JUNE, 1902. MONTHLP WEATHER REVIEW. 316
.... _-
January ........ F~hriiary ....... March .......... April .. _. ....... May ............ Jiiue.. .......... July ............ August ......... Septeruher ...... October.. ....... Novcruher ...... DCCerulEr.. .....
Auniial tem- perature.. ..
Auuiial rauges
From 1872 to 1891 the Weather Bureau carried out similar
temperature records along the Atlantic coast in rivers and
harbors, but, owing to our prevailing westerly winds, the At-
lantic Ocean temperatures have b u t little effect upon American
weather. Temperature observations of the Pacific Ocean
water would be more interesting, but we doubt whether it
would explain the anomalies of the Pacih coast climates.
The actual influence of our Great Lakes on the climate of
stations on the windward side is appreciable by the increased
cloudiness twenty miles from the shore, but not much beyond;
ita iduence on the temperature is only appreciable by the
prevention of early frosts by reason of the formation of cloud
and fog. The general influence of the Atlantic Ocean on the
weather of Great Britain, or 03 the Pacific Ocean on the
weather of northern California, Oregon, ancl TfTnshington is to
produce cloud, fog, and rain ancl thus aflect the temperature
indirectly. The direct effect of a rise or fall in the tempera-
ture of the ocean surface is analogous to the direct effect of
the changes in the temperature of a land surface. Both
should be expressible by an algebraic formula, consisting essen-
tially of two terms, viz: (1) a term expreseiug the heat given
back to the air by conduction and convection and radiation,
all of which, of course, is much larger by daytime and smaller
by night-time for the land as compared to the ocean, and (3)
a second term espressing the quantity of latent heat con-
veyed to the air by the evaporation of moisture, which on the
average of the day and night is greater for the ocean than for
the land. But when the lower layers of air thus warmed and
moistened have moved to a great distance horizontally or
vertically, or when, without much motion, this air is cooled
down by radiation, then the land air keeps clear longer than
the ocean air and it is this property that produces the great
variety of climates to the leeward of the water.
It will be interesting to compare the actual figures for the
monthly mean air temperatures on the west coast of Great
Britain and on the west coast of North America, nnd the follow-
ing table gives the figures as read off from the charts of Bar-
tholomew's Physical Atlas, Plate VI of the British Isles, and
Plate VI11 for the United States and Canada. We have taken
four representative points on the British coast, but only two on
the American coast, because the latter are so much farther south
in latitude that, strictly speaking, only the northerninost, viz,
Vancouver Island, latitude 50, should be compared with Lands
End, latitude 50'.
0
42.5
I?. 0
12.0 45.0
49.0
54.0
55. 5
56.0
54.0
49. 5 45.5
44.0
47.0
14.0
49.0
52.5 57.5 5!t 5
(io. U
57. 0
52.0
a. 0
46.0
51.5,
14.6
Great Britain.
49.5
53.0
58. 5 61.5
61.5
5Y. 0 54.6
49.0
46.0
52.5
16.0
Yvrt.h Ire- laud. Lat. 55".
0
42.0
#2.0 P. IJ
Ii. 0
51.0 55.0
58. 0
c58.0
55. 0
50.0
45.6
44.6
49.0
16.0
u. 5
45.5
46. U 46.0
Aiiierien.
;sueouvrr Lat. 5u0.
0
48.0
M. 0
43.0
4i. 0
49.0
56.0
55.0
57.6
49. I1
4s. 0
40.0
m. I1
15,0
54. 0
-. _-
Mouth of i'oliiinl B i a. Lat. ui9
0
40.0
42.0
41;. 0
49.0
55.0 5i. U
Go. u WJ. 0
57. 0
53.0 47.0
$2.6
50.0
20.0
. The general character of the weather is controlled princi-
pally by the vertical ascent or descent of the wind and by
ita northern or southern direction much more than by the
fact that it blows from the ocean. All winds that come from
the Pacific have suficient moisture to form rain and prevent
the occurrence of either extremely hot or estremely cold
weather, provided only they can be forced to rise up and be
cooled dynamically or blow northward and be cooled by radia-
tion. Both these causes conspire to form the winter rains on
the Pacific coast north of latitude 40, and also in Great
Britain north of latitude 50, but neither of them contribute
to the formation of rain at any time of the ordinary year south
of Han Francisco, Cal. , latitude 38".-C. A.
