Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-30
OCTOBER STOR MS
Tracks and Origins Of the Atmos-
phelio Disturbances.
Few HURRICANES IN TEE MONTH
Need of Further Facilities in the
Far Northwest.
DIVISIONS OF THE YEAR

DIVISIONS OF THE YEAR
prepared by the United States Weather Bureau for
The Evening Starr
The calendar year Is capable of division
into three parts, as regards its meteorolog-
ical conditions, and to a very considerable
extent storms and other features of the
weather have characteristics that closely
resemble each other within these periods
of time. They refer to the months a. De-
cember, January, February and March; c)
April, May, October and November; C3)
June, July, August and September. The
first group comprises the conditions that
are dominated by low temperatures, the
third those that are ruled by high tempera-
lures and the second the transition in Oc-
tober and November from hot to cold and
April and May from cold to hot weather.
The winter months are signalized by very
turbulent circulation of the atmosphere;
the rate of eastward motion is at a maxi
mum; the storm tracks are spread all over
the United States, so far disregarding their
primary paths that these are nearly I'M
available for classification, great alterna-
tons of temperature and pressure, cold
waves, high winds and violent precipita-
ton being the regular mode. On the other
hand, in the summer months, the circula-
ton of the air is very feeble; the east
ward drift is slow and lily defined; the
tracks are fer the most part confined to
the northern border, except in the case of
hurricanes and coast storms; the tempera-
ture is generally nigh, with small fiuctua-
tons in it, and the pressures for wind cir
culation small; instead Of gales. only VIC
observed.
A Marked Difference.
The two pairs of transition months differ
from each other in a marked degree Thus,
in the autumn, with the advance of the
colder season, sort of crispness is to be
discovered in the air, the succession of
highs and lows across the country is so
well defined as to approach most closely to
the typical or ide8&circ ulation, the ar
rangement of all the surface winds and
the precipitation is very simple, and fore
casting Is comparatively easy. This condi-
ton lasts until it is gradually merged into
the violent outbursts of the winter, by
which the chain Of waves is distorted from
a simple succession. In the spring the
transition from cold to warm weather is
one of relaxation, and an increasing feeble
ress or uncertainty of action takes place;
many storm conditions fail to fully devel-
CD; the eastward drift ceases at times;
prevail the unlooked-for happens in con-
sequence of a sudden intrusion Of a winter
storm from the north, as If the supply of
cold had not yet been exhausted, and fore
casting is in its most perpiexing and tan
talking state.
October First to Chill.
October, then, is the first of the months
to feel the approach of colder atmospheric
conditions in the northern hemisphere, and
If the charts are examined for their mean
annual conditions, it will be seen that the
first symptoms of continental action in
North America are present, by means of
which the large permanent low pressure
that covers the arctic regions in summer
is broken up into two permanent lows in
winter, one central in the extreme north
Of the Atlantic ocean, near Iceland, and the
other in the north of the Pacific ocean,
near the Aleutian Islands. This Is done by
the building of belt of high pressure over
the British possessions in the neighbor-
hood of the Mackenzie river, which finally
spreads so as to join an advancing high
pressure belt from Siberia. Hence in the
United States, the high belt crosses the
gulf states to the northern Rocky noun
tain slope, near Wyoming, whence one
branch proceeds westward across the noun
tains to the Pacific ocean and the other
branch extends just eastward of the great
mountain range parallel with 1t to the
Arctic ocean. The Rocky mountain region
especially as a plateau, has a very great
influence upon the generation of storms in
the United States. Unfortunately, this
region is practically UNEMPLOYED by the re-
fined processes known to science in the
east, and there is great need of planting
some strong observatories in this region in
The interests of meteorology, well equipped
to observe the action of the sun. by means
of the spectroscope, the photograph, the
magnetic needle and the telescope in ad-
dition to the physical instruments employed
by meteorologists. 1t is the center or heart
of the circulation of the atmosphere, and
yet its structure Is scarcely known at the
present time.
Where the Storms Formed.
The compilation of all the storm tracks
for the month of October for the successive
years, shows, as in other months, that the
same centers of origination prevail the
mean tracks and the number. proceeding
from a definite locality being given on the
accompanying map. 1t is seen that thirty
six storms commenced their eastward march
from the district covered by Alberta, Sas-
katchewan valley and Assiniboia, or gen.
orally to the northward of Montana
whence they passed eastward over the lake
region to the Gulf of st. Lawrence; twelve
set out from the northern Rocky mountain
plateau, and eleven from the middle
be called the Yellowstone Park group, and
the latter the Colorado group, both of
which Joined the main track in the lake
region; further south four storms began
in New Mexico or northwestern Texas, the
tracks generally running up the Ohio val
ley to the Gulf of ST. Lawrence. Here we
have sixty-three storms generating on the
edge of the high plateau region of the
Rocky mountains in elevations of 5000 to
5000 feet above the sea level.
Sea-LevcI Storms.
On the other hand. there are systems of
sea-level storms, whose origin is in very
different physical conditions. Thus, from
the North Pacific coast eighteen storms en-
tered the United States, and three from the
South Pacific coast, the former joining the
main track as soon the mountains were
CT ossed, the latter usually pursuing track
there were nine storms coming in from the
Gulf of Mexico or gulf states, and fourteen
West Indian hurricanes, whose tracks lay
closely along the Atlantic coast. Hence
a. a., = hot ctnr rior,,