14
valley, 80.9 ; Lower Missouri valley, 76.8 : Northeru Pacific region, 86.1 ; Central Pacific coast region,
83.9 ; Pouthern Pacific coast reginu, 83.9. There were 20 ornissioua to predict out of 3,790, or 0.54 per
cent. Of the-3,670 predictions that have been made, 89, or 4.42 per cent, are considered to have entirely
failed ; 169, or 4.60 per cent, were one-fourth verified ; 544, or 14.82 per cent, were one-half verified ; 647,
or 17.63 per cent, were three-fourths verified ; 2,321, or 62.51 per cent, were fully verified, so far as can be
ascertained from the tri-daily weather maps.
&donary Signa/s.-292 Cautionary Signals were displayed during the mouth, of which 254, or 8i.O
per cent., were justified by winds of 25 niiles per hour or over at, or within a radius of 100 miles of the
etation. 104 OSshore Signals were displayed, of which 91, or 87.5 per cent, were fully jiistified; 96, or 93.3
per cent, were justified as to velocity ; 94, or 90.4 per cent as to ilirectiou ; and 5 , or 4.8 per cent, were
not justified either ns to direction or velocity. 396 Signals of both kinds were displayed, of which 345, or 87.1 per cent, were fully justified. The above
does not include signals ordered for 50 disp1:iy stations, where the velocity is ouly estimated. 89 cases of
winds of 25 miles and over per hour, from scattering stations, were reported. a d for which signals had
not been ordered.
45 of the O f -h r e were changed from Cautionary.
N A V I G A T I O N ,
I11 the table on the right-liancl side of chart No. 111 are given the higheat and lowest readings of
the Signnl Service river gauges for the month, with the dates of' the same. The Red River a t Rhreve-
port fell dowly throughout the month. The ArHat~ae a t Little Rock rcinained comparatively low through-
out the month, the highest water occurring on tlie9th ; at Fort Gibsou ou the 3rd G r a d River was higher
than for 2 years past. Iu tlie Mksouri the highest water occurred at Omaha ou the 6th aud Leavenworth
on the 7th ; the water fell about 7 feet a t former and 5 feet a t latter station diiriug the following week, sild
remained alniost etatiolrary to end of' mouth. The Missis.q@pi from St. Paul to Keokuk had its lowest
water on the lst, after which it rose somewhat, but did not preseut any very high water throughout the
month ; the observer at Dubuque, however, reports the watcr on the 17th and 1Wi the highest since 1875;
at Cairo the water fell from the 1st to the 16th ; remnined almost stationary to the 29th, wheu a rapid rise
set in from the Ohio ; a t Memphis i t fell throughout the inontli ; at Viclisburg and New Orleaus the water
continued very high and above the danger-line throughouc the entire month and much damage nccurred,
which is noted uurler " Floods." The Ohio a t Pittsburgh, Cincinnati aud Louisville fell slnwly from
1st to 23d or 24th ; after which a rapid rise occurred, reaching the maximum at Pittsburgh on the 37th, Cin-
cinnati 011 the 29th and Louisville on the 30th. The Cumberland a t Nashville generally fell until the 15th,
rose to its highest point by the 20th aud fell to end. The Teimessee at Cliattanooga had the highest water
on the 5th, fell to the 15th and after a slight rise remained almost stationary to end.
Ice in River nnd Hurbw, &.-The following notes on the breaking up of ice and opening of navigation
are reported by observers : Mimouri.-Ft. Hale, Dak., 9tl1, first steamboat. Omaha, 5th, navightion
opened ; 23rd, fiixt steamer up. Leavenworth, 6th, first steamer. M&&+pi.-St. Paul, l&h, first steam-
boat arrived. Red River of the North.-Pembina, 16tl1, ice moved, and on 23rd went out and navigation
opened. 27th, first steamboat. Lake &perior.-Duluth, 15th, ice broke up iu lake, but on 22nd the
harbor was again filled with ice. Marquette, l l t h , ice broke around docks ; steamers and barges arrived
on the 28th. Lake Michigan.-Escauaba, 13th, the first steamers broke their way through the ice.
Lake Huron.-On the 6th the first fleet of vessels coming through Mtikinac straits arrived at Port Huron.
f i e Cam-d-opened a t Rochester on the l'ith, aud Alhauy on the 19th. At Buffalo canal navigatiou
opened on the 20th. Lake ChampZaili.-Burlington, floating
ice in lake and harbor to the 8th. Kenviebee River.-Gardiner, Me., open on 3rd, first steamer on 6th.
Closed 110 days.
At. Buffalo, N. Y., on the loth, the water in Lake Erie r w
6 feet, and was higher than for 20 years past.
Otaego Lake.-C'oopeistowu. 7th. lake open.
Lake Mmsabeaie.--iuhurn, N. H., 9th, free of ice.
