The Arizona sentinel., 1906-02-28
Yuma Climate.

Yuma Climate.
 The climate of Yuma, always all in
 teresting theme, especially among th'
 people of the east who have formed
 their ideas concerning it from the wide
 ly circulated yarus emanating from al
 legged humorists, is herewith intelli
 gently discussed by Mir. $. Hackett
 official head of the United State.
 weather bureau at this station. Mr
 Racket says:
 ''In any inquiry regarding Yuma the
 first question asked is one concerning
 temperatures, and the manner in whict
 such interrogatories are made brings
 out the fact that the fable of Johr
 Phoenix's s soldier and widely circulated
 tales of the would-be humorists have
 had more weight in forming the erro
 neOus opinions generally held oi
 Yuma's climate than the experiences of residents and the accumulated record of facts and figures collected by the
 weather bureau during twenty-five years.
 ''The weather we experience can neither be expressed in degrees Fah- reheit nor put into figures for compari- ison with those of better known and more humid climates, but is contingent upon preceding weather conditions and the changes therefrom, diet and clothing being largely relative.
 "Occasionally a visitor stops off at Yuma for few days in midsumrfA r, who, having his system fortified by a generous diet aud wearing clothes for protection against the cool wave always imminent in other localities fairly sig zles in his own accumulated heat, and goes away to publish the fact that the weather here nearly killed him.
 Again, thermometric readings do not express the temperature felt by animal life here. We might term these readings actual temperatures and the sensation of heat or cold as felt by ami nal life the sensible temperatures. Neither of these is reducable to the other except by the application of coefficient varying as the amount of humidity in the air.
 During twenty-six years the actual temperature has risen upon some day in June, July or August to maxima, on four occasions to ll6 degrees, on three occasions to IF degrees, and once of 1l8 degrees was record ed, It will be noted that these temper years, and we think the assertion safe that there was no suffering or loss of domestic animals from the heat. An actual temperature of 1l6 degrees was recorded upon June 24, 1902, and men continued their work in the harvest fields without discomfort to themselves or the working stock, or without even knowing that high temperatures were being recorded; yet during the last six days of September of the same year people complained some of the heat and the actual maximum temperatures re- corded upon those days were each be- low 100 degrees. So it will be seen that conclusions drawn from compari- sons Of Yuma's climatic figures with those of more humid climates, east or west, are unreliable and misleading.
 The next question in the order asked is: Does it ever rain?' Yes; the rain fall at Yuma is shade under inches | per year, which is just about enough l Jo keep the dust laid.
 What about your frightful sand storms?' They are a myth. Occasion ally we have maximum wind velocitles of 30 to 40 miles per hour, and some lust is raised, as would be the Case else- where except upon the ocean, but tor 1adOes are never known, