Evening star., 1899-02-09
A RECORD BREAKER
The Mercury Drops to Seven Degrees
Below Zero.
COLDEST KNOWN HERE IN FEBRUARY
Those Who Venture Out Suffer
From the Blasts.
SPECIAL BULLETIN
OUT

| The allied forces of Boreas and Jack
| Frost made a descent upon Washington
| last night. In the face of their approach
| the mercury in the thermometer beat a
| hasty retreat, the rout being complete this
| morning, shortly before O'Clock, when a
! temperature of I degrees below zero was
| placed record at the United States
| weather bureau, on NJ street, the coolest
| known here in the month of February since
| the establishment of the forecast institu-
| ton by the government. Only on two oc-
| casicns-the last day of December 1880,
| and the 1st of January, 1SS1-has the tenn
| perature surpassed the minimum registered
| this morning. AT that time the thernom-
| eter showed record-breaking decline to 13
| and If degrees below the nothing point.
| The sun. shining brilliantly through the
| clear atmosphere, acted as peacemaker to-
| day between the clements of frgidity and
| the mercury, with the result that the lat
! ter came from its hiding place below, and
| at noon had ventured as far up the ther-
mometric scale as degrees above zero.
Continued cold is predicted for tonight
and it is expected the thermometer will reg
lister almost low a minimum as this
morning. Tomorrow, 1t is said, moderating
influences will restore confidence in the
mercurial fluid and warmer weather will
eEsue The change, while fairly we'll de-
nned VIII be gradual, the cold wave having
decided upon a leisurely gait in leaving the
capital city Fair weather will rule su-
preme for some time to come
Hold High Carnival
Biood-chilltng blasts hold high carnival
down the broad streets of WASHINGTON,
rushing wildly around the corners and
1alriy carrying pedestrians off their feet.
Inc dry snow. resembling SO much sand,
is picked UP by the hurrying winds and
blown In the face of the populace abroad
singing and biting. Humanity mutfled and
PINK. fits thither and yon, stopping sell
DOM the enc aim of all being "A desire to
be out little as possible The cold is
piercing and exhilaratng. infusing life and
action into every one out of doors Pc
destrians move rapidly in their endeavor to
keep warm, either sweeping along with the
wind or boldly forcing their way in the
teeth of the gale.
1t was so cold in the city last night that
the crratic old clock in the city post Of
flee tower froZe up at l O'Clock and has
pers!Stently pointed that hour throughout
the ltve-lonS day. The giIded hands have
rot ludged and the machinery is at stand
still. There may be something constitu-
tionaily wrong with the time piece, but the
freeze story is current the streets.
over All the country. from the frozen
Rockies to balmy Florida, cold wave of
iiiltIs1 HtNtiitN IL rag JGSl over the
border line in Manitoba. Canada, the cold
est weather is reported. the thermometer
there reaching a minimum of 30 degrees
below zero. Freezing weather has invaded
Florida as far south as Tampa, giving a
serious aspect TO the storm. Washington is
the coldest city in the east the Thermometer
mere ranging lower than in the New En-
gland states. There was a difference of
nine degrees in the minimums Of Washing
ton and Baltimore. forty miles distant the
lowest mark reached by the monumental
city thermometers being > degrees above
zero. In lew York the minimum was I
degrees below. Philadelphia, slow as usual
could have no lower temperature than COM
monplace zero while throughout the New
England section the mercury hovers about
zero. In Cincinnati last night the coolest
weather ever recorded by the weather bu-
reau there was experienced. the thermom-
eter being Is degrees below. In Chicago,
the city of winds and frigid temperatures.
the February record was broken by drop
of the mercury to 20 degrees on the neither
side OF zero.
A Sudden Decline.
The real cold weather in Washington did
not set in until early this morning. Dur
ing the night the thermometer behaved
very modestly and did not reach lower than
10 degrees above. At 6 o'clock this morn
ing. however. there was sudden decline
TO degrees above. followed by a still more
speedy movement toward the bottom of the
tube. When the clocks struck the mer-
curry registered almost that number of de-
grees below zero. Some time between the
hours of and the minimum of below
occurred. At s O'Clock a rise was indi-
Gated and ) below was reported. AT 0
o'clock it was below sharp upward
tendency during the next hour hurried the
fluid past the zero point and degrees fur
ther up the scale. Eleven o'clock found
the temperature above and at noon the
weather was degree warmer.
The extreme cold was not felt as much as
When it was coolest in the city there was
a cessation of hostility on the part of
Boreas and not bit of wind was stirring.
With sunrise the winds came from their
nights repose and made the cold sharper
and keener Those compelled to be out
during the earlier hours of the day were
considerably affected by the cold.
The poor motormen looked frozen and
numb, and the policemen stamped about
their beats or took refuge behind some
sheltering building to keep out of the wind.
Their noses and ears were red from expo
sure and the bluecoated guardians seemed
anything but the happest mortals on earth.
The vagabonds would have been delighted
at their discontinue but these road gen.
places than street corners, their desire to
gloat over an old-time enemy being over
come by the intense cold,
Doing short Tricks.
The police last night worked on short
shifts, remaining on duty but three hours
at a time, when they would be relieved.
Today the six-hour-duty rule has been in
vogue again with all but the special Off
GERS at the street railroad crossings Their
duties confine them to spot, and instead
OF working eight hours, as usual, they have
stood watches of four hours duration. The
cold has invaded the home, too, for burst
ing water pipes have brought to mind the
chilliness outside to many housewives of
the city. The plumber and the coal man,
as usual, are the heroes of the hour during
the cold spell. Their days of rich harvest
are at hand, and there is sense of mod
esty in their veins TO prevent taking ad-
vantage of it. The outlook is for warmer
temperatures tomorrow throughout the en-
tire country east of the Rocky mountains.
In the south normal conditions will again
prevail.
Special Bulletin Issued.
The weather bureau has issued a special
bulletin on the subject of the cold wave
II is Interesting tp Rnn HOY