The record-union., 1893-01-09
LONG CONTINUED FOGS.
Believed to be Due Chiefly to Heavy
Rainfall.
A Month of Fog Eighteen Years Ago
Other Spells Mentioned by
Observer Barwick.

The Weather Bureau reports show the
highest and lowest temperatures on Sat
urday to have been 4Oo and So, with foggy
weather and variable winds prevailing.
The highest and lowest temperatures
yesterday were 410 and 36o, with light,
variable winds and foggy weather. After
the fall of the barometer on Friday 1t
suddenly took an upward tendency on
Saturday, and is now quite high, reading
at 5 A. NJ. and P. NJ. 30.31 and 1929 inches.
Yesterday morning foggy weather pre-
vailed from the Straits of Juan de tuca
to below Sacramento. At the same time
clear, sunshiny weather prevailed in San
Francisco.
The highest and lowest temperatures
one year ago Saturday We're 54' and 46',
with .36 of an inch of rain; one year ago
yesterday $40 and 450, with .06 of an inch,
and one year ago to-day 540 and 46', with
,06 of an inch of rain. After that no ram
fell until the 26th, when one inch fell IN
less than twenty-four hours.
The long and continued foggy spell oi
Decembe 1888, is not comparable with
the present unprecedented fog record.
Beginning on the 5th of December, por-
ton of the day was clear, also on the 9TH.
The next three days were toggy. The
10th it cleared for about two hours, and
fog rolled in again. The llth was little
clear, the 18th, 18th and 18th foggy, and
on the 18th there was fog about half the
day.
1t will therefore be seen that out of the
eleven consecutive days on which logs
were observed, there were six days that
the sun was visible for few hours.
In January, 1885, there were seven days
that gave considerable fog. but out OF
that number there were five on which the
sky was invisible.
Not so with the present spell, for the
super-saturated atmosphere hangs darkly
over the greater portion of this valley Ike
a funeral-pall, casting gloom over all
surroundings and increasing the liability
to pulmonary attacks.
The continuous logs, with little clear
sky now and then, in December, 1883,
cannot be accounted for by excessive
rains that had fallen. The records show
in September, 1888, there was 80 of an
inch; October, .97 of an inch; Novem Der.
81 ofan inch, or a total OF but 2-4S inches;
while the entire month OF December gave
but "A of an inch.
The fogs during the seven days of Janu-
ary, 1885, gave glimpse of sky on five
different days. The rainfall for the sea-
son of 18S4-S5, up to January lst, was as
follows: September, 1884, go OF an inch;
october, 2.Ol inches; November, notnlng,
and December the large amount Of TO-
inches, or total of 1906 inches. This
great precipitation in December may have
caused the fogs of January, 1885.
The rainfall for the present season, up
to January /, 1893, has been as follows:
September, Is of an inch; October, .07 OF
an inch; November, $50 inches, and De-
cember, 4.90 inches, making total OF
Ills inches. This, with the enormous
quantity of water in the lowlands border
ing the rivers, may, in a measure. be the
cause of our present foggy weather.
In looking over the records from 1878 to
date and noting the months upon which
the least wind blew-that is, the least
number of miles. we find that in 1888 the
least amount travelled by the wind was il
December, when 2,S45 miles o
wind passed over Sacramento, al
average hourly velocity Of 3 SIT
miles per hour, showing an almos
stagnant atmosphere. The highes