.79-84) View Online
Some Particulars of a Sussex Hurricane in 1729. Reprinted from a Pamphlet published by Richard Budgen in 1730, with facsimile of Plan, by The Editor, published 1888 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 36, article, pp.119-135) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2121] & The Keep [LIB/500254] & S.A.S. library View Online
On "The climate of Brighton", by Frederick Ernest Sawyer, published 1 September 1890 in Transactions of the Sanitary Institute (vol. 11, no. 3, article, pp.226-241)
William Ridge's Observations of Astronomical Phenomena (Ref SAC Vol 37), by William Noble, published 1892 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 38, notes & queries, p.194) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2123] & The Keep [LIB/500256] & S.A.S. library View Online
Great Frost of 1684, by F. H. Arnold, published 1892 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 38, notes & queries, p.210) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2123] & The Keep [LIB/500256] & S.A.S. library View Online
Record of the Rainfall at Uckfield from 1843 to 1892 Inclusive; A Lso an Account of the Great Snow Storm which Occurred in Sussex Dec. 25th 1836 , by Charles Leeson Prince, published 1893 (Lewes: Farncombe & Co.) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Observations upon the Great Drought during the Spring months of 1893, by Charles Leeson Prince, published 1894 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 39, article, pp.201-206) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2124] & The Keep [LIB/500257] & S.A.S. library View Online
The Structure of the Atmosphere in Clear Weather, by C. J. Cave, published 1912 (Cambridge)
The thunderstorm of March 11, 1912, in Hampshire and Sussex, by C. J. P. Cave, published October 1912 in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society (vol. 38, issue 164, article, pp.275-286) View Online
The effect of rainfall on the saturation level in the chalk at Chilgrove, W. Sussex from 1836 to 1819, by D. Halton Thomson, published 1919 in British Rainfall (article)
Climatological Observations taken at Chithurst 1899-1923, by Edmund Lamb, published c.1923 accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6698]
Daily well measurements during 1923 at Chilgrove, Sussex, and Detling, Kent, by Spencer C. Russell, published July 1924 in Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society (vol. 50, issue 211, article, pp.248-249) View Online
Dr. John Bayly, Meteorologist, by S.N.Q. contributor, published November 1929 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. II no. 8, note, pp.248-250) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8951] & The Keep [LIB/500204] & S.A.S. library
A Tornado in Sussex, by Arthur Beckett, published 1934 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VIII no. 5, article, pp.291-298) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9329] & The Keep [LIB/500177]
The Gale of September 16th 1935, by Unknown, published November 1935 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. V no. 8, note, pp.250-251) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2204][Lib 8223][Lib 8862] & The Keep [LIB/500207] & S.A.S. library
A 100 year's record of rainfall and water levels in the chalk at Chilgrove, West Sussex, by D.H. Thomson, published 1938 in Journal of the Institute of Water Engineers (vol. 10, no. 3, article, pp.193-201)
A further 20 years' record of rainfall and water levels in the chalk at Chilgrove, West Sussex, by D.H. Thomson, published 1956 in Journal of the Institute of Water Engineers (vol. 20, article, pp.193-201)
Dr. John Bayly of Chichester, by Francis W. Steer and Richard Robertson Trail, published 1963 (Chichester Papers no. 34, pamphlet, Chichester City Council) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2921] & West Sussex Libraries
Dr. John Bayly's Meteorological Records and Comments: with notes on some later records of sanitation in the Chichester area, by R. R. Trail and F. W. Steer, published July 1965 in Medical History (vol. 9, issue 3, article, pp.267-272) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9374] View Online
Late-Medieval Weather in Sussex and Its Agricultural Significance, by P. F. Brandon, published November 1971 in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (vol. 54, article, pp.1-17, ISSN: 00202754) View Online
Abstract:The references to weather afforded by the compotus rolls of the manors of the Abbey of Battle and other ecclesiastical and lay manors in coastal Sussex between 1340 and 1444 are summarized and the evidence of floods during the same period is considered. The departures of the weather régime from that experienced during this century appear to be small, but significant climatic fluctuations are identifiable. Particularly favourable and adverse seasons and runs of these are enumerated; their agricultural effects are examined in the light of the yield ratios of the principal cereals. The implications of the fluctuations in regions closer to the climatic margins for cereals, particularly in the case of the adverse periods in the early fifteenth century, are noted.