TREIES AS FOFUZOASTERS OF RAIN.
A correspondent writes:
People often say "it is a sign of rain when the wind blows up the
lesves so as to show the white lower side." What is the element of trut,h, if any, in this that has given rise to this current statement ?
Since there is no known nieteorological reason for the phe-
nomenon described, the question was submitted to the Chief
of the Bureau of Plant Industry, United 8tates Department of
Agriculture, and we give herewith the reply received from Mr.
A. F. Woods, Pathologist and Physiologist.
It is true that people often say that the turning up of the leaves Is a
sign of rain. I have heard the remark many times, but as far BP my
observations go the sign does not seem to be a very sure one. There are niany kinds of trees, like the silver-leaf poplars, in fact all the poplars, the maples, and some of the oaks, which turn their leaves up whenever there is a fairly strong, steady wind, but they do it as much in clear
weather as in rainy. It has been suggested to me that possibly the belief may have arisen from the fact that winds capable of turning leaves over
very often precede or follow rainstorms. and as people are usually on the alert when the general atmospheric conditions favor rain, looking lor signs to conflrm the general feeling they have that i t is going t o rain,
it might be that the turning up of the leaves would be especially noted
st such times.
---
METEOROLOGY IN ARGENTINA.
It is well linown that our countryman, Dr. B. A. Gould, of
Cambridge, Mass., after having established an astronomical
observatory in Argentina, turned his attention to climatology
~n t l inaugurated a ineteorological office, under the general
directorship of Mr. Walter G. Davis, who had accompanied
him from this country. After publishing about twenty annual
volumes of meteorological observations and climatological in-
vestigations, Mr. Davis has now succeeded in realizing the
great step in meteorology that has been taken by nearly every
other climatological bureau. He has namely, organized in
Buenos A-yres, under the Argentine Department of Agricul-
ture, B branch ofice that publishes a daily weather map based
on telegrams from all available points. A recent letter from
Mr. Davis states that-
Since the beginning of this year I have had m y time fully occupied in
getting the daily weather map service organized; it is now fairly started, but far from being complete. We have free use of the national telegraph
lines, as well as of nearly all the private railway wires, for the transmis- sion of the 2 p. m. observations. A t present there are nearly 70 statious
sending in complete observations and 350 pluviornetric: stations. Within the next few nionths I hope to have about 130 second-class stations and
a large increase in the rain-reporting stations. The observations are sent here (Buenos Ayres) and the maps printed in our own establishment.
The recent extension of the telegraph lines to the southern territories
has been a great boon to us froni a meteorological point of view; the coast line is now at Rio Gallegos, in Santa Cruz, and another branch is being constiwoted near the foot of the Cordillera from latitude 38O to 470 south, and then crosses the country to the dtlantic coast. This is a
most important line for us, ae i t will give us communication with the regionwhere nearly all the pamperos" have their birth and development.
No attempt has been made at forecasting, as I consider i t better to have some experience with the conditions as shown by the daily maps before . undertaking to do too much. I trust, however, that this branch of the
work will conic in due time.
The daily map published by the meteorological ofice at
Buenos Ayres makes a very imposing appearance. It is 16.2
inches high by 11.1 broad and extends between the forty-sixth
and seventy-seventh degrees of longitude west from Greenwich
and between the twenty-first and fifty-seventh degrees of south
316 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. JUNE, 1902
latitude. This region in the Southern Hemisphere corresponde
to a portion of the Northern Hemisphere, extending north and
south, between Turks Island, the Bahamas, and Nain, Labrador,
and, east and west, between the meridians of Washington, D. C.,
and Cape Farewell, Greenland. When this large region in the
Southern Hemisphere shall have had ita storms and pampe-
ros, its isobars and isotherms thoroughly studied, we shall
feel that a great advance has been made in the meteorology
of the globe.
