Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-23

Inc lowest temperature reached IN the
winter, 1878, occurred on January 3, 1878,
when it was at 27', or 81 below freezing. The
period of low temperature at this time con-
tinued from January LIST to January 9th,
each night registering below freezing point,
while during the days the thermometer
ranged as high As 81 The lowest point
reached during that winter outside of this
cold spell was in December, when the Their
mometer stood at 30', or freezing point on
the 3lst, but which was in reality part of
this low period of January. The mean tenn
perature of December was 4S', and in Jan
uary it was 49,.
The lowest temperature during the winter
of 1888 occurred on December go, 1873,
when the thermometer stood at 23'-the low
est point registered since the Signal Office
was established in this city. The period of
low temperature at this time commenced at
rs on the 10Th of that month and suddenly
changed after the 29th, and only reaching as
low So on the 30th. During this cold
wave the temperature in the daytime raised
as high as 50 on the Doth, being the same day
upon which the unusually low point occurred.
Another period of low temperature was ex-
perienced during the following month, COM
mencing on January 18th and ending on the
Goth, the cold each night, with one exception,
reaching below freezing point, the lowest be-
ing at 90 on January 16.h. The mean tenn
! perature for December, 1873, was 460, and for
January As while on the Sd day of Deem
Der, 1873, the maximum OF heat was co. and
in January, 1879, it reached So on the 24th.
! The lowest period of temperature thus far
! the present winter commenced on the 23d of
| December and continued to January I'd, dur
ing which time, with one exception, the
| thermometer registered below freezing every
night, and on the 2fth and Goth of December
,taIo lou l,1,, f,oo
1 The highest temperature during these eleven
| days was 46' on January I'd, while the average
OF highest temperature during this cold spell
was 49,.
In this period of eleven days is included all
the low temperature of the present winter in
which the thermometer has registered as low
as 80, except on the morning of the 18th in
slant, when the temperature was 81; but
this low state was not continued and So ON
the following morning was the lowest since
that date. The mean temperature for De-
cember, 1879, was IL, and the mean temper
ature for the first twenty-one days of the
present month has been precisely the same as
that for December. As further comparison
Of the winter seasons, for the period since the
Signal ONCE was established i'll this city, it
may be stated that the average of lowest
daily temperatures for the month of Decem-
Der, 1871, was S9'; for January, 1875 ~;
for December, 1873, So; for January, 1879,
So; for December, 1879, So.
The present winter has been commonly de-
nominated as the coolest of the past twenty
five years, and that even by the "oldest in
habitaut," but it will be observed that at no
time during the present winter has the tenn
perature reached as low point by two de-
grees as on December IS, 1873, when it stood
at %. Those no have noticed the unusual
effects of the freezing the present winter
upon the foliage of semi tropical plants and
trees, have observed, and correctly, that in
jury by the frosts the present winter is
| much greater than last winter, and from
this naturally conclude that it is because of
! lower temperature. This is not, however,
the case, as has been shown, and the cause OF
the greater injury and apparent harder freez
ing this winter arises from the continuation
for several days Of unusual low temperature,
and not upon the extreme low point reached
! upon single day. At the time in Decem-
| Der, 1873, when the extreme low temperature
Of % was reached (2' lower than the present
winter), the period of low temperature only
covered four days, and the extreme low tenn
perature only occurred upon one day, the
morning of the 10Th, while upon the same
day it rose to 52', and on the succeeding night
the mercury only fell to 3S'. The period of
low temperature during the present winter,
as has already been mentioned, continued for
eleven days, commencing on December 23d
and ending January 81. The lowest tempera-
ture during this time was on the 9th and
10Th ofDecember, on both of which days the
thermometer registered 25', but it will
be observed that following these two days
of greatest cold, instead of sudden change
to high temperature, as in December, 1878,
the period of low temperature continued for
seven days thereafter, and in this fact is to
be found the solution of the greater injury to
vegetation during the present winter than
that produced in 1873 by lower degree of
temperature These figures in relation to
temperature are taken from the self.register-
ing thermometers OF the United States Sig
nal Service, which are of the most accurate
standard in use, and which. from their eleva-
ton to a point OF about 80 feet above the
earth's surface, will somewhat vary from
thermometers located near the ground. The
perfect accuracy of registering and the su-
periority of the Signal Service records for
making comparisons renders deductions from
them unquestionable.