So much for “flaming June”. On Saturday, an overnight low temperature of minus 2.7C (27F) was recorded at Kinbrace in the Scottish Highlands. And on Friday, around 5cm (2in) of snow fell on the Highlands, enough to build snowmen, and snow also covered some of the highest hills in Cumbria and Northumberland.
Snow in June may seem bizarre, but it is not unknown. On June 12, 1791, an exceptional snowfall swept much of the country. William Rowbottom, a weaver in Oldham, Lancashire, kept a meticulous diary for 30 years and on June 12 recorded: “Uncommon hot for about a fortnight last, when it changed to severe cold so that it froze severely and the neighbouring hills were covered with snow.”
Constantia Orlebar was another diarist who recorded snow that day. She lived in the tiny village of Ecton, several miles outside Northampton, and on June 12, 1791, wrote that there was “a considerable flight of snow following rain”. Old reports of unusual snowfalls are often assumed to be soft hail mistaken for snow, but Orlebar was careful to distinguish between hail, sleet and snow, so we can believe her record of snow in June.
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In fact, the 1790s were a dismal period in British climate. A run of severe winters and cold wet summers ruined harvests at a time when the country was hard-pressed to feed a booming population in the new industrial towns. Shortages of food eventually led to soaring prices and food riots.