Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-02-15
ABOUT THIS AWFUL WEATHER
The Weather Bureau Promises That
Relief Will Soon Come.

BRIGHTER AND WARMER WEALTH
Err MAY BE EXPECTED WITHIN
SPELL IS THE RESULT OF A
REMARKABLE CONSPIRACY OF
NATURAL FORCES RECORDS
BROKEN IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
AMPLE WARNINGS SENT OUT,
AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
AND MANY LIVES SAVED-SOME
INTERESTING FIGURES THAT
TELL THEIR OWN STORY. ..
Washington, February 1.-THE
great Atlanuc coast storm has passed
on to the Nova Scotia coast with rap
id velocity and almost unprecedented
development. At Woods Hole, Mass,
on Monday night at s p. m, the bar
ometer read 28.86 inches, a fall of one
inch in twelve hours; at Nantucket
at midnight the reading was 1856
inches, II this morning at Halifax
1892 inches. Owing to the extent and
the extreme destructiveness, this storm
will always be remembered as the
greatest storm in the history of the
Atlantic coast States, and was most
remarkable for the perfect combination
Of the conditions necessary to produce
such results. An abnormally high
barOmetic area, accompanied by a Sc
we're cold wave, was moving southwark
to the gulf States and a disturbance
was developing on its southeastern
edge. The result was inevitable and
as rapidly as possible widespread
warnings were distributed on Saturday
in the west gulf States of impending
severe freezing weather on the coasts.
Saturday night the warnings were
extended to Florida, and both were
further supplemented on Sunday norm
ing by additional and more positive
warnings. Norther warnings were
also sent on Monday to Habana and
the Bahamas. While the immense loss
of property is to be greatly d~eplOred,
it is gratifying to learn hat as much
as possible was saved by the timeliness
of the warnings. Nearly all tempera-
ture records were broken in the gulf
and South Atlantic States. The tenn
perature at New Orleans reached 6
degrees; 8 degrees lower than any
previous record; at Vicksburg, ] degree
below zero, 4 degrees below the rec
ord; at Jacksonville, 10 degrees or 4
degrees below the record, with heavy
snow and sleet; at Jupiter a minimum
of IS degrees was reached this III
the damage caused by this cold wave
will appear in other publications of
the weather bureau. AS the storm
moved nOrthwards from Florida the
character of the destructive element
changed. While the cold continued
the snowfall became the predominant
ing and, as it afterward proved, a very
serious factor in the situation. Snow
was general from Florida northward,
and was heavy as far south as South
Carolina.
From Virginia northward the amount
ranged from 10 to 80 inches, but was
not well distributed. The greatest fall,
q inches, was reported from Northern
Virginia. At Washington the fall was
q inches, or a total of 80 inches during
the past eight days, by far the great
est snowfall for at least sixty-five years
as shown by the records. On Sunday
morning it became evident that heavy
snow would fall in the Atlantic and
New England States, and warnings to
this effect were at once issued.
The %northward movement of the
storm also necessitated the hosting Of
storm signals along the entire Atlantic
coast by 2 p. m. Sunday. By Monday
morning it became apparent that the
storm would prove one of extreme Sc
verify on account of the high winds
and heavy drifting snow, and hurricane
warnings were thereupon ordered along
the entire coast from Delaware Brake
water to Eastport. The hosting of this
extreme danger signal was fully iusti-
fed by the result and events. as winds
of as high as 70 miles per hour were
reported with binding snow.
Clearing weather has rapidly followed
the storm, and this morning it IS clear
and cold in the Atlantic region New
England excepting in New York, where
the clouds still remain. An area of low
pressure is approaching from the west
and under its influence the temperature
will be generally rising after Wednes-
day morning east of the Alleghanies.
They are rising to-day in the central
valleys and entire west. 4.
H. E. WILLIAMS,
Acting Chief L. S. Weather Bureau.
1870