The San Francisco call., 1896-01-18
The Storm Had Given the State
Eleven Billion Tons of
Rain Yesterday.
BIG, SLOW AND INTERESTING
The Peru Overlook the Storm and
Beat 1t in an Ocean Race of
Seven Thousand Miles.

The storm that has been here during the
past few days is long and broad and deep,
able bodied, but not savage. 1t has trav-
eled thousands of miles without getting
tired and there are things about it that
the finite mind can but vaguely compre-
hend
Of course, the first things people want to
know are, "How much has it rained Y'
and "How long will it lastP"
AT P. NJ. yesterday 2.46 inches had fallen
during the storm at San Francisco and
vicinity. By midnight the precipitation
had undoubtedly amounted to half as
much as that of the whole season before
the storm began-6.05 inches. There is a
good prospect that the threatened dry sea-
son will turn out to be an average one.
The rain has been a widespread one,
general over this State, Oregon and Wash
ington. In California rain has fallen
everywhere except over the Colorado
Desert. The rainfall has ranged from s
inches in the Siskiyou Mountains to traces
at the desert edges. The storm struck the
northern and central coast of this State
Sunday night and has worked south as
the round front of the storm worked in
land. the rain reached Los Angeles
Wednesday night.
Forecast Official Harmon says that the
rainfall has been sufficient for all present
needs north of Berenda at the center of
the San Joaquin Valley. The rain has
been a steady, gentle, soaking one and so
has been largely retained by the earth.
Last evening the storm seemed to have
made up its mind to quit trifing and in
the City the rain came for a while in
floods, filling the sewers and driving peO-
pie into doorways.
HammoO and Me- rA6ip m in IN q
| Weather Bureau, trace this storm from
$500 miles out at sea, and Mr.. Hammo on
rather thinks that this is the storm that
gave the cruiser Baltimore such time
few weeks ago. The Baltimore left the
China coast for Honolulu early in Decem-
Der and soon ran into the storm.
Definite reports from the Baltimore are
not at hand, and it is possible that it was
another storm that the Peru overhauled
about 20 deg. east of Greenwich and far
west of honolulu in the steamer track.
The unusual thing has happened that
two steamers have passed through big
storm at sea. and beaten it to the Pacific
| Coast, bringing advance reports for the
weather map of the storms doings for two
weeks before it has put in an appearance
where Uncle Sam keeps barometers and
things a. work.
The barometer of the Peru began falling
December 81 when it was only 1900 or 1000
miles from Y okchama. As the steamer pro-
gressed the barometer kept falling, and
/ other signs showee that it was running
toward the center of a slowly moving
storm ahead of it. The Peru passed
through the storm south of its center, and
arrived here a day ahead OF the eastern
edge of the storm.
The Australia also passed through it and
got in ahead. From the steamer reports
the present storm is fairly we'll charted
from point $500 miles westward. This is
done right along months after storm has
passed, from the daily weather reports re-
ceiyed under the new system from all
classes of vessels, but it has never hap
pened before that batch of daily observa-
tions of coming storm at sea have been
received in advance while the sun was
shining.
This storm is one of those regular
Flows" that come in, but it is bigger than
usual. The diameter of the storm, cyclone
or ''low" is about 1000 miles and yesterday
the center was about Fort Candy on the
northern coast. The wind blows to the
center from all directions and so yesterday
San Francisco had south wind. 1t will
probably rain for day or two yet and pos
sibly longer.
Mr.. Harmon made trihing skirmish
yesterday with the incomprehensible ques-
tion Of the amount of energy expended by
such a big though rather gentle storm
He took as slightillustration of one form
or It's energy the amount OF rain that had
fallen over a very small fraction of its
path during a fraction of its existence
There has been rainfall of about one inch
when averaged for the State.
rainfall of one inch over a square mile
amounts to 10000 tons of water. Say that
in this State there has been this average
fall over 10000 square miles.
That gives 10000, 100000 tons as the
measure of the water California has re-
ceived since Sunday. Mr.. Harmon esti-
mates that for the coast there had been
yesterday an average of one inch over
100000 square miles, and this would give
sc, 900, 600 900 tons of water.
This amount of water has been raised
into the air by the expenditure of energy
in the form of heat. When it was precipi-
tated the heat was released and changed
from the latent to the sensible form. The
evaporation of a quart of water will raise
the temperature of $4,000 cubic feet. of a
certain density, 10 degrees. This gives an
intimation of the problem OF how much
heat energy has been expended in the
present rainfall and what might be done
with it if it could be kept on tap.
Mr.. Harmon countermanded orders
from the Secretary of the Navy Yesterday
The Boston had been ordered TO proceed
to Honolulu, and was in the stream ready
to go. The captain sent Ensign Howard
up to the Weather Bureau with his com
pliments to ask if ne could 90. and was
~ hat 1nO Ia L