Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-11-18
Winter In The Northwest.
Northwestern Magazine,

Our correspondents IL the East often
;rouire about the winters in the North
rest, as if apprehensiye that they are so
;,clement and severe as to make life
5i.agrseable if not perilous. The general
balief that latitude determines climate, is
.he most difficult to meet in discussing
Northwestern weather. People who I'M
1erstand perfectly well that England has
az mild q winter season as Virginia, al
,4ouph lying III the latitude of Labrador,
Lave difficulty in comprehending that
western Washington and Oregon do not
have the rigorous seasons of Maine and
Massachusetts,, seeing that the latitude is
about the same. They know all about
tba Cuff Stream and its influence on the
climate of Western Europe, but they APP
near to know nothing of the Japan cur
rent, whose influence is as great on the
climate of the western coast of North
America.
1t is impossible to speak in general
terms of the winter in our Northwestern
states and territories, for the reason that
they differ widely in different sections of
this region. AS rule, the winters are
milder as one advances westward from
Minnesota, but this rule is modified by
the local effect of mountain ranges and
valleys, and by the situation of high, bleak
plateaux, exposed to the north wind
-Four climatic divisions might be roughly
outlined. The first, consisting of the
rlains country of Dakota and Western
Minnesota, has the lowest mean winter
temperature of any part of the United
States excepting Alaska. The cold spells
are always characterized, however, by a
peculiarly dry atmosphere and bright
sunshine, and there is less suffering when
the mercury goes down to 30 or 40 below
zero, than is experienced in the East
when there is damp cold wind and a
thermometric record of barely zero
Winter life is active and animated and
people do not grumble as much about the
cold as they do in states like Illinois or
Pennsylvania.
The second region is composed of the
valleys, plateaux and mountains of Mon
tana. The influence of the warm Pacific
coast winds, blowing through the de-
pressions in the Rocky Mountain ranges.
is felt to some extent, but the winters are
pretty sharp. There is usually a January
thaw, a rare event in Dakota and Min
nesota, and spring Is notably earlier
than in these regions. The elevation of
the agricultural valleys and the mining
camps has much TO do in determining
local climate as well of the direction and
height of the near mountain spurs or
ranges, Generally speaking, the winters
are not as trying as those of Northern
New York or even of Southern Wis
consin.
The third region embraces Eastern
Washington and that portion of Northern
Idaho lying west of Bitter Root Noun
tains. Here the winters are changeable,
snow rarely two weeks at time upon the
ground, and spring coming in February.
The months of December, January and
February might be compared with the
same months in Southern Ohio, Kentucky
and West Virginia. The Chinook winds,
wiping up the snow with surprising rapi-
dity, are the peculiar features of the win
ter weather.
Finally, there is the Puget Sound coun-
try in Washington, the Willamette Valley
in Oregon and the coast country in both,
while all lie west of the great climatic
wall of the Cascade Mountains. These
sections have winter climate which has
no parallel in the United States but close
ly resembles that of England and Ireland.
great deal of rain falls in drilling
showers, snow storms are rare and the
general range of the thermometer is from
ten below to twenty above the freezing
point.