Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-01-10
Mean extremes

The first column gives the mean temper
ature of each month. The second column
gives the mean of the extreme tempera-
lures of the months. From this column
we infer that the Thermometer is likely to
reach 60 degrees in January, that it may
go still higher, or may not reach &C.. tits
equally probable that it will go above and
below. 1t is also equally probable that
the Thermometer will go below %, and not
so low as 0'.
The rscaa temperature OF the eoldest
day in January, for Neutrality-suspicious., will
seldom be so low as O.. The springs at
and about Knoxville give an almost uni
form temperature of 57a', which agrees
very closely with the mean temperature as
derived from observations. The warmest
day of the year has generally been in July,
and the warmest week in August
It will be seen from an inspection of the
above table, that the temperature hasnever
reached 1909 Fahrenheit during the warm
est terms of the years included in the ta-
ble-a temperature frequently reached in
the most northerly of the Northern States
and in Canada. The hottest day of which
we have record was in July, 1860, when
the mercury rose to 990. The coldest day
we have had in East Tennessee since 1885
was on the morning of the 24th of last De-
cember, whel the mercury sank to ! degree
below zero. These observations have been
made by a reliable instrument, and are ac-
curate.
Any of our readers can compare these
observations with their own climate,
and they will see the advantages we
claim. Do they live in Maine, they have
hotter and much colder days than we have.
Thus, at Portland, Maine, on the 5th July,
1868, the mercury rose to 98o-11Oo-940
so, at least, it was reported. Do they live
in Florida, they have days hotter and some
as cold as any we have reported.
The summary of these figures, then,
shows the mean temperature for the year
at 570; the average for summer 740; the
average for winter 3So.
This exceptional climate is due to the
winds and peculiar confguration of the
section. The Cumberland Table land for
example, extends further towards the
Equator than any country in Europe, and
were it not for its conhguration, its sum-
mers would be very long and hot, and its
winters very mild-such as the climate of
Italy, Greece or Spain.
THE SEASONS.
Our winters, on an average, begin to-
wards the latter part of December, and end
before March. Even during this time, we
have some very genial, sunshiny days.
For example, in the January of 1859 there
were sirtesn days when the soil was in
condition for plowing, and every one of it's
thirty-one days pleasant for outdoor work.
The cold GENES i'm what we generally call
snaps, and lasts on an average but few
days consecutively. Snow rarely falls
three inches deep and seldom lays over
three days. Ice on s ill water seldom
freezes over three inches; some winters
it is difficult to find it thick enough to
store away for the summer. January is
generally the rainiest month in the year.
as will be seen from the table given above.
The spring commences at the end of
February and extends to the 1st of June.
February frequently gives fine weather for
planting early garden vegetables. June,
July, August and September are the sum-
mer months