Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-02

Queer weather conditions were the fea-
lures of the month of August. just closed.
and today, according to Prof Henry of the
weather bureau staff, the very first signs
or indications of the change from summer
to autumn were observable on the daily
meteorological maps issued by that service.
These signs were first in evidence this
morning. and seem to indicate an early fall.
and perhaps early winter.
Referring to present weather prospects.
Prof. Henry said there may be a little
more rain tomorrow, and then 1t ought to
clear up and be cooler for several days. The
cool wave now in the east will. he said.
probably spread eastward into the lake re-
gion tomorrow, and reach the Atlantic
coast districts Monday. The official tenn
perature this afternoon was 10 degrees.
while the humidity was close to the point of
total saturation, 100 per cent.
AS a result of the excessively high per-
centage of humidity today the atmospheric
conditions were oppressive, and to the lay
man the temperature seemed to be soaring
up toward the 100 mark on the thermom-
eters. Beginning Monday autumn-like condI-
tons are promised for this locality.
With the advent of September the weather
clerks in Prof. Willis l.. Moore's depart
ment have busted themselves preparing
statistics for the past summer, and they
have come to the conclusion 1t is said
that the season has been a freakish one in
Washington and its vicinage
Moisture and Temperature.
August was a very wet month";" said
Prof. Henry to a Star reporter this after
noon, "as was the preceding month, July.
Nearly ten inches of rain fell In each
month. Both months were also cool, being
below the average temperatures for former
Augusts and Julys. In a word, the cond-
lions were abnormal
This has been the third successive cool
summer as compared with preceding sum-
mers. There was one decidedly hot wave
which extended from July Is to 20, and
there has heen great deal of humid
weather owing to the continued and heavy
ranfallS and to the prevailing southeast
winds.
The weather" added Prof Henry, has
not been as pleasant a glance at the
temperature tables would seem to indicate.
The high percentage of humidity has result
ed in conditions of the most enervatng ma
ture."
A conspicuous feature of the summer now
drawing to close, was the real hot wave
In July, when the official temperatures got
high up in the nineties, while the down.
town therometric readings were UP around
the 100 mark. Apart from that wave of
torpidity the summer was rather comfort
able.
Heat Waves Only at Intervals.
StIdHBe even IL those BAKING Gays
OF July were eliminated, according to the
officials the mean temperature would not
be much reduced. That is because the heat
was scattered over many days, with inter-
walls between, instead of coming in continu-
Gus spells, as it did only in the period men,
toned. Therefore II the average tempera-
ture of the summer had been evenly dis
tributed as daily temperatures Washing
ton would have earned the title of the
ideal summer resort"
The rainfall in Washington during August
beat the record for that month in the thirty
preceding years. According to the weather
bureau records it was the greatest of any
August since that of 1875. The total rain
fall for the month just ended was 975
inches, against 1898 inches in August, 1875
The greatest rainfall In twenty-four hours
In last month was on the 25th, when 800
inches fell, and eleven rainy days were re-
corded
August was noted as month of thunder
storms, such disturbances having occurred
month were clear.
When Autumn Technically Begins.
Autumn does not technically begin until
September 81 but 1t may happen that au-
tumn conditions will begin much sooner
than that date
Willis L. Moore shows that the mean tenn
perature of Washington for the month of
August just closed was "A degrees The
years has been 74.7. The warmest day
of the month was the 18th. when 1t was
so; the coolest the 2Sth, when the mercury
dropped to 80.