New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-01-07
fBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIpUsEI

hear that the signal Service Bureaus hgures' "heh
published Will show that for continued Mgh temper
ature last month was almost without parallel IN te
list Of December observations The "oldest inhab-
uantr evervyyhere has acknowledged that such eX-
traordinary winter mdness goes beyond his earliest
r,coilcctions and for once the Oldest lnhaoltaht
veracity has remained unqucstoned. lhcte nave
been of course. winter months In occasional years
with unusually high averages Of temperature but no
one strecth Of unreasonable heat so continuous ana
so general has ever forced itself 50 dstressingy on
public attention. It's conjunction, too, with the
present outbreak of epidemic influenza will certainly
mark it a, one of the most notable weather VARIATIONS
in the annals Of the signal service.
The degree Of interest in the startling eccentricity
of last month, record can be measured 10 extent
by the unusual increase in the number oil letters vi
inquiry forwarded daily to General Grcely, the CHIEF
Of the Bureau. Correspondents from all over the
country have been asking for explanation OF the
extreme mdness OF the month just ended, ana nave
been sending in all sorts Of theories and suggestions
for official approval 1t has been seriously argued
that perhaps the American winter climate has changed
that the Gulf stream has moved further in'hore
and thus modified the meteorological conditions on
the eastern half OF the continent. Other causes
local and general. have been pushed 10 the front
/ General Grccly himself has formed a clear and con-
else theory Of the cause Of Dcccmber's mdne'S, ana
through his courtesy The Tribune IS enabled TO Law
before lis readers many interesting facts regarding
I the last months abnormal temperature WIN ""aV
VIII no doubt be accepted as a satisfactory eX
panation u its marked deviation from the average
record.
The high temperatures felt on the Atlantic scaboard.
n must be said AT the stlrt. extended generally over
the country, even greater departures from the De
/ ccnbcr mean being shown in the Mississippi Valley
Than east Of the Allcghanics. IN NewYOrk City,
except for one y-Dacember l4-the temperature
remained above the average for twei ty-three con-
ectutlyc days. from December 10 December 80.
The general excc-- "a, l. degrees In Washington
lor the same period the excess WAS Il degrees In
Atlanta IL wa, IG degrees In Jacksonville, whero
variations are perhaps less marked for any MONTH
tnc average increase only degrees Taking the
Western cities. Cincinnati! and Chicago were each l"
degrees ahead cleveland was II degrees and - Louis
- degree. Tie average departure from the De
,cmb.~ mean FOR tie whole country can only te
fgur,d out accurately when rct rms from all tho
+ sections come in. Lut II may be assumed, perlaI
with safety that it will reach at least 10 degrees
This. added 10 the general mean Of 3225 degrees
would make ~ desrcc5, a higher December average
than auy on the Bucau books.
Coincdcnt with this excess Of heat there has been
o marked decrease in the rainfall In most parts OF the
United State, In New-Yorl the departure was l.5o
inches fran tho average In Washington the falling on
wa, e93 inches, deficiency of 30 per cent IN
IyuclbIr- the Dc, ation vas 322; IN charlotte y C'
i.Gi. and I'm Cincinnati "a
! fore widespread and some general and FAR reaching
cause f,r them must be- looked for General Grecly
ard, 10 easy 10 account for both by the prevalence
| through December Of storms In m-h latitudes The
storm chart for last month shows only one disturbance
,d that A .ilsht one south of the Canadian border
/ ru, particalar storm started from Lake Erie on
December I4 and passed oG into tho Atlantic over the
! .,.,. r.r...y coast In New York that day the
Temperature went down to the average A. II dld III
Warrington also. During the rest Of the month no
/ e., than eight storms Of greater or less severity
pa,,cd across the Continent from west 10 east horth
II tc fortcth parallel Of latitude, and four Of them
w6rc entirely beyond the great lakes. Their passage
/ r ,n. direction oe the cuff 4 - Lawrence caused
steady current ~ air from the south and southwest
a,r,,. the Continent toward the disturbed areas IN
/ canada The December wind, blow usually from the
north and northwest ard are much colder Of course
than currents from lower latItudc,. The general
! circulation, ben. from parts Of the country least
affected bv rainfall the wind, were not only warm out
dr.. and All conditions consequently we're favorable
fl, hlri tcnuert ufcs up a. far the Canadian border
General Grrclys theory is readily borne out BY an
| examination Of the weather mapr Tor other mia
winter months. In December l--1, two storms Just
at tl, cuT - the month crossed the continent on the
par.tllcl If New York All the other, followed a
course through Canada ont To the coast OF Labrador
The same rule hold, good m most cases of continued
! c>trcul, heat in summer. storm, passing at high
latltudc- cause contIuuou, air currents I" bio" from
the south and -outhWc,t and the only escape from inc
heat they bring Is a storm lower parallel Ia start
"a couutcr-currc from the north ana northwest Inc
hot spell II July. l-7-. shows very similar conditions
Of the weather TO those that prevailed during Decem
bcr Three or four storms followed one another IN
-u,,e..on from west 10 east above the forty fifth
u,r,illcI 4 Iiter one In lower latitude made a vel
come break In the intensity Of the hot spell In the
same way IN l5sl four biz storms chased one another
/ acro,, Canada. while the dry southern and south
western winds parched the whole of the country be-
low the great lakes. Finally, storm IN the Gulf
state, brought some relief By changing the geherAl
direction Of the air currents.
The theory that the shifting Of the course of the
Gulf stream farther inshore caused the mild winter
weather be easily disposed Of Everything III
the condition shown by the figures for December Is
| inconsistent with such suppositon In the hrSt
place, the abnormal temperatures recorded were not
confined at all the Atlantic Coast, the departure
from the mean being more marked in the Mississippi
Valley than In the Atlantic states. The effect of n
change IN the cuff stream ought to have been felt on
tine scabonId more noticeably than In TIE west. Ihls
was 10, the ease. The same excess, too, was main
tanned in the Gulf state, which could not well have
been affected by changes in the temperature OF tho
| Atlantic.
Finally the winds, as already stated, were OF shore
during nearly all Of December They blew from the south
ana from the southwest almost continuously from
savannah 10 Passport and II the heat of the Gun
stream made Itself felt along the coast. II was In spite
of the prevailing air currents. which would naturally
have carried warmth of the waters further east into
the Atlantic ocean The case has thu, been stated III
| a paper recently prepared by one of the Weather
! Bureau officers
The only force Available to change the position OF the
! ouf str,am would be abnormal wind direction, and
this To be- apprecab would have to eAist for considerable
! time The normal direction of the winds from Florida
ne rth are from the and northwest During Decem
ber 1882 this direction from the southwest or
more I'm the general direct OF the course OF the stream
II this caused an increased velocity. IT, eastern component
would be glcater the tendency would b. I" move It's
position ther east, instead Of moving nearer the coast
Moreover A. has been shown the wind On the North At
antic Coast being fIon west the effect OF the stream