The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-01-14
OUR ITALIAN CLIMATE.
Dr. johnson Gives an Interesting History of
che Weather for Five Year.

RAINFALL.
The rainfali during 1898 was is. 10 inches
| less than two-thlrds the average, whict
for the past SO years has been e. p inches
The greatest rainfall during any veal
was 81 81 inches in 1899 and the least Is. l,
| inches in 1893
The greatest rainfall in any one month
was Is inches in May, 1891. The leAs,
rainfall during any calendar month was
.02 inch during October, 1893.
BY comparison of the amounts By
months during the various gears since the
beginning of observations here, Juiy l.
1885, it will be seen that by far the greater
part of our precipitation Is during the
summer, when most needed.
The rainfall by months has been as fol
lows:
From July to December, 1888 1.04; 717;
1.S9; /. So %; and Il inches; total for six
mouths 14.06 inches.
For the year 1889 the amounts by months
were 80 81: 2 Al: s. is: 3 IS; 7S9; Ar 3 ~:
2IO; PA: IA: and 03 inch total 81 81
| inches
For 1890 the amounts were Q l2; .35; IA;
5 So; 2 II: ) 05: 95: 2 80; So; 2.39; ~: aud
80: total 81 OF inches
The amounts for 1891 were:2 66; l. 95; 1856;
i.26; ). 10; 80; $50; 40; -; 2S5; AZ; LIZ,
| total "a SO inches.
The amounts for 1892 were: 81; 2 262; 05;
2.05 ). SO; l.70; 275; 4 06; !. y; 81: .24; and
LII; total 20 "a inches.
And the amounts for 1898 were: 10; 80:
LOO; .25; 2 22 3 Al; 502; 81; 2. 10; .02 81; and
81 total Is. 10 inches.
1t is probable that comparison of OBJ
| servations for 25 or so years would show
the average yearly rainfall TO be about
| twenty nine and half or thirty inches
! TEMPERATURES.
The mean temperature for the past five
) hoan < 6str dist r, ,to tod a2
| follows: For 1889. 554: $780, 56.4; 1891,
$50; 1892, 547: 1885, SO l. From this II
will be seen that the mean Temperatures OF
! one year differs from the mean of aug
other year by never more than one or at
most two degrees
| The absolute range of temperature (be-
| tween the very highest and the very low
| est in the past five years is lis degrees;
the highest was l04 degrees on Sept. l3,
| 1883. and the lowest WAS IA degrees below
zero, Jan. 10, 1892
Our shortest day is Dec. 21 when we
| have fewest hours of shunshlne, but
our coolest day comes always three
months later Thus our coolest Gay has
never been earlier than Jan. 19, and has
| once occurred as late us Feb. 2S the aver
age date being Feb. Is.
The highest temperature follows a SIM
liar law: On June 81 we have our longest
day and most hours of sunshine, but our
highest temperature has never come earlier
than July 90 aud has once been as late as
Sept. 13, which, by the way, was the very
highest during the whole five and One-half
years-104 degrees. The average date OF
highest temperature appears to be about
Aug. T.
In most localities it is the extremes of
temperature that cause the greatest sut-
fering. and rapidly raise the rate of NOR
tality-in summer among infants and in
winter among the aged. The following
data bear upon this subject and Will
facilitate comparison with the climate of
other places
The extremes of temperature during the
past five and n half years have been as fol-
lows: 1888. highest iO2, August 5; lowest
not given, because the office was not estab
lished until July /, 1888; 1889, highest 96,
August Is; lowest below zero, February
Is; 1890. highest 102, July 20 and August
s; lowest zero. February IS; 1891. high
est 9S, August 10; lowest 4,
August Z; lowest IA below zero. Jan
uary 10; 1898, highest 104 September Ii;
lowest 2 below zero, February /.
We have never yet had day with an
average temperature so high as 9O
The average daily range of temperature
difference between highest and lowesD
for the past five and half years has been
The average change of temperature Cthe
difference between the mean temperature
Of one day and that of the preceding day.
is 5.s degrees.
Great and sudden changes are not num-
erous.
The question is continually being asked
well, when are we going to have win
ter?' The querists will doubtless be sur
prised to learn that this is our winter.
For the past five years the average tenn
perature for January has been 30S and
this year the first twelve days have aver
aged exactly so. Previous years records
warrant the expectation of colder weather
later, for heretofore our lowest temper
ature has been between January 10 and
February 2S
WEATHER.
The number of clear days during 1898
was 204, partly cloudy 105, cloudy So, with
Il days on which rain fell and 46 days on
which there were thunderstorms. For the
past five years the averages have been:
Clear days III, partly cloudy 115, cloudy
70, rainy Sc, and with thunderstorms AZ.
Iu the fall the first frost has always oc- |
Cured between September l3 and October |
S, the average date being September q.
The first killing frost has never came |
earlier than October 4, nor later than Oc- |
tober 27 the average date is October Is.
WIND.
The idea prevails that Kansas is a very
windy state, but a comparison OF the |
velocties here with those of other places, |
particularly with lake or seacoast stations,
fails to sustain the opinion in regard to
either the average or the maximum vo-
locity And morever close inspection of
the records will show that during June, |
July and August, the yeiOcities are much
less than during the colder months. a
fortunate circumstance, considering the
damage that would otherwise result to
wheat. oats and corn Dy being Beaten
down by the wind.
The average velocity for the past five
years has been 93 miles per hour, and the
total movement of the wind per year has
averaged so, 775l mlss-something more
than three times around the earth. The
highest velocity reached by the wind dur
ing the past year was 53 miles Per hour
from the north on April 10, and the high
est velocity at any time during the five
years WAS "a miles per hour from the
northeast on March Il, 1880
1t is rare thing for the wind to reach
velocity of 40 miles per hour here.
Our windiest months are March and
pril when the average for the entire
month is about 12 miles per hour, aud the
3uietest months are July, August aad Sep
ember, when the averages are is, 6.s and
5 miles per hour.
Tie prevailing direction every year since
he station WAS opened has been from the
,outh.
DEDUCTIONS.
The climate at Wichita is very even.
The wind velocity Is not excessive
The most frequent direction Of the wind
5 from the south.
July and August are the Guietest !
months.
=. l.