The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1877-11-09
Meteorological Record for October, 1877.

Maximum temperature on the 10Th, II de-
grees.
Minimum temperature on the 23d 81 degrees
Mean temperature of the month 1928 degrees
Mean temperature of October in the middle
states, for many years, as reported by the
Signal Service, $3.50 degrees. The frosts have
been very slight; tender vegetation is not yet
blighted. In some instances fruit trees, and
even grape vines, have put forth an autumn
bloom, as though Nature herself had suffered Il
deusion.
The greatest rain for many years fell on the
4th. The first day of the month was clear, but
with slowly falling barometer The mornings
of the I'd and Sd were misty, and the Sd darkly
cloudy all day. The wind had remained south
erly and eastwardly, but from the morning of
the first to the evening of the Sd The barometer
had fallen only one-fifth of an inch. During the
night OF the Sd the mercury in the barometer
sank down one-fourth of an inch, and was now
at point indicating serious disturbance in the
elements 1t commenced TO rain, with strong
southeast wind, about AZ o'clock, on the morn
ing of the 4th, and continued raining pretty
steadily but with no unusual violence all day
from an even misty sky, the winds blowing with
greater and greater force, and the barometer
gradually sinking. Some impending violence
either of rain or wind or both, was now certain.
AT twenty minutes past four the wind sudden
~ changed from s. 4. to North by East, and
blew with almost destructive violence while the
air seemed swaying cloud of water; every de-
preston gathered a rushing torrent and filled
the air with roar as of q sea. This great vio-
lence of rain continued less than 80 minutes
The barometer began to rise at ~ P. NJ, and
some stars were shining at SO, at which time
found in the rain gauge 500 inches. | estimate
that inches of this rain ft IL after o'clock.
hear that old high water marks on all the
streams were generally surpassed, one perhaps
excepted, attained many years ago. 1t is csii-
mated that $4,000 will not repair damages to
county property. The total of private losses is
very great, not easily estimated. Newly sown
wheat fields were torn TO pieces, and in some
cases almost washed away.
On the night of the 9Th of August 1873, be-
tween the hours of and in the morning, there
fell 400 inches of water This more nearly ap-
proaches the rain of the 4th inst, than any rain
l have record of.
In the storm of the 4th ult., between 2 O. clock
and o'clock, p. NJ, there was change of tenn.
perature of 10 degrees. This deluge of water
was doubtless owing to violent current of cold
dir from higher ATTITUDES blowing into warm
atmosphere saturated with moisture. The
capacity of the air to hold moisture was very
suddenly reduced by the fall of temperature,
and all the superintendent water at once thrown
down. The aggregate quantity and weight of
water falling in such q rain, pressed out of the
light invisible air where it was previously sus-
tanned, is one of the sublime features of such
phenomenon. Reckoning water at 1000
ounces to the cubic foot-the tabular weight of
distilled water-there fell on single acre, as
upon the grounds about this house, in that
storm, 1,154, rs lbs. or over 577 tons. Put
ting upon each two horse wagon one ton, and
allowing SO feet space for each wagon and team,
it would require more than three and thrce-fifths
miles of teams to carry off the water that fell
on single acre during that day.
Total rain for the month, ITO inches; average
rain fall for October for many years, g. 40 inches.
G. &C,
Oakland Boarding School.