The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-18
DROPPED IS DEGREES
SEVERE WEATHER THROUGHOUT
THE ENTIRE SOUTH.
TEMPERATURE FELL FAST.
REACHED THE FREEZING POINT
YESTERDAY MORNING.

A Slight Raise During the Day bur
at 1890 O'clock Last Night the
Mercury Had Fallen to 30 with In
dicatiOns of 20 or Less by Morn
ing-A Rise of from s to 10 Degrees
Reported in the SOuthvest-Fruit
Trees VIII suffer if Mercury
Reaches Expected POint-The
Storm Now on New York and
Blowing SO Miles Per Hour.
The South felt the effects of the
freeze yesterday following the storm
of Monday night which eclipsed all
previous winter gales for this section
and season. The freezing wealth
er, or at least the change in tenn
perature, was decided as early In
morning as 2 o'clock when the mercury
had fallen from 1880 o'clock the night
before, to "a degrees-a drop of S2 de-
grees in about seven hours.
At o'clock the mercury had gone to
81 degrees but went up again to
"a at noon. At o'clock the conditions
were unchanged, and from then until
6 o'clock there was a fall of but two
degrees. At 1920 o'clock, it
had dropped to 80 degrees and was still
falling. Local Forecaster Boyer's pre-
diction at that hour was that the tenn
perature this morning will be 20 de-
grees or lower.
The Wind Shifted.
The wind averaged thirty miles from
1870 o'clock Monday night, though at
S:35 O'Clock in the morning it reach
ed a velocity of thirty-five miles. The
lowest velocity during the day was at
4 o'clock in the afternoon when it
was blowing twenty-four miles. At
1880 O'Clock at night it was blowing
but twelve miles per hour, and the
forecaster announced the blow
thing of the past.
Forecaster Boyer said that the in
dications pointed to a greater fall, in
temperature still and he would not be
surprised to see the mercury at 20 or
below by morning, or about II degrees
below freezing.
Storm Moving Down.
The storm warning was ordered con-
tinued during the day, and the flags
were kept hoisted, but at 1918 o'clock
at night they were ordered lowered,
with the report that the storm was
then centered off the middle Atlantic
coast with a wind velocity of fifty-six
miles at New York.
The temperatures at other Southern
places with the drop in the past TWEEN
ty-four hours were reported last night
as follows:
Atlanta 16 degrees, and a fall of %
degrees.
Charlotte, % degrees and a fall of 80
degrees.
AshevilIe, degrees with a fall of AZ
degrees.
Augusta, 26 degrees and a fall of So
degrees.
At Atlanta the highest wind was
forty-two miles; Norfolk thirty-two
miles and Wilmington thirty-two
miles.
Reports from Florida points were
missing except Tampa where a tenn
perature of forty-two degrees was reg
istered last night with freezing con-
ditionS anticipated this morning.
Temperature Rising.
The Weather Bureau reported a ris
ing of temperature in the Southwest
and West of from to Is degrees. the
states effected being mainly Kansas,
Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. This
change in temperature is gratifying to
the weather officials, who expect
gradual warming to begin by Thursday
and continue until the mercury is back
to its normal condition.
The Washington report of the wealth
er to-day is as follows: Fair and not
so cold in extreme northern portion
of the state. Thursday, fair with slow
ly rising temperature and fresh west
to south winds.
The official report of conditions
throughout the country was:
Moving rapidly northeast. the Mis-
sissippi storm center, having increased
in energy, is now central near Boston.
where the pressure is 29.04 inches.
Strong gales and heavy precipitation
have attended the passage of this
storm during the past twenty-four
hours.
THE cold wave forecast now covers
the entire country, the greatest decline
in temperature having occurred over
the Central Gulf and South Atlantic
states, where it is 2S to "A degrees cold
err, with freezing temperature to the
Georgia coast. The severe cold is di-
minishing over the Rocky mountain
slope. although it is still % degrees be-
low zero in the Dakotas. Zero temper
atures are reported from the Ohio val
ley. The conditions favor fair and con-
tinued cold weather tonight and We'd
nesday, with the temperature about 70
degrees below freezing tonight. Ev-
erything liable to damage from hard
freeze should be protected"