The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-04

mGspheriC Conditions VaIueIess- |
Continued High Temperature very /
Destructive To Life and Property. |
This is the season of the year when the |
! Weather Bureau endeavors to cooperate |
with the Department of Agriculture IN the |
effort to furnish the farmer with some in |
/ timati1n Of the kind Of weather he may |
expect from day 10 day. While this il "A |
matter Of dollars and cents with the
farmer ii is oftrimes a question of life /
or death with the dweIleTs in cities. and is !
Of equal interest At least No damage re
suits in town or country from average
summer weather. even though 1t may be
+ considered somewhat torrid II Is the
/ hot wave which ruins the farmers
prospects for a bOuntifuI harvest and
/ brings death ami suffering to prisoners
/ within the city blocks.
/ A T burrows, the Weather Bureau
! expert on hot waves, modestv sumEnssr-
J lies the results of many years of iuves-
tiEauon in this particular direction by
; saying that the only positive knowledge
which has been acquired is that during
. a hot wave the eastward circulation of the
. atmosphere. both upper and lower. is for
the time being almost totally suspended
/ and thGt radiation Is at that time at a
( minimum He takes occasion, however,
! TO puncture the reputation Of several we'll
known IOng-diStauce weather prophets by
declaring that while it Is quite practicable
to forecast high temperature for a period
of from four To five days. predictions for
u longer time are the Eacrest guess work,
and not entitled to crcdence.
The hot wave occupies the most impor-
taEt position among all weather pho
nCmena in the destruction of life and
property which follows its wake. A sum
mer haiIstorn may destroy considerable
property over limited area. high wind
may cause damage Of more serious na-
ture, and tornado is still more destruct-
''r Of property and usually accompanied
. loss Of human life, but all these are
local in their effect and of short duration
Even a hurricane sweeping up from the
West Indies carrying death and devas-
tation IN its path affects but a relatively
small portion of the United States 4
general hot wave. however. with its
bIighting ard death-deaIing tenpera-
lures. leaves a trail of ruin so widespread
and so great that it cannot actually be
measured. The loss to the farmers Of
Iowa in the destruction Of their crops
from a single hot wave which visited that
section in 1894 amounted TO over S50,OJ0,OG1,
or nearly twice as much property as was
destroyed in the Galveston food, and sew
" as much.
As for the suffering undergone by the
millions of humanity day after day IN
these hot-vave periods there IS no rec
ord nor IS one possible Statistics may be
secured as to the number Of sunStrokcs.
but no data are obtainable regarding the
sick whose deaths are h1stened by the
abnurmaIly heated atmosphere The
Weather Bureau definition of d hot wave
is a period Of three or more consecutive
days during which the temperature
reaches or passes 80 degrees. and with
few exceptions they occur during ths
months Of June, July, August, and Sep
TENDER
OF the great crops Of the country corn
and cotton are most liable to injury from
loverheating. IN most cases the mere lack
Of rain is but partially responsible for the
blight as the cooking and firing effect OF
the Intensely heated atmosphere IS the
source Of most of the damage. Crops
can recover from a drought. but the de-
structiOn Of their life-giving properties by
q rot wave is fatal The farmers Of the
West estimate that during a summer of
average heat the occurrence of a hot wave
lasting from three 10 six days VIII reduce
the harvest yield of the country fully p
per cent The most dangerous time for
these excessive temperatures to occur IS
during July and August, both in the ef-
feet upon the crops and upon the health
Of the jewellers in cities
A careful study of the records Of the
Weather Bureau. ssEering a period Of
thirty years fails 10 reveal the regular Te-
CurTenCe of SUMMERS IF excessive heat OF
that hot waves occur On the same days in
/ succeeding years The conclusion Is that
these yisitations may be expected at If
I --4ls. he ~,
| teusity varying greatly each year. The
maximum tenperatur during hot wave
! generally comes within forty-eight hours
after the first ninety degrees is recorded
The number OF excessive days Of abnOr-
mai heat varies and may range as high as
sixteen OF seventeen Two or more pc
RODS may come in close succession and in
the popular mind these are associated as
one long spell as, for example, the month
of August, and the first part of September
in 1900
| II is a very exceptional summer when at
| least one OF these hot waves does not
sweep the country. Fewer occur in June
! than in any other summer month. July
furnishes the greatest number and Au-
| gust and September are not far behind
In the last two months a hot wave IS
likely to be longer than in the earlier part
of the season No part Of the United
States escapes this sCouTge. At times on
" one section of the country Is affected
and at other times half the United States
suffers under the same heated term.
| on the great plains Of the Middle West
the most severe effects Of the hot waves
are noted It is here they frequently have
theft birth Thy are often attended 5y
hot winds which bear relation TO the
hot wave not unlike that of the tornado
| TO the general cyclone The Southern
States are more free from this visitation
| than the others. though they do not Is
| cape entirely a hot wave results from
stagnatiuu OF the atmosphere. and as the
area OF high temperature drifts slowly
from west 10 east and is driven off to sea
by the advent of an area Of high pressure
! the heated term comes 10 a close and the
| normal circulation Of the atmosphere Is
| resumed
The hot wave of August and September
| Ia Il year will long be remembered on &C
count Of its length and intensity. In the