We are not informed whether the daily weather map of the
Province of Buenos Ayres, published for ten years past by t h e
Observatory at La Plata, will be discontinued, but evidently
the much more comprehensive work of the general Depart-
ment of Agriculture must supersede that.
The elaborate presentation of Argentine climatology com-
piled by Dr. Davis for the official volume of statistics of that
republic is about to appear, in Spanish and English text, as a
special treatise by him on the climate of that region. The
climatology of Dr. Davis and his new daily weather map show
that the meteorology of the South Temperate Zone of America
is in excellent hands.-(,?: A.
DANCING DERVISHES OR DUST WHIRLS.
A correspondent from Statesville, N. C., under date of June
6, 1902, sends the following interesting description of a phe-
nomenon observed by him:
I have seen many whirlwinds but never before one like that observed yesterday about 3:30 p. in., mine 4 niiles south of Statesville. It con-
sisted of four separate whirlwinds which followed each other to the left around the center of a circle 10 or 15 feet in diameter, like horses going around a horse power thrashing machine. The whole circle also seemed
to be moving to the left and around the center of an enlarging coil. The motion was made apparent by dust taken up from the soil, and it could not well be seen above 10 or 15 feet from the ground. Sometimes. one
or more of the small whirls would rise so as not to be visible. but pres- ently it would touch the soil again in its regular place in the procession.
This beautiful and curious motion continued for five minutes or more over a spot only about 100 feet in diameter. It then advanced northward
the four whirls enlarging their circle to about 75 yards and then vanishing.
Dust whirls like that described above are not uncommon
in hot, dry regions like the interior of Africa or India. One was
observed in Kansas in 1897 (see MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW, Vol.
SSVII, p. l l l ), but they are not often seen in this country.
The following description from Whirls and Dust-Storms of
India, by P. F. H. Baddeley, London, 1860, may be of interest:
Another curious phenonienon is often observed in a slowly-moving whirlwind; instead of appearing as a simple column, the dust whirl in
contact with the ground, and for a few feet upward, is found to be com- posed of several distinct vortices, or spiral bodies, each one rotating on its axis as it revolves round and round the whirling circle. Each separate
vortex having attached to it in its horizontal section, the same kind of fan-shaped train of dust, as was before remarked with regard to the snialler whirlwind columns.
This remarkable sight, gives the idea of R fairy dance round a ring; and the motions are from all accounts, exactly imitated by the dancing Der- vishes of Turkey; one of their holy exercises being to whirl round and
round like a top; singly, or in company with several others, performing
at the same time a gyration round in a circle, as if their dance originated
in the very phenomenon now described. We may soinetinies watch this
motion for a length of time, without changing our position more than a few yards.
Buchan in his Handbook of Meteorology, London, 1868,
page 306, gives the following explanation of these dust whirls:
Whirlwinds are often originated in the Tropics during the hot season;
especially in flat, sandy deserts, which becoming unequally heated by the
sun, give rise to numerous ascending currents of air. In their mntact with each other, these ascending currents give rise t o eddies. thus pm-
ducing whirlwinds which carry up with them clouds of dust. Of this description are the du&ah6rlwiti& of India, which have been described and profusely illustrated by P. F. H. Badde1ey.-H. H. h-.
THE VARIATIONS OF THE TEMPERATURE OF THE FREE AIR AT ClREAT ALTITUDES.
In the MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW for September, 1899, Vol.