The Great Christmas Blizzard and Avalanches of 1836, by G. A. Southern, published March 1976 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 1, no. 6, article, pp.182-183) Download PDF
Abstract:With the help of contemporary reports, an account is given of the historic Christmas blizzard of 1836. The blizzard was particualrly severe over the Sussex downland and culminated in a disastrous avalanche at Lewes, Sussex
Remarkable Mirage at Hastings July 1797, by William Latham, Esq., F.R.S., A.S., published January 1979 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 4, no. 35, article, pp.18-19) Download PDF
Abstract:Account of a singular instance of atmospherical refraction
A Preliminary Study of some recent heavy rainfalls in the Worthing area of Sussex, by A. S. Potts, published August 1982 in Weather (vol. 37, issue 8, article, pp.220-227) View Online
The Climate of Sussex, by A. S. Potts and T. J. Browne, published 1 September 1983 in Sussex Environment Landscape and Society (chapter 5, pp.88-108, Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 0862990459 & ISBN-13: 9780862990459) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8831] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Early nineteenth century Sussex weather, by G. A. Southern, published November 1983 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 8, no. 83, article, pp.284-287) Download PDF
Abstract:Presented here is a tantalising glimpse of early nineteenth century Sussex weather as seen and described through the eyes of a medical practitioner resident most of his life in Lewes and Brighton. A curious example of St. Elmo's fire is described under the date of 21 October 1819
Tornado winds at Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, on 21 December 1983, by L. S. Laskey, published April 1984 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 9, no. 88, article, pp.117-118) Download PDF
In the wake of the hurricane, 16 Oct 1987, by Bob Ogley, published 1 December 1987 (120 pp., Froglets Publications Ltd., ISBN-10: 095130190X & ISBN-13: 9780951301906) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/501566] & East Sussex Libraries
The Great Gale: stories from Mid Sussex towns and villages, by Philip Dennett, published 1 February 1988 (50 pp., Whistleblower, ISBN-10: 0951359002 & ISBN-13: 9780951359006) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9988] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
The storm of 16th October 1987 and a brief comparison with three other historic gales in Southern England (1362, 1662, 1703), by M. W. Rowe, published June 1988 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 13, no. 129, article, pp.149-155) Download PDF
Abstract:The storm of 16th October 1987 was one of the most destructive gales on record in South-East England. However, the damage appears to have been neither as widespread nor a severe as in the gales of 1362, 1662 and 1703, although in Kent and Sussex it may have been comparble with the storm of 1703, which was in general the most severe of the four. Major factors in the development of the 1987 storm were an exceptional thermal gradient in the upper atmosphere over the Atlantic and the existence of a sharp upper trough to the west of Britain.
Tornado causes emergency evacuation at Selsey, Southern England, during the night of 20-21 November 1986, by D. M. Elsom and M. W. Rowe, published November 1988 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 13, no. 133, article, pp.349-355) Download PDF
Abstract:Four tornados formed during the passage of a cold front associated with a small frontal depression which passed across England and Wales during the night of 20-21 November 1986. In total, 300-400 houses were damaged by the four tornados, three of which reached force T3. At Selsey, West Sussex, nearly 300 people had to be evacuated from their damaged homes.
The Selsey tornado, by Peter Matthews, published November 1988 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 13, no. 133, article, pp.355-357) Download PDF
The Sussex Weather Book, by Bob Ogley, Ian Currie and Mark Davison, published 7 November 1991 (Froglets Publications Ltd., ISBN-10: 1872337309 & ISBN-13: 9781872337302) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/501565] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:A pictorial record of the most dramatic weather events in Sussex from the storms of 1066 to the drought of 1989-91. The book includes 160 photographs of floods, freezes, tempests, tornadoes, deluges, dust-devils, hailstones and heatwaves.
The Chichester flood, January 1994, by S.M. Taylor, published 1994 in Hydrological Data UK (article, pp.23-27)
The West Sussex floods of December 1993 and January 1994, by C. G. Holmes, published January 1995 in Weather (vol. 50, issue 1, article, pp.2-6) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12847] View Online
Damage to Property by Runoff from Agricultural Land, South Downs, Southern England, 1976-93, by John Boardman, published July 1995 in The Geographical Journal (vol. 161, no. 2, article, pp.177-191) View Online
The Selsey tornado, the night of 7-8 January 1998, by G. T. Meaden, published February 1998 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 23, no. 226, article, pp.41-49) Download PDF
Abstract:Preliminary reports indicate that tornadic winds and golfball-size hail damaged around 1000 properties at Selsey in West Sussex before midnight on Wednesday 7 January at a cost variously estimated at £5M to £10M. The storm went on to Peacehaven, near Newhaven, which it reached about a quarter of an hour after midnight damaging several houses there. This brief survey, prepared within a week of a site investigation at Selsey on 8 January, includes interviews with eye-witnesses.
Stories from Selsey, published February 1998 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 23, no. 226, article, pp.49-55) Download PDF
Tornado damage at Peacehaven, Sussex, 8 January 1998, published February 1998 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 23, no. 226, article, p.55) Download PDF
Climate change, the frequency of UK tornadoes and other issues raised in the media reporting of the Selsey tornado, 7 January 1998, by Derek M. Elsom, David J. Reynolds and Michael W. Rowe, published January 1999 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 24, no. 235, article, pp.3-13) Download PDF
Abstract:The T3-4 intensity tornado which struck Selsey, West Sussex, on 7 January 1998 received unusually widespread and headline national media coverage. This article considers the narure of the media reporting of that event, especially in terms of its content and accuracy. The media made much of the possibility that climate change, specifically global warming, is resulting in more tornadoes occuring in the UK. UK TORRO's database of tornadic activity for the period 1960 to 1997 indicates there is no significant trend within this period although the late 1980s and to some extent the 1990s produced fewer annual numbers of tornadoes and tornado days than many of the years in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The Selsey tornado of 7 January 1998: A comprehensive report of the damage, by P. Matthews, published August 1999 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 24, no. 240, article, pp.197-208) Download PDF
Abstract:The Selsey tornado of January 1998 was much reported in the media. There were also conflicting accounts of the amount of damage and financial loss. I was able to visit Selsey on a number of occasions to undertake site investigations, and was fortunate to meet Professor Michael Baker to compare our findings. This paper is a comprhensive damage study put togather on the evidence of several complementary sources.
