The Portland daily press., 1884-09-11
The Anomalous Summer.

Though the ''harvest NOON has begun to
wane, the summer of 1884 has up to yester-
day tenaciously held sway over almost every
section of the country. 1t has from the be-
ginning been season marked by anomalies.
On the Pacific coast, where usually the sum-
mer rains hardly suffice TO wet the gauges,
the rainfall for last June was at some points
greater than ever known. At one period it
was relatively cold in the torrid region of
the Gulf of Mexico and most unduly warm
in the frigid Northwest. Comparatively I'M
fruitful in the grand tornadoes, it was rich
in local transforms, though in the South
west it was droughty season. In the all
important element of temperature its de-
velopment was equally eccentric, the mid
summer being characterized by 'cool waves
surging down from the eastern Rocky Noun
tain slopes; and when the season, astronom-
ically speaking, had closed, its powerful re-
serve force was displayed in the recent glow
ing "warm waves" extending from the
great plain to the Atlantic.
The meteorological reports for this por
ton of the middle Atlantic seaboard shows
that until the second week of August the
summer of 1884 was remarkably cool. The
average heat of June was slightly below the
usual figures for the Middle States, and
three degrees below for all the Southern
States and Tennessee. The mean tempera-
ture at New York for July was 71o-the
lowest mean recorded here in thirteen years.
In Philadelphia the mean temperature of
July, as given by the Public Ledger, is lis,
which is also the lowest recorded there for
thirteen years. The August returns show
that the thermal mean in Philadelphia and
New York was also little below the average
for that month.
On June Is the Herald representations
for the summer stated that from all meteor
illogical data now within reach, the proba-
bilities are that the coming summer will
not be marked by excessively high mean
temperature Gin the lake districts, nor gen.
orally on the eastern side of the country
north of the Carolinas and Tennessee"
The observations already published prove
that the latter part of this forecast has been
fulfilled. The premonitions which we gave
the public in June-that the "cool waves"
might be expected to recur till July Is, and
that there was no need to rush to the sea-
side and mountain resorts-were also justi-
fed by the very conspicuous midsummer
GOODNESS. August rains were by no means
as copious aud diffased as those which fell
in July in many portions Of the country.
Over large area of the Northwest, in the
Southwest and in part of the Ohio Valley
the August drought was serious, though the
farmers In some sections may find the old
adage true
Dry August and warm
Doth harvest no harm,
Within the arctic circle ''the midnight
sun" has now lost his power, and the forces
of congelation are getting into play. But
the first effect of this change is small in our
latitudes. The probabilities now are that,
with two or three "cool waves' intervening,
which will cause frosts in the Northwest
and northern New England (but not SO
heavy as those of last September), the aver
age temperature of the present month will
be higher than it usually is in the sections
east of the Mississippi river 1t is also prob
able that during the next two or three
weeks exceptionally heavy rainfalls will &C.
cur in the Northwest and the upper Misss-
sippi and lower Missouri valleys, and rather
deficient precipitation on the Atlantic sea-
board, except in the event of the passage of
more than one hurricane emerging from the
tropics. In the absence of distinct indica-
lions of these much dreaded ocean distur-
Dances, it seems premature to say anything
definite as to when one of them may be
heard from. But, looking at the recent ex-
ceptional meteorological changes on the
continent and the period of the year, IL is
highly probable that West Indian cyclone
rrYstI 1xau Il - - an.