Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-01-01

ice and layer of transpar.
ent ice. Thus the stone grows
with immense rapidity, and in few
minutes becomes large ball, three or four
inches in diameter. This oscillatory mo.
tion of the hailstones on the front Of the
hail-cloud was distinctly observed by NJ.
Lecoq in 1885 on the summit of mountain
in the southern part of France.
THE CAUSE OF STORMS.
Storms are caused by strong and ex.
tensive upward motion of the air, by which
means its vapor is condensed by the cold OF
elevation. The atmosphere receives heat
from the sun, and loses heat by radiation.
One'fourth of the rays of the sun are ab-
sorbed IN passing vertically through the
atmosphere. The remaining three.fonrths
are absorbed by the earth's surface, by
which means its temperature is raised, and
heat Is thence communicated to the air
which rests upon the earth. The atmos-
phere thus receives its heat chiefly at the
bottom, and in consequence of radiation
loses it most rapidly at the top. The dens-
ity of the air is diminished by an increase
OF heat The atmosphere is in a
state of unstable equilibrium, and
the lower strata tend continually to rise
and take the place of the upper. Such
ascending currents are formed on every
tranquil day. As the air ascends it comes
under diminished pressure and expands.
As it expands it cools at the rate of about
IS degrees for two miles of ascent This
ascending air carries with it the vapor
oh oNf h.
and if it rises high enough, the cold pro-
duced by expansion will condense a por-
ton of this vapor into cloud. The hight
to which air must ascend before it will be
cold enough to form cloud depends upon
the difference between the dew. point and
the temperature of the air. If the dew
point be 10 degrees below the temperature
of the air, cloud will begin to form when
the ascending current has risen about 500
feet.
THE WINTER STORMS
Commence gradually, and generally attain
their greatest violence only after a lapse of
several days. After certain period their
violence gradually diminishes, and at
length they disappear entirely. This sue
cession of changes requires a period of
or longer. Occasionally all these changes
are experienced over the same country !;
that IS, the storm makes no progress from
place to place. More commonly the storm
travels along the earths surface, and al.
though the same storm may continue for
one or two weeks, or even longer, it's
duration at any one place may not
exceed one or two days. Throughout the
middle ATTITUDES of this continent, where
violent storms advance with con-
siderable rapidity, the direction of
progress is always from west to east. The
rate of progress of storms vary from zero
to A miles per hour. They generally
travel from st. Louis to New York in
about "a hours, and from New York to
Newfoundland in another "a hours. While
they advance steadily eastward the wind
has every possible direction at different
places within the limits of the storm. At
places on the north side Of the center of
great storm the wind GENERALLY sets. in from
the north of east as the storm approaches !;
the northwest, backing round by the north
point. At places on the south side
of the center of the storm the wind
generally sets in from the south of
east as the storm approaches; as the
storm passes by. the wind changes
to the southwest, veering round by
the south point; the latter is exactly what
takes place here in the Sacramento valley,
which is an evidence that the storms CEN
ter is to the north of California, and that
we are always on the south side of the
storms center. II the storms center
passed to the south OF US we would have
mostly snow in winter inst cad of rain, for
in that case the wind would be northeast
in advance OF the storm, and as the storm
passes the wind would back to noIta and
then northwest; and those winds being
cold winds, we would have snow. The
snow we had last winter was from storms
whose center passed south of this valley.
PREDICTIONS OF THE WEATHER.
Relying upon the constancy of climate,
which has been established by observa-
zion, we may predict the probable general
character Of any month of the year. The
climate of a country remains permanently
the same from age to age. Observations
continued for an entire century, at various
places in the United States and Europe,
indicate no change in the mean tempera-
ture of the year, or that of the separate
months no change in the range Of the
thermometer no change in the time
of the last frost of spring or
the first frost Of autumn in the an
nual amount Of rain or snow, or in the
mean direction of the wind. 1t is not
certain that the climate of any country,
in either of these respects, has changed
appreciably in two thousand years. By
the destruction OF forests the earth is more
directly exposed to the rays of the sun
the moisture of the ground is more readily
evaporated streams more frequently dry
up in summer, and droughts become more
frequent and severe. But these changes
do not seem to affect, in sensible
manner, the mean temperature of any
place, or the annual amount of rainfall
Assuming, then, the established constancy
of climate, we can predict beforehand the
probable character of any month of the
year. Thus at Sacramento the probable
mean temperature of any future December
will be AZ degrees. We may be tolerably
sure that it will not be higher than 81 de.
grees nor lower than 43 degrees that the
entire seasonal rainfall will not exceed 81
inches, and will not be less than 5 inches
IN any future year.
EQUALIZATION OF TEMPERATURE.
If several months in succession have been
warm or unusually cold, in
stead of concluding that the climate has
changed. and that the sue.
ceedipg months will be similar in charac-
ter, we should rather anticipate months of
the opposite description, since the mean
of the year fuctuates within
very narrow limits, and the longer period
OF unusually warm weather continues, the
greater is the probability that the succeed
ing months will be unusually cold. Pre-
dictions of this kind are legitimate deduc-
tions from scientific data. When we
are restricted to observations at one
locality, our predictions of the weather
must needs be more uncertain, and the
to be derived from motion of
instruments are not the
same for all parts of the world. A consid-
cradle and rapid depression of the baron.
eter, for instance fall of three quarters OF
an inch in twenty.four hours, indicates an
approaching storm, with rain or snow.
A rapid rise of the barometer in
dicates unsettled weather; a slow
rise indicates fair weather. The
result of all rapid changes in the
weather, or in any of the instrumental in
is brief in duration, while that of