The record-union., 1893-08-12
LOCAL WEATHER. CHANGES.
Signs Of Approaching Storms at Sac
ramentO.
How Their Coming May be known Be-
acknowledgements Article
on the Subject.

In the last monthly bulletin issued by
Director Barwick of the State Weather
Service appears the following article, pre-
pared by authority of the Chief of the
Weather Bureau at Washington, d. c.:
a storm of any degree of severity need
not be looked for, anticipated, or ex-
pected, unless brisk to high southerly or
southeasterly winds blow at the rate of
from twenty to thirty miles per hour,
and the clouds move from the southeast,
accompanied by falling barometer. The
storm will last as long as the clouds
move from the southeast. When the
cloud movement veers to the south the
weather becomes showery, while the
winds direction may still remain in the
southeast. When the clouds begin NOV
ing from the southwest, the storm is
practically over and clearing or cessation
of rain may be looked for. The winds
direction follows the cloud movement
slowly, tagging behind several hours;
that is, the cloud movement veers to the
south and southwest before the wind does.
The approach Of a storm here, as else
where, is usually preceded from twelve
to twenty-four and sometimes thirty-six
hours by cirrus clouds. If the storm
center moves from the northwest in a
southerly direction, then the cirrus
clouds soon form into cirro-stratus, and
very frequently before the approaching
storm affects the barometer.
The wind is usually from the north
during the day and from the south at
night, and as the storm approaches the
wind will remain in the south, increas-
ing in velocity, and at the same time the
moisture in the atmosphere will very
perceptibly increase. If the storm is one
OF severity the clouds win begin moving
rapidly from the southeast, descending
toward the earth's surface until they are
quite low, forming ''scud" clouds, from
which precipitation soon begins. This gen
orally follows in from eighteen to thirty
six hours after the first cirrus clouds
make their appearance. At times cirrus
and cirro-stratus clouds may form and
give every indication of rain, but unless
brisk to high southe2sterly winds blow,
10 rain OF any account need be looked
for. A storm center to the north of Cal
liornla passing eastward will cause
clouds to form and the barometer 10 fall,
with fresh to brisk southerly winds blow
ing, but if the clouds move from the
southwest the observer can safely predict
but little rain will be precipitated, unless
the clouds change their course and move
from the southeast.
These are the general signs and indlca-
Gons OF our severe winter storms. In the
beginning of the rainy season in Septem-
Der and October, as well as at the end, in
May and June, these signs or indications
are not always to be relied upon, unless
the barometer falls rapidly and TO quite a
low point. Even then it sometimes ends
in wind, with little if any precipitation,
especially if the barometer begins to rise
rapidly. Generally speaking, in Septem-
Der and May, when threatening weather
appears and clouds hover over the Sierra
Nevada Mountains and move down upon
the valley from northeast direction,
slight local showers may be predicted
without 1ail.
Hailstorms, with thunder and light
ming, usually pass from the southwest to
the northeast, while the winds direction
Will be fresh from the southeast. Occa-
sionally thunder is heard and lightning
seen IN the north, northeast, east, and
southeast, with heavy banks OF cumulo-
stratus clouds or thunder heads lowering
over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As a
general thing these storms are local and
confined to the region in which they
form. a great many times lightning
will be seen, but no thunder heard. At
such times these ethunder-head clouds will
be from 40 to so above the horizon.
1t is at the closing OF the rainy season,
in March, April and May, and that be-
ginning OF the rainy season, in Septem-
ber, October and November, that thunder
and lightning storms are the most num-
erous and of a much heavier variety. In
the sixteen years this station has been
established July l, 1877, to June 30, 1888,
there have been recorded fifty-seVen
electrical storms, including those where
sheet lightning was seen at a great dis
tance from the station and no thunder
heard. Of those which passed over this
station and gave heavy hail and rain with
vivid lightning and loud thunder, thirty
occurred in the months of March, April
and May, as follows: Nine in March,
eight in April and thirteen in May. In
the months of September, October and
November sixteen were observed, as fol-
lows: Ten in September, four IN Octo-
Der and two in November, leaving the re-
manning eleven to be distributed among
the other six months of the year, as fol-
lows: Two in January, one in Febru-
airy, three in June, three in July, one in
August and one in December.
There is occasionally a cold, drizZling
rain when the wind is blowing from four
to six and eight miles an hour from the
north, but invariably on such occasions
the clouds will be noticed moving from a
sOutherly and generally southeastern
direction. The records show that the
greater number of our thunder and
lightning storms in May and September
move from the southwest toward the
northeast, and from the southeast toward
the northwest, Those from the south
west are usually accompanied by surface
winds from the southeast, and those
storms which pass from the southeast to-
ward the northwest have surface winds
from some northerly quarter; that is,
electrical storms are accompanied by
surface winds blowing in an opposite di-
rection to that from which the storm is
travelling, especially those which come
from the southeast and pass to the north
west.