The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-10
THEY ARE USEFUL IN COOLING OFF
PEOPLE EXCITED BY HEAT.
Records Kept by Senator JOnes-Death
Valley Probably the Hottest
Place on Earth.

y,
was looking at the little arrows the
weather map TO see if it had rained at his
home the day before. turned quickly. and
said with smile oh no, know hot
ter place than thisi'
Another senator said chaffingly, but
you've never been there, senator"
"Oh, yes, l have" returned the older
man, with chuckle at the implied sugges-
tion Il refer to Fort Mojave. Why in the
middle of the day dog doesn't dare to
wag its tail for fear of friction, and once
a jack rabbit that was scared from under
one of the barracks buildings. started
across the street and roasted before it
reached the other side!' The younger SEN
ator gasped, and the rest of the group
looked aghast, but Mr.. Jones. who is the
senatorial Jupiter Pluvius feeling that the
senator needed some support, said quickly,
Il can prove that the statement is true, by
this map" and everybody turned to the bit
of a map on the wall. 1t was just the COM
mon weather map. but Mr.. Jones has care
fully hand-painted it like war map of
Cuba, Trocha and all done in red white
and blue.
Here you see" pointing to western Ar
iona, this is Fort MOjave, and on the 9th
day of August 1886, the temperature there
was 121 degrees above zero. That would
mighty near roast anything that was ex-
posed to the suns rays, if passing over
the sandy desert"
The lady stopped tanning for a minute
and then said, well, does it ever get cool
there?"
ooh, yes" replied Mr.. Jones' turning to
another map, like unto it, onl,~ that the
lurid heat suggesting red ink gave way to
a nondescript kind of green. THE cold
est weather at Mojave in thirty years,
which is the length of time the Weather
Bureau has been taking observations, was
experienced on the 14th day of January,
1883, when the mercury registered II above"
WEATHER IN WASHINGTON.
"Well how hot does it get in Washing
TONI" persisted the woman, who was fan
ming again for dear life. II seem to feel
the heat worse here than anywhere else,
anyhow"
THAT may be true" observed Mr.. Jones,
as he went back to his hot weather map.
1.-THE real heat-what we call sensible heat
is not measured by the outside tempera-
ture but by the temperature of the body,
which may from various causes be several
degrees warmer than the heat registered
by the mercury. For instance, plains-bred
people can stand with equanimity "a de-
grees when 81 in this moster atmosphere
ali but reduces them to a state of collapse
The coolest and warmest weather in Wash
ingtOn in the history of the Weather Blu
reau were registered in the same year-1S81.
Jan. l, 1881, the mercury dropped to IA de-
greeS below zero. Sept. Z, 1884, it shot up to
llS, so you were not so very far off, as that
lacks but three degrees of being hot
the hottest weather ever registered at the
Weather Bureau"
I'D like to have one of those maps. just
for the curiosity of the thing said the
lady, as she examined it more closely
&c hn h oil f10
mean where does it never get so very hot
nor so very cold?"
We'll, l have not thought Of contrasting
the temperature in just exactly that way
but" consulting the map II should say
that San Francisco has the shortest range
of temperature ever recorded. On May g.
1887 she had her warmest day, running up
to &c. and the coolest ever recorded was
20 above, Jan. A. 1883 They had a little
furry of snow that day, and nearly fright
ened some of the supersutious Mexicans of
the old town to death"
When the lady again pressed her demand
for one of the maps it developed that there
We're but the two in existence. Mr.. Jones,
who has a natural talent for weather sta
tistics, and who fairly revels in new de-
VelOpmentS in thermometers, Paragraphs
thermographs, pschrometers, poiymeterS,
or any other old thing that will measure
or the lack of it, had those two valuable
maps just for his own pleasure AS has
been stated, they are the common little
maps of the Weather Bureau, with all the
weather stations in the United States in
dicated On one of these Mr.. Jones has
indicated in red ink the highest temperature
that has ever been recorded at those sta
tons in the thirty years that the Weather
Bureau has been in existence, and on the
other map he has recorded the lowest tenn
perature that mas been noted at the same
stations. 1t Is all pen work, out is as fine
as copper plate, and the opportunity for
comparison makes the two little maps al
most invaluable.
RANGE IN THIRTY YEARS.
OF courca there NAV come a time in the
history of changing climatic conditions
when both higher and lower temperatures
will be recorded at most of the stations,
but it is bit of interesting news to know
the range in the thirty years For instance,
Chicago and st. Louis are always scrapping
about their claims as summer resorts. 1t
is interesting to know that st. Louis, de-
spite her big breweries and ice cold beers,
registered 106 in August, 1881, while the hot
test day that Chicago has ever known was
100 above, July 1911, 1881. On the other hand
Chicago got so cold as % below Dec. "a, 1872
while st. Louis registered degree less, be-
ing y below Jan. D. 1884.
OF course these maps made by Mr.. Jones
simply give the extremes OF heat and
cold and the mean temperatures are much
less rigorous in both directions The widest
range OF temperature is at Poplar River
Mont. Jan. /, 1885, the temperature dropped
TO 90 below zero. July u of the same year
it flew up to 104. An enormous range of 1911
degrees. The next widest range is at old
Fort Assinaboine, now knOwG as Havre
and the most northern station in the
United States. The hottest day recorded
there was 10S above, July IL, 1886, and the
coolest was SO below Fen. %, 1857, a range
of 1853 degrees; St. Paul is not so far be-
hind this, with cold at Il below. Jan. q,
1881, and summer temperature of 100 July
/, 1888.
There are a few cities where the range is
very small, and those localities are re-
nowned for their health-giving breezes
Frisco stands at the head, with a maxi
mum range of seventy degrees. The mean
temperature is probably less than that by
many degrees. Seattle has been as cold as
six Aug 28 1855. Los Angeles gets pretty
hot al l09, July %, 1891, but the coolest was
twenty-nine above. Feb. 6, 1883, a range of
eighty, and decidedly warmer than Frisco
1t has the ideal climate for orange growing.
In comparison Florida shows up nearly as
WELL but the temperature is moister, hence
not so perfect for oranges. AT Tampa,
July % 1898, the hottest day, register
ing ninety-five. The coolest day was Dec.
30 1894 when temperature of nineteen
above killed all the orange trees.
One would imagine that it would get very
cold at Portland, Me, yet the lowest
temperature in thirty years has been Two
below zero, and that Jan. 10, 1888. The
warmest day there in that time was July
%. 1891, the range being just an even nun
dred From there to Savannah. Ga, is a
long jump south, and yet the range OF tenn
perature is not mGch less. Savannah
coolest day was Jan Il, 1886, the mercury
being at twelve above. July Y, 1873, was
the hottest at l05 a range of ninety-three.
il is customary 10 speak of Kansas, partic-
ularly the Interior which was once called
the Great American Desert as very hot
place but on its hottest day at Wichita,
two degrees warmer than Washington ever
fof And her coolest day. blizzaids and