Tornado at Pagham, west Sussex, 23 September 1999, by Anthony Gilbert, published March 2000 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 25, no. 247, article, pp.82-88) Download PDF
Abstract:On Thursday 23 September 1999 a waterspout made landfall at the small seaside town of Pagham, near Selsey, and continued to track 3 km inland with a damage path-width of a few metres. Its strength is estimated at T3 on the International TORRO Scale. Two further waterspouts made landfall later that morning approximately 11 km west but with lesser strengths estimated between T1 and T2. A detailed investigation was undertken that morning.
Site Study of the T4 Bognor Regis tornado of 28 October 2000 - a day in the life of a tornado investigator, by G. T. Meaden, published January 2001 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 26, no. 255, article, pp.3-13) Download PDF
Abstract:This report summarises the tornado damage to properties at Bognor Regis on the West Sussex coast that occurred between 5.10 and 5.15 p.m. clocktime (1610-1615 UTC) on 28 October 2000. The damage trail through the town was 3 km long and chiefly 70 to 80 metres wide. The tornado strength probably reached T4 on the Intenational Tornadoa Scale, setting the tornado in the TLW category.
Storms, floods and soil erosion on the South Downs, East Sussex, Autumn and Winter 2000-01, by John Boardman, published October 2001 in Geography (vol. 86, no. 4, article, pp.346-355, Geographical Association) View Online
Complex ball lighting events at Soreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England, 24 September 2000 and 3 November 2000, by Peter Van Doorn, published December 2001 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 26, no. 264, article, pp.381-386) Download PDF
Abstract:A remarkable series of phenomenal events which occurred on the Sussex coast, in the Autumn of 2000, challenge many existing views on the nature and origin of BL. There were many incidents and numerous witnesses to what occurred, and because the former are so varied and the descriptions provided by the latter so unusual, it would be impractical, in fact impossible, to describe them all in a single attack. This is the first of a series, and is written in narrative form; diagrams and analyses of what occurred will appear in due course.
Complex ball lighting events at Soreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England, 24 September 2000 and 3 November 2000 - Part 2, by Peter Van Doorn, published October 2002 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 27, no. 272, article, pp.302-307) Download PDF
Abstract:A remarkable series of phenomenal events which occurred on the Sussex coast, in the Autumn of 2000, challenge many existing views on the nature and origin of BL. There were many incidents and numerous witnesses to what occurred, and because the former are so varied and the descriptions provided by the latter so unusual, it would be impractical, in fact impossible, to describe them all in a single attack. This is the second of a series and continues in the narrative style of the first; diagrams and analyses of what happened will appear in due course.
The modelling of groundwater flow and seasonal groundwater response to rainfall in the Chalk of East Sussex, UK , by Leonora J. E. Lee, 2003 at Reading University (Ph.D. thesis)
Complex ball lighting events at Soreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England, 24 September 2000 and 3 November 2000 - Part 3, by Peter Van Doorn, published February 2003 in The Journal of Meteorology (vol. 28, no. 276, article, pp.60-69) Download PDF
Abstract:A remarkable series of phenomenal events which occurred on the Sussex coast, in the Autumn of 2000, challenge many existing views on the nature and origin of BL. There were many incidents and numerous witnesses to what occurred, and because the former are so varied and the descriptions provided by the latter so unusual, it would be impractical, in fact impossible, to describe them all in a single attack. This is the third of a series and continues in the narrative style of the former.
Soil erosion and flooding on the Eastern South Downs, Southern England, 1976-2001, by John Boardman, published June 2003 in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (vol. 28, no. 2, article, pp.176-196)
A note on the severe Hailstorm in Sussex and Kent, UK - 15 July 2007, by Jonathan D. C. Webb, published September 2009 in The International Journal of Meteorology (vol. 34, no. 341, article, pp.229-233) Download PDF
Abstract:Following a brief incursion of very warm air into SE England on 15 July 2007, a severe thunderstorm system, with a locally destructive hailstorm and squall, affected East Sussex, Kent and adjacent coastal areas.
Weather and Phenological Observations at Hurstpierpoint 1859 to 1862, by Thomas Hugh, published 17 February 2011 (ii + 38 pp., Royal Meteorological Society, ISBN-10: 0948090332 & ISBN-13: 9780948090332) accessible at: British Library
The Weather, by Susan Martin, published June 2017 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 22 no. 6, article, pp.259-261) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860]