High Edes.-Baltimore, 30th, very high.
Low fldes.-New River, N. C., 15th, very low.
The temperature of water as observed iu rivers aud harbors, with average depth a t which observations
were taken, is given in the table on the left-hand side of chart No. 11. A t the following stations observa-
tions were not made, either on account of ice or loss of thermometer, on the dates indicated : Alpena, 1st to
16th ; Escanab:i, 1st to 19th ; Msrquette, 1st to loth, 16th and 17th ; San Fraucisco, 2nd to 30th. Lake too rough for observation at Cleveland, 10th aud 11th. At Chincoteague, Va., observations were commend
on the 14th. The March temperatures for Paiita Rassa are : Max., 80" ; ruiu., 68" ; average depth, 13 feet.
Thunder-starms were of remarkable frequency duriug the inontb, but lack of space prevents their
enumeration in detail.
Aurorm.-During April, 1880, two general displays occurred-nn the 1st and 28th, in each c u e ex-
tending from Eastport, Maine to Biemarck, Dakota ; New Haveu was the most southerly station reporting
on either date. On the 1st the display generally prevailed from 9 p. m., Washington mean time, till after midnight. Eastport, Me., bright ellow ; arch, 40' altitude. Grafion, N. H., faint white. Windsor, Vt.,
faint diffuse light, changing to a r d 18" high, with segment. Burlington, Vt., bright diffuse arch of light,
T E M P E R A T U R E OF W A T E R ,
A T M O S P H E R I C E L E C T R I C I T Y .
pale straw color. New Haven, arch of pale white light 10" alt., 30" itziruuth. Newburyport., Mti.ss., hright
rcegnieut. 15" azimuth. with quiveriug inotiou. raya sliwtiug u ~)~:i r r l to 20" ait. Waterburg, N. I-., 10' alt.
North Voluey and Argyle, N. Y., diffuse Light. Buffalo, faiut motionleaa
light above a dark segment of 20' alt ... 6" breadth aurl from 160' to 200.azimotli ; beams brighter near
midnight. Marquette, Mich., CTint. PemI)iua, Ilak.. l~road band of brilliant white light from 170" to 270'
az., aJtitude, 30". Sometimes :I secoud arch f'ornied 10" uuder the tirst ; a t sech times the upper arch faded
while the second rose with incrensirtg brilliauce, occasioually seudiug rays of short duratiou upward acrose
the first arch. 28th.-The display gen-
erally prevailed Boni 8 p. in., Washiiigtrlu menu time till after midnight. Eastport. Me., arch from NW. to
NE.; ah. 35O. Gardiner, Me., faint, wit1ii)ut beam. 60' az. Cambridge, M~Lw., suspected. Qraf'tnn, N.H., verv
bright. Burliugt~~n. Vt.. pile em3r.thI green 1i;iit of 111 rrkzd iiiteiisity ; a tl:trk q t n e u t t i n t 1 briglit arch with
frequent strearner.~ changing ti x r ruii-lttiglit to steiidy light.. X'evv H:iven. w r t l l tlcfitied d:rrk ~egtnent almost
black, with no arch or cciiwn : color Jelicate rnae ; sti.e:iiiters i ~t ' steady light with variarhle brightness and
altitude occa~irmnlly shontiug up to 305. Pem-
bina, from l i O o to 260" nz., pale iliffit.*e light with iio 11ist.iuct. ~~u t l i i i r ~ ; ligh hc.ing brightest a t its summit,
40'. Bisiiiarck. Diik., K r i t i i .: altitu~le 10'; o w stationary
heam in NNE. sect.iou. Grafton, N. H.,
and Burliugtou. Vt., bright arch with fe\v stre:iiii'er~, brit no il:rrk segriient. 4th, t i t Penibiuii, Dak., faint. The following reporb, .ilfjwrA. wrre receicrtl b)(J late fiir piblicaticm in that .Rroiew : Eola,
Oregon, Gth, very 8,iuc. Tltree
parallel :rrches, two upper very distiiict, lonest. faint.. Twelve luminous i)ems shot i i p v ~r i ~ From t.he highest
arch. 17tl1, 10 p. m., liistiug 40 iniuutes, :rurora nreh of irregular ~i i t l siitii~~iis I)a.ni-ls of varinble c11rvi:s. with rapid uu-
dulatiug iuotiou t'rom E. to W. Thorn-
ville, Jiich., l i t h , 9 to 10 p. in., rew benms, no dcrk scgnieiit.. In c:inuectiim with the extrusive display
(from Maine to Montana) of 3Inrch 2ith it is uotcd :I$ r i f interest that a t !) 1). 111. 311 :iiirora was seen at
Edinburgh, 8aotland. I t w ~r l a loa arch of quiescent light, breiilting up at 11 1). 111. i i i t ~i bright pellets,
which sent up\raids fiiiiiter rays, and then grarlu~lly tlis:ipp:irc:il.
