Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1895-12-26
The WEATHER.

What May b. Expected in the way
of Climate-The Chief OF tho
Weather Bureau Tells the Facts
About the Rainfall, Temperature
Wind and Other Facts Of Interest
The Climate of North Dakota 10
as Near Perfection as Mundane
Climates Ever Are
The climate of North Dakota Is more
pleasant than 1t is generally thought
to be by those who have not expert
enced it, or consulted statistics ON tho
subject. The popular belief that the
winters are Of arctic severity Is not
warranted by the meteorological rec
ords that have been kept In the state
for the past thirty-five years; and OIL
though these records have been broken
at different times, yet on the whole
enough has been collected to give q
fair idea of the climate.
The first records Of temperature and
precipitation taken in the state were
at Fort Abercrombie, in the upper Red
river valley, in February, 1859, and
soon after a number of stations were
established in different parts Of North
Dakota, which have continued and
been supplemented by others up to the
present date.
From those records 1t is found that
the average or mean temperature OF
the state is 80 degrees, and that the
average monthly mean temperature
ranges from 3 degrees in January to
70 degrees in July, the extremes rang
ing from degrees below in January,
which is the coolest month, to Is In
July, which is the warmest. The Red
river valley is both the warmest region
in summer and the coolest in winter.
The James river valley comes next,
followed by the Missouri valley, which
is warmest in winter, but the differ
ence between any Of the sections men
toned above is not great.
The mean annual range in tempera-
ture, or the difference between the
highest and lowest in any year,
amounts to from 1O1 to 141 degrees.
The extreme maximum temperature
ranges from 1O1 to 40 degrees, and
the extreme minimum from 81 below
zero to 90 below, but it is not to be
supposed that such readings are often
recorded. or that the extremes are Of
long duration. And from the fact that
the humidity or moisture in the air Is
always low, these periods of extreme
heat or cold are not accompanied by
the discomfort or distress that is ex-
pericnccd in the seaboard states,
where the humidity is high with tenn
pelaturcs quite different from the ones
found here.
Taking the variability of tempera-
ture, or the change that takes place In
the daily average temperature from
one day to another, irrespective Of
whether it has risen or fallen, and it is
found that it amounts to only 4 de-
grees from June to August, inclusive,
while in January and February, when
the changes are the most sudden and
severe, they only amount tn 8 degrees.
During April the mean temperature
ranges from 81 to 46 degrees, and the
increase is general and rapid from
then to June, when it ranges from 63
to 20 degrees; and so quickly do these
temperature conditions change, with a
steady rise, that the average increase
amounts to over "A degree for each
day during the season when all veg
citation is coming rapidly to the front
and is in need of heat, while during
July and August, when most of the
crops, especially small grain, are ma
turing, it ranges, as rule, from 68 to
70 degrees.
The mean annual precipitation is
slightly over II inches, varying from
13 inches in the extreme north-central
portion to 20 in the northeastern and
26 in the southern and southwestern.
November is the month of least pre-
cipitation, while June has the greatest,
followed next in order by May or July.
The precipitation increases from
about an average Of u inch in Novem-
Der to about inches in June. and de-
creases again to November. BY divid-
ing the year into two seasons, one wet
and the other dry. the annual precipi-
tation is less in the state than in the
great grain producing states Of the
Mississippi valley, that the principal
part Of it falls during the season when
it is most needed-in the spring and
summer.
During the winter, owing to the
clear days and the absence of precipi-
tation, the weather cannot be sur
passed, and while the temperature
may go to 20 or 80 degrees below zero
, during the night, it usually rises to
! above zero during the day; and as in
l extreme cold weather there is scarcely
) any wind the cold is not severely felt;
; while in the summer, although the
!, days are warm, the temperature usu-
; ally goes low enough during the night
l to make the evenings cool and comfort
/ able and still not low enough to en-
: danger or retard vegetation.
l., The time Of occurrence of first kill
, ing frost is from August to Sept. 80,
}, the average date being Sept. 10, and
: of last killing frost in spring from
. March II to June "a, the average date
being May IA. B. Fl. Bronson.
Very Easily Explained.
Doctor" said an old lady the other