The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-12-17
The Kittrell Weather Prophet and
Weather Averages
Especial to News and observer.)


Kittrell, N. c., Dec 16-Our prophet
jwas so hurt that DR.. Won Hermann
should accuse him of gross misrepresen-
tations of facts that 1 hunted up an old
weather table covering the twenty years
from 1872 20 1892 to see if his memory
! had played him false. / found that in
the main our weather Solomon was
right. He had dissented from the wealth
er bureaus statement that so much cold
weather early in the winter indicated a
cold winter throughout To sustain his
observations he cited the severe and pro-
tracted cold spell that ushered in the
winter of 1886; adding that it was follow
ed by summerlke weather after Christ
mas.
And the records show that December
1885, was almost four degrees below the
normal, and with three exceptions the
coldest within twenty years. While
February was four degrees above the
normal, and was with three exceptions
the warmest February within the twenty
years. Neither of these spells were
continuous with the months, the Decem-
Der spell extending into January, and
the February spell, beginning January
of these two different spells had been
kept it would show far greater contrast
than the mean temperatures of the two
months does.
The other statement of our prophet
was that the warm winter of 1889 was
preceded by a cold summer and fall;
that it was too cold for cotton, and that
frost on September 2Sth destroyed
much that would have been made, Ind
that the ground remained frozen in No
vember and early December longer than
at that period in fifty years.
Now the records show that every
month of the summer of 1889 was below
the normal. And that August, Septem-
Der and October were most decidedly so.
No man hereabouts who planted cotton
largely that year has even yet forgotten
the water haul he made. Many fields
matured not boil. Most of them agree
that the frost of September 2S, injured
cotton and all that the one of October
9th wiped it out. DR.. Won Hermann con-
cedes these frosts, but says that the first
was light and the second not wholly de-
structive. Still he must admit that they
were abnormally early
The statement that the ground stood
frozen longer in November, 1889 than in
fifty years is. as the Doctor states, GER
tainly not justified by the weather table
for that month Still farmers here agree
that the ground did freeze so hard then
that while it thawed on top, it remained
so frozen as to prevent plowng for an
unusually long time.
The statement that the cold spell of
March, 1890. made up for the warm
winter preceding, was not meant to be
taken literally, but simply to express
in popular way that it contained
spell great deal colder than that pre-
ceding.
He has thus at length attempted to
show that the popular belief that un
usually warm or cold weather is apt to
be followed by the opposite. has no foun-
dation in fact If the mean temperature
of the spells, which are merely or never
continuous with the month could be
kept, it would doubtless be greatly in
favor of popular belief Even as it is,
while there are exceptions to the rule
as to all other rules the record of mean
monthly temperatures seems TO point
that way.