Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-18
Properly Speaking, There Are Only
the Dry and Wet Seasons.
Wide VARIATIONS OF TEMPERATURE
Extremes of Heat and Cold Found
in the Republic.
5 O NJ Z VIOLENT WIND

co. The article is compiled from q number of
Mexican publications and from other Off
cial sources. including the National Acad-
envy OF Sciences of the United States Prop
erly speaking, there are bit two seasons In
Mexico 'he drr and the Wet the summer
and winter The rainfall is the principal
factor in The change of seasons and the
changes between spring and autumn are
scarcely pcrceptible the central taole
land and the northern frontier. There is
usually an interruption N The rainfall in
the middle Of the season. which, on the
eastern coast is callel 'tha little August
summer" lei veranito de Agosto), and which
lasts about twenty twenty five days. af-
ter which the equinoctial rams fall which
are sometimes more violent than those of
summer.
Seasons In the Tcrrid Zone.
In the hot belt the rainy season is
shorter than the dry. Electrical storms be-
gin in May On the gulf coast with indica-
tions of rain. but none fais. The high tenn
perature produced 10y the position Of the
sun, combined with the influence Of the
high reighboring mountains, no doubt pre-
vents the watery vapor, which is held In
suspension by the east WINS. from falling
in this zcne and IL forms itself into rain in
the temperate region. The rainy season be-
gins really in June and with the exception
Of a slight interruption at the end Of July,
continues until the middle of October.
In the state Of Jalisco, on the Pacific side.
the same condition prevails. The north
winds begin after September and blow with
such impetuosity that they cause serious
Injury to navigation. but they refresh and
clear the air and contribute greatly to the
salubrity of the coast by drying up the
marshes. Slight showers frequently &C.
comp any these winds, especially when they
are subsi'iing. In March and April strong.
hot I'D
south.
The raiay season begins early In the tenn
perate zone, because all the to-nadoes that
form on the coast IN May expend their vio-
len e upon that region, thereby p-olonging
the season usually until November Then
commences the dry season, but emily rela-
lively SO, for each time that the north wind
blows along the coast II prectpitates the
humidity in rain The south winds are felt
more in these high regions than they a.e
along the coast, and exert a beneficial in
nuence in iesscnfns the excess Of humidity
in the atmosphere and SOIL
Seasons i'm the Cold Region.
Rainfall begins m May. sometimes In
April, and lasts until October accompanied
by electric storms, which occur in April.
and oftcner In July and August. but not in
the wirter months. Though these rains
last longer than they do in the TERRA Ca
licnte, or Hot Lands. they are not abundant
| except when a waterspout (manga de agua)
| occurs. which is not infreQuent in these re-
gions. Usually the winter is excessively dry
| and the nights cold.
On the high plains of Durango and Chi
hrahua, as well as on the larger part of
| the central tabeland, the climate is dry,
and differs in this essentially from the high
regions of the Andes of Colombia. Ecuador
| and Peru, in which moisture, rivulets, riv-
ers lagCons and lakes are abundant and
stimulate mere exuberant vegetation than
that of Mexico al the same height. The ex-
/ of al Ar her nj r1nx
night frosts cease toward the end of Febru-
airy and spring commences; the willows and
black poplars grow green and the peach and
apricot blossom, though the temperature
dc es not become high untiI April and May.
The fields remain dry until the end of May
or the beginning of June, when the rainfall
commences In few days every plant has
recovered life and vegetation develops with
extraordinary rapidity. AT the beginning OF
September the rains cease and in October
frosty nights come and continue until Feb
ruary; beyond these there are few indica-
tions of winter. Snow is rarely seen, and
when IL does fall IL lasts only a short time.
Drought begins again. and with the discon-
tinuance of the rains the streams dry up.
In the cold zone ttierra friaD OF Mexico the
seasons are more pronounced than they are
In the other two, yet they cannot be said
TO be as distinctly marked they are In
the tropics. On the northern frontier, al
though the height OF the tabeand above
sea level is less. the winter is more severe
as the geographical altitude is greater, the
thermometer in some places often being
several degrees below freezing point This
seems to demonstrate the theory that in the
tropics the rainfall follows the movement
of the sun. When IL is north of the equa-
tor. rains prevail in the Tropic of Cancer;
and when IL passes south of the line rains
are abundant I'm the Tropic of Capricorn.
The republic lies within the region of cy-
clones, and many Of those that deyastate
the West Indies sweep the coast Of the gulf
and exhaust themselves between Galveston
and Matamoras. These meteorological phe-
nomena are more frequent in the West In
dies and the United States than in Mexico
Twilight is scarcely known in the tropics
night following almost Immediately the set
ting or the sun. In the City Of Mexico the
astronomical twilight varies between one
hour sixteen minutes and one hour twenty
seven minutes and the civil between TWEEN
ty-five minutes five seconds and twenty
seven minutes five seconds
On the longest day of the year-the sum-
mer solstice.the sun rises in the City of
Mexico at hours - minutes a. m ma ses
the meridian at II hours o minutes q Sec
onds and sets at hours IS minutes n n,
and consequently is seen for IL hours Is
minutes On the shortest day-the winter
equinox-the sun rises at 9 hours 3s min
utes a. m, passes the meridian at . hours
minutes 4 seconds. and sets at s hours %
minutes p. m; duration, 10 hours So min
utes. Inc dinerence between the two is 2
hours 70 minutes
Extremes of Temperature.
There are no METEOROLOGICAL data for so,,,o
parts OF the country, therefore IL is tmpos
s'ole TO make exact comparisons of the ex
tremes OF temperature. Which is the warm
est point I'm the republic? The reply is diff
hcult. because in the deepest valleys of
Michoaca1 and Guerrero the highest tenn
perature is fourd Among these the ha
cienda of Las Balsas, in the state of Guer-
zero, should be mentioned, where the Their
mometer reaches 9S.6 degrees F. in March
" hat will IL be in May and June? The
thermometer has reached l04 degrees F. I'm
Vera Cruz for a few moments, but this is
exceptional and may be considered as the
extreme temperature of that state. The
lowest temperature is found on the sum-
mits OF Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl
where II reaches l04 degrees F. There are
no data as to The temperature on the north
ern frontier. In Saltillo, Coahula the low
est in 1883 was 30 degrees F.. in the city
of Zacatecas PAS degrees F., in Monterey
81 degrees F. and I'm Leon 295 degrees +.
Zacatecas is - degrees 40 minutes "a sec
onds north latitude. and is 8. 1883 feet above
the level of the sea. At Paso del Norte the
cold is sometimes excessive. In Pachuca
and San Luis Potosi there are occasionally
heavy falls of snow. In Toluca, state of
Mexico. the temperature Is low. and ice is
found all over the central tableland during
winter.
Rains.