The San Francisco call., 1903-01-27
STORM CAUSES TREMENDOUS DAMAGE
TO THE PROPERTY IN SHASTA COUNTY
Ruin Done the Rain Will Reach Into Hundreds of Thousands
DoarsDownpour in Nearly All Other Sections of the State
Renders Farmers Orchardists Uncommony Jubant

the high Sierra for prophetic inspiration.
The prophet would say: AN abundance
OF snow on the mountains is a sure sign
that the rain in the valleys will be plente-
oUs." The meteorological argument was
that the low temperature created by the
snow on the great range of mountains
would condense the moisture of the
vapors waited in from the ocean
The miners AND farmers still look to
the mountain ranges for signs of the sea
son. A heavy lodgment of snow from
the foothills to the summit signifies a
natural storage of water for summer use.
Il is figured that ten inches of snow Is
equivalent TO one inch of rain, although
snow is sometimes so dry and light that
eighteen inches will not produce more
than one inch of water. Three inches Of
closely packed old snow may be estimated
as the equivalent of one inch of water.
Records of snowfall in the Sierra af-
ford interesting study. At Summit in
the month of January. 1895. the snowfall
registered 25S inches. At Truckee during
the same period the snow measured 107
inches. At Emlgrant Gap 179 inches and
at Boca S3 inches were recorded. The
Boca record in January. 1890, was 1z6
inches. The Emigrant Gap record of 1890
gave 1863 inches. Truckee reported 1852
inches. At Summit in December. 1894
the snowfall amounted to 245 inches.
During the winter of 1S94-95 the snowfall
on the summit was IS feet. or 696 inches
Approximately this is equivalent to 50
inches of rain.
heavily charged with moisture tumbled
in from the Pacific Ocean, south Of Flat
terry, spreading over Oregon and North
ern California. The storm is sweeping to
the south and east. AS the rain was
warm 1t extended high UP on the noun
tains in the region of country which
Shasta crowns, and as result early
the streams tributary to the Sac
ramento River are overflowing. The
warm rain will be followed by
heavy SHOWS throughout the mountain
region. Yesterday the operating depart
ment of the Southern Pacific was ad-
vised that snow was falling all along the
line of the road from Emigrant Gap to
Floriston- From Dunsmuir and SissOns
came the report by wire that snow was
falling in that region.
The United States weather observer in
San Francisco was advised that the wind
at Carson, New, had attained velocity
Of sixty-foUr miles an hour.
All the conditions are favorable for
heavy snow in the counties of Shasta
PIumas, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, FL Do
rado. Tuolumne, Calaveras, AmadOr and
MdTlpOSd. III would not surprise United
States Weather Observer Meade if the
snow line should extend from the sum
nit down to the foothills embracing Col
fax and Auburn. Lower temperature as
the storm increases may deposit blanket
OF snow on the coast range
The Southern Pacific Company no
longer receives weather reports from the
various stations along the main line and
branches, hence the Merchants Exchange
and the United States Weather Bureau
are not supplied with storm data from
the r. gi0n of country between the Siski-
you Mountains and the Tehachapi range
The present storm, however. belongs to
the grade commonly known as the old
fashioned sort. and its continuance will
cause the dwellers in the valley Of the
Sacramento 20 look after their Ievees