The Savannah morning news., 1903-10-18
RAIN IN TORRENTS
MORE THAN TWO INCHES RECORD
ED AT WEATHER BUREAU.
CENTER OF THE GULF STORM
PASSED NORTRWARD BETWEEN
SAVANNAH AND MACON TOWARD
HATTERAs.

Nenrness to Storm Center Saved Sa-
vannah From the Full Force of
Rain and Wind-More Than an
Inch of Rain Fell in One Hour.
Winds Rendered Umbrellas Prnc-
ticaIIy UseIess-Despfte Rains the
Mercury Recorded an Excess of
Degrees in Temperature Fair
Weather Predicted for To-day
With North to Northwest Winds.
The center of the storm which passed
northward from the Gulf lay almost
directly over Savannah yesterday. The
result was the excessive rains which
fell the greater part of the day. More
than two inches of rainfall was re-
corded at the Weather Bureau, and of
this amount more than half fell in one
hour. 1t was the hardest rain of the
month, and one of the hardest of the
year.
The first indications of the approach
of the storm began about midnight
Friday. A light rain began falling,
breaking away at intervals only to be-
gin again in a few moments. This
continued during the night. Toward
noon there was a considerable fall in
! the barometer. and by / o'clock the
rain was falling in torrents.
Until o'clock there was a DOWN
pour, the instruments recording more
than an inch of rain. The water APP
! peared to fall in sheets. and a wind
which h1aur xt,if
made umbrellas practically useless.
The water was whirled under them and
people who were compelled to be on the
streets were nearly as drenched as
though they had no umbrellas.
Savannah Near Storm Center.
The nearness of Savannah to the
! storm center saved it from the full
| force of the storm. The actual center
passed northward between Savannah
| and Augusta, the low pressure area
! covering a wide extent of territory. The
! weather map showed this area, shaped
! something like a huge boot, lying with
! the heel and toe over Savannah and
Macon and the leg extending down into
| Alabama.
Storms of the nature of the one which
passed over this section of Georgia yes
| terday are SeVerest near the edges,
while the centers are comparatively
! quiet and devoid of winds. The winds
here varied in their velocity from
! twelve to fifteen miles an hour. Dur
| ing the hardest downpour of rain the
| wind blew only thirteen miles an hour. 1t
| is probable that there were high winds
at sea and along the western edge OF
the storm.
High northerly to northwesterly
winds generally follow in the wake Of
similar storms, and the prediction calls
for them to-day. The winds Will not
be sufficiently strong to 90 any dam
age, and the rapidity with which the
storm is moving will carry it into the
Carolnas tonight. This will decrease
the force of the winds. The tele-
grams received at the Weather Bureau
last night showed that the barometers
were falling rapidly at Hatteras and
Norfolk, that at Hatteras being the
lower. The storm will probably be in
that section this morning.
Another Excess in Temperature.
Despite the cooling effect of the
! steady rains and the absence of sun
shine, there was an excess of I degrees
in temperature yesterday. The maxi
mum was registered at noon when the
mercury reached 70 degrees. The mini
mum. which is usually recorded about
o'clock in the morning, was not reg
istered until O'clock at night when
the mercury stood at 67 degrees. This
made the mean for the day 20 degrees
while the normal called for only &C.
The excess for the month thus far