Morning journal and courier., 1888-08-23
THE MARCH BLIxZARD.

Am Interesting Scientific Resume
Where was tho Thirty-eIght Feet
High snow Drift.
A subscriber says; "The following from the
New York Evening Post recently, will inter-
est many hereabouts. who wildly remember
the blizzard of March last. The article, which
/ is of scientific nature. says one snow drift
near New Haven measured thirty eight feet
in hight. Does anyone remember where that
astonishing drift was. We not prepared
to dispute it, but the figures look to me
Iarge:''
Professor Winslow Upton of Rrown uni
Yersity, as secretary of the New England
meteorological society, has been conducting
an investigation of the great storm Of the
11th-14th of March last, aided by grant
from the trustees of the Elizabeth Thompson
science fund. While the storm possessed an
exceptional interest for the general public, it
is found to have not less for the metorologist
also. Its peculiar characteristics were ~ the
rapidity with which its energy was develop
ed, (2) the excessive precipitation, chiefly in
the fall of snow, and 80 the fact of its maxi
mum intensity was limited to a relatively
small area. This lay in the south of New
England, where, fortunately, there were
abundant observers. Professor Upton's dis
cussion was based upon more than 500 re-
ports, about one-half of which were furnish
ed by the regular observers of the society,
thirteen being observers of the United States
signal service, while about one-tenth came
from vessels of the coast, through Comman-
der Bartlett, the photographer of the navy.
On the morning of the 10th of March an
elliptical depression extended from Arkansas
northerIy, and during the day the double cy-
clone moved easterly, the southern center adj
vancing in the course of twenty -four hours
from point near St. Louis to Georgia. The
two center were now well defined as separate
cyclones, the northern one lying over On
tario, and the precipitation being light snow
or rain During the 18th the northern cyclone
passed beyond the region of the reports, and
was followed by cold wave with tempera-
lures 10 to 80 degrees lower than that of the
cyclone itself, and which advanced over
the lake region toward New England. Mean
time, the northeasterly advance of the south
ern cyclone was attended with heavy rains
and rapidly increased in intensity. Rain and
snow began to fall in New England, winds of
increasing violence prevailed on the coast
and ON the night of the 18th the storm cen.
ter was near Nantucket. Here it ceased its
northeasterly course and advanced slowly to-
ward the west, over Rhode Island and Con-
necticut, and losing its intensity, until the
morning of the 14th, when the cyclone was
no longer well defined. This storm thus af
fords an example of well developed cyclone
changing its course and ceasing to exist over
southern New England.
Professor Upton's charts, reproduced in
the American Meteorological Journal, fully
illustrate all the observational data. Maxi
mum wind velocities were recorded at coast
stations on the 18th and 18th, reaching as
high as seventy-two miles, and resulting in
great damage, ia the winds direction lay
toward the shore. The precipitation, every
where excessive, was almost wholly snow to
the west of the meridian OF New London,
and piled in immense drifts, making even its
approximate measurement impossible. In
central Connecticut and large part of east
ern New York, the average fall of snow ap-
pears to have exceeded forty inches, while in
1 the western half of Massachusetts, and nearly
4 the whole of Connecticut the evsrage depth
| of unmelted snow was about thirty inches.
In the southeast of Massachusetts the
l fall was almost wholly rain.
Snowdrifts actually measured showed
astonishing depths-from 10 to 40 feet in
Dutchess county, N. Y, and 38 feet near
New Haven. Middletown, in the same State,
reported the maximum precipitation of 6.7e
| inches. In the history of the progress of the
temperatures during this storm, Prof. Upton
finds an explanation of several of its remark
able features As cold wave advances anti
cycIonic conditions are usual, but the fall in
temperature on this occasion was attended
with strong southerly wind, due to cyclsnic
circulation. The arrival of the cold ares
| from the west probably caused the detection
l of the cyclone from its original track, q rela-
| lively rare occurrence. In this case the de
Election exceeded 90 degrees, and the cyclone
l was drawn directly toward the cold area
| Thus the Cyclone and the cold wave met
/ in mortal combat and fought tragic duel
| in which both combatants came to an I'M.
1 timely end.