The Washington times., 1901-07-07

city streets. Then a-few DROPS of rain
I fell, and just at the time when there was
doubt as to whether the storm would
! reach Washington. or pass to the north
of the city, the shower became a down
pour.
! From 3:40 o'clock until 7:S0, nearly four
! full hours the torrent fell, drenching the
! heated buildings and the hot concrete
! pavements, and cleaning the city. The
! change was a grateful one. Parched
! Washington. igurativeiy speaking stood
! barCheadcd in the rain. and became sat
urated with the cooling moisture. Sixty
! nine hundrcdths Of an inch fell during tn
storm. The benefit from sanitary point
! Of view was great. The sewers of the
/ city were thoroughly washed. and. al
! though they have been flushed at regu-
lar intervals during the hot term, the ma
tural flushing they received yesterday
was Of considerably more value.
The storm was a genuine summer thun-
der shower. The air was charged with
electricity. and the lightning was fire.
| queut. The wind blew at the rate Of
twenty-five miles an hour. an increase of
twenty miles an hour within a few min
utes, and the effect on perspiring citizens
was immediate. \ general feeling of
buoyancy replaced the dull apathy which
had become characteristic while the torrid
weather continued. and men and women
went about their affairs with smiling
countenances and restored energy
The only damage caused was inflicted
TO the shade trees along the street. and
in the parks. Branches were blown down,
and the sidewalks and thoroughfares
throughout the city after the storm Were
Uttered with broken branches and leaves.
In, r,a . 1a rff ba
rainfall was slightly heavier than in other
parts. and more damage was inflicted
upon the trees.
The Weather Bureau last night reported
that the end of the hot wave had been
reached. although the temperature today,
according to the forecast officials, will be
registered in all probability far up among
the eighties. The thermometer may show
during this afternoon a temperature as
high as 90. That the weather will be per-
manenuy cooler. however, was not prom
ised. But Washington for a short time,
at least win get back to the normal tenn
peratuTe for this time of the year. 1t is
not likely that the thermometer will reach
the 100 mark again for a considerable
period. For exactly ten days Washington
has been in the grasp of a spell of tropi-
cal weather far hotter than the average
for this time of the year. Cloudy weather.
with a moderate temperature is promised
for today. followed probably by light
rains on Monday.
At Il o'clock last night the tempera-
ture was down to 80 degrees, 6 degrees
lower than at the same hour Friday
night This temperature prevailed dur
ing the greater part OF the night hours,
with a slight rise toward morning. max
ing sleep possible and comforts bic for
the first time in more than a week a
cool breeze helped to make the night
more bearabe
At o'clock yesterday afternoon the
maximum temperature of the day was
reached the record being % degrees at
the Weather Bureau and several degrees
higher in the business section Of she
city. This temperature lasted until The
storm came. For twenty minutes the
mercury fell at the rate of ! degree a
minute, which is officially considered
big drop For two hours there was a
steady decline, and at O'Clock the mer-
curry pointed to the IS degree mark on
the scale. This was the lowest tempera-
ture Washington has experienced during
the present spell of hot weather.
There was a gradual rise after this |
hour At s o'clock the thermometer reg
istered Il degrees and at 10 clock ~, |
also establishing a record for this hour !
during the heated term
The immediate cause of the hot weather
from which Washington has just emerged |
was due say Weather Bureau officials, TO |
an area of high barOmetric pressure on |
the south Atlantic coast, and an area OF |
low pressure in the upper lake region, ana |
hot southerly winds which have blown |
almost steadily from that direction for !
ten days.
Thunder showers were prevalent yester- |
dav in the section between Washington /
and New York and it was generally cooler |
last night in the Atlantic States West |
of the Mississippi the thermometer has |
risen again