Atmospheric ~eetric~~~.--embiu:i, D~ik., 31 d, rliiring a snow storm ti coustnut banit of fiaine, accom-
pai,ied by ti loud buzziug sound, coutiitued for uesrlp an hour between the poiuts of the lightning arrester.
Omaha, 13th, telegraph wire highly uharg~d with dectricity for whole day during a violeut dust-storm.
M:. Washington, N. H., loth, strong shocks of elri*tricity felt from nneniometer through two p:iir mittens,
one of huckskiu.
Oswego, tliffiise yellow light.
Bismarck, segment of' ~~c~l~ulous light, 15" alt., with few streamers.
Ardeiiia, Wirtdxirg nut1 Brgylc, N. P., h i n t xiiil rliffiise.
Light brilliant enough to ca3t IL faint SII:I~IIJIV.
On the 9utl :i tlis1il:iy wiw visible :it ;' wtport., Ale., pale yt:llow.
Ft. Assiiiaboine, bfontan:~, l%h, 9.15 p. in., esteii~liiig f r ~m E. to W.
One bcani restmblcttl a blui5h flatne, t i i i d c~intiiiued with great r y h t l o r f i i r 45 iniitutes.
Bright heams shot iip~:ird from :irch? li\stiug but few iiiomeuts.
M I S C E L L A N E O U S P H E N O M E N A , &meik.--The cha.ract.eristics of the sky a t sunset as indicative of drir or foul w~:ather for tlie succeed-
ing tweuty-four hours have been observed a t all Signal Service Stations. Reports froin 133 stations show
8,901 observations to have been mnde, of which 30 were reported doubtful ; of the remainder, 3,266 or 84.3
per cent. were followed by the expectell weather.
Zodimal Liyht.- Iarvard College, Caniliridge, Mass., looked fhr daily ; distinct, 5th. 8th : visibie, 'ith,
10th ; suspected, 26th. Wytheville, Va., 4th, 5th ; very bright, broad coue, 8th. Mr. Chas. rlareelbriuk,
observer, a t Havaua, Cuba, reports : April lst, X p. m., visible aboi~t ?OJ abovc horizi~n, of irregu1:ir elliptical
shape, with large axis, inclined to north ; 8:15 1). m., dirninished aud, at 9 p. m., disappeared. 3rd, light
glare, of trian~ular &ape, from Y:30 to 9:% p. in. 6th, light, fairly visihle, about 7335 p. n -s t a n d s about 2 7 O
high-without determined shape, and inched (2" to 3") to north; after 8:15 . ni. indifferent glare till
disappenranc?. The following are a number of conclusioas arrived ut by dr. Hasaelbriuk. (,lj The
zodiacal light is visible at Havauib whenever the circuinstauces are favorable. that is, wheu there is iieither
cloudiness nor inooushine ; (.2) it presents R transluceut, reddish, yellowish veil, which p d y or feebly
masks the sky, and when it decreases in brightness varioiis st:irs become visible ; (.Si the intermittence in
its inteusity is characteristic, can be noted always, aud is geueraily surprisiugly sudden-every increase of
light seems R rapid effluvium ; I 4) the erteusiou and form vary : sometimes it stauds about -10" above horizon,
and has somewliat the shape of au isosceles triangle. a t other tiuies it does uot rise above 30, widening at
base and approaching equilateral triangle : (5 ) the light generally exceeds iu brightness that of the milky
way, and has a different ch:iracter, being more uuifi~rin: (6 ) the duratiou is from 1) to 4,hours; (7) direc-
tion of axis of light not yet de~ermined-it appews tit times iuclined towards the north, a t times has the
sanie iucl iuat iou towards the so ti th , aud some tiiiies a p pears pwpeudicu lar.
Meteors.-Woodstock, Mil., %th, N:4O p. M., greenish color, hrge uiicleus ; e s loded, but uo uoise heard.
Cape Henry, Va., lst, 10 p. IU., lightiug u p eutire heaveus : come from SE. to b, visible 8 seconds ; color
pale blue, leaving train of bright yellow ; exploded 35" above horizon ; no noise heard.
&tar and Lmar Halos were reported iii too large a number during April to permit of their enumera-
tion in detail.
Prairie u9id J'weclt Fi~es.-Iu the vicinity of Lincoln, Sussex Co., Del., 13th, 5,000 acres burned over the,
first day. Pike and Monroe Cos, Pa., 14th, assumed alariuiug eroportions ; 25th, broke out afresh, causing
great destruction of timber. In Mouroe Co. nearly 2,000 acres burued over. Ocean Co., N. J., 14th, inost extensive for years, area burnt over estimated at 60 squnre miles, extending from Bricksburg to Mancheater ;
18th, broke out again ; Cape Msy aud Cumberland Cos., 19th, disastrous fires broke out at Millville, Belle