XXVII, p. 411, we published a translation of a memoir by
Monsieur L. Teisserenc de Bort communicating. the results
of over 100 balloon ascensions, made at his observatory at
Trappes, near Paris, for the purpose of investigating the tem-
perature of the upper air. Up to that time meteorologists had
generally assumed that as we ascend in the atmosphere not
only do the regular diurnal and annual ranges of tempera-
ture, but also the nonperiodic or irregular variations, steadily
diminish, so that we soon attain a region of uniform tempera-
ture. As a first result of the work of Teisserenc de Bort it
seemed likely that the nonperiodic variations diminished very
little with altitude so that we never attain a region in which
the air temperature remains constant throughout the year.
But a more careful esamination of these data by Assmann and
Berson, and especially their analysis of the temperatures ob-
served in the balloon ascensions made from Berlin, made it
evident that a region of uniform temperature, after all, may
exist, but much higher np than was formerly supposed. A
further contribution to this subject has lately been published
by Teisserenc cle Bort in the Comptes Rendus of the Paris
Academy of Sciences for April 28, 1902, Vol. CXSXIV, pp.
987-989, showing the variations of temperature actually ob-
served in the zone between 8 and 13 kilometers high; this
we present to our readers in the following translation.-C. A.
I have the honor to communicate to the Academy the results of the discussion of observations made during 236 ascents of sounding balloons sent up from my observatory for dynamic meteorology, and which rose
above 11 kilometers; 71 of them attained a height of 14 kilometers. These observations extend over several years and are distribnted throughout the various seasons. They permit US for the flrst time to
study the temperature of t.he atmosphere in the zone above a height of 10
kilometers, bringing to light new and unexpected facts, of which the following are the more striking:
1. In general the diminution of temperature with altitude increases
as we leave the lower layers and at.tains in the upper regions hitherto explored a value quite near t o that which corresponds to the adiabatic
rate in dry air, but this decrease, instead of going on proportionally as we ascend as was formerly assumed, passes throughamaximum, then diniinishes rapidly until it becomes nearly zero at an altitude which
in our region is on an average about 11 kilometers.
3. Starting with an altitude that varies between 8 and 12 kilometers, according t o the atmospheric condition. there begins a zone character-
ized by a very small rate of diminution of temperature, or even by a slight increase, with alternations of cooling and warming. W e are not
able to state precisely the thicknesr; of this zone, but, according t o the
observations already made, it would seem to amount to at least several kilometers. This is a fact OP which we were ignorant up to the present time, and it
deserves to be taken into very serious consideration in the study of the general circulation. I ought to add that these results are not in agree:
ment with many previous conclusions that had been based upon very
insumcient evidence.
By considering the daily atniospheria conditions, we shall at once per-
ceive that the point of inflection of the curve of temperatures varies within rather wide limits, between the altitudes 8 and 13 kilometers. This f a c t
has attracted my attention ever since the ascents of our sounding bal- loons at night-time furnished sufficiently accurate data. We quickly
recognized that the ascensions in which the temperature ceases to de- crease at an altitude of 8 or 9 kilonieters are made during weather that
is under the influence of barometric depressions, and that, on the con- trary, the ascensions during high pressure are characterized by an eleva-
tion of the zone where the temperature tends to beconie uniform.
I have given to the Physical Society of Paris, in niy communication of June 16, 1899, a very flne exaniple of this phenomenon. by comparing the
curves of the 14th and of the 23d of March, 1899; nevertheless as this result was absolutely new and contrary to theoretical predictions, I de- sired to multiply the experiments and overcome as far as possible the
many causes of error before presenting the results to the Academy. I had flrst to endeavor to secure ascensions, under dimcult circum-
stances, that should attain altitudes sufficient to assure that the phe- nomenon to be studied should not be conflned to the extreme or highest portion of the ascent of the balloon. As we approach the equilibrium
stage (where the balloon floats along horlzontally), the ventilation due to the ascending movement fails and we must fear the influence on the ther-
monieter of the radiat,ion from the sun and froni the balloon. as also the influence of the mass or sluggishness of the self-register itself. After
1 I have already explained to the Academy, in my note of 1898, the pre-
cautions taken in order to prevent the balloon from passing too rapidly in a vertical direction through the layers of air and to thus overcome the
sluggishness of the thermometers.