The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-01-19
LOCAL CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
COMPARED WITH OTHERS.
RECORD CANT Be. EQuALEO
temperature Almost Summerljke in
BaIminess and Days Fair as
Any in June.

/ Sixteen out of "a days that Mr.. East
man. the voluntary weather observer
kept record of local climatic con.
ditions in December were clear. Dur.
| ing the same period six were cloudy
and two partly cloudy. Light SHOWS
fell on five days, the Sd, 11th, 18th,
18th and 18th of the month.
These observations began December
and were continued daily until the
10th, when they ceased, to be re-
sumed December ~ and continued
until the end of the month. During
the intervening seven days the wealth
er was about the same as that during
which a record was kept. The pre-
vailing winds were from the west,
from which direction always comes
warm and fair weather, as it is a
rarity that the minimum temperature
| occurs with western wind. Falling
temperature is generally preceded by
eastern winds, with occasionally a
| wind from the south, but this is sell
dom.
Not once during the month did the
mercury indicate zero, the lowest be-
ing 2, above, recorded December A.
The other cold days were the 18th,
five above, and the 18th, when it was
four above. The highest temperature
was Ga, on the End. The lowest max
imum was Is, on the 14th. The
next lowest was 80, on the 10Th. On
the last of the month the maximum
was 45 and the minimum %. On the
two coolest days the maximum was
was Is and %, respectively.
As to January.
The record for the present month
herewith noted ends on the 18th. Up
to that date the coolest recorded was
II, above, on the 18th. The maxi
mum ranged from So, on the 18th, to
3S, on the 7th.
OF the Is days 10 were clear, three
cloudy and two partly cloudy. The
same warm, western winds that pre-
vailed during the preceding month
were again noticeable. Thus nine
days are noted as having had wind
from the west, with only four as hav-
ing wind from the east. Snow. very
light, fell on one day, the 18th. For
the days intervening, from the 18th
to date, the 10Th, the weather has
been warm, remarkably SO, with only
one cloudy day, yesterday.
Some Comparisons.
1t should not be supposed that the
record given above is an unusual one
or that it is published because of it's
exceptionally favorable showing On
the contrary, the very reverse is the
case, as the present winter so far
has been about an average one for
this particular locality, meaning that
part of the Yellowstone valley extend
ing from the western limits of Yellow
stone county well into Rosebud on
the east West and east of these
limits nature is less kindly disposed
and the weather very often gets as
cold as it has been in the far east |
and north. Old settlers all know this
and from the Indians it has been
learned that long before the whitemen
invaded this region the habit of deer,
;buffaloes and all other ruminant ami
mails then abounding in this section
was to winter within the area de-
scribed.
How differently the weather obser-
vations of the east read in COM
parison In the Atlantic coast states,
New York, Massachusetts, Maine,
and all of New England, in the south,
Maryland and the rest of that section,
and in the middle east and middle
west, extending to the gulf, and as
far north as civilized man attempts
to maintain habitation extreme cold
prevailed during last month and up to
the present of this month. From
zero to as much as 40 below, and in
some instances even lower, has been
reported for days and weeks. Yet the
people Of Missouri, Kansas, Texas,
Arkansas, Colorado. Nebraska and
the other states south of here and
west Of the Missouri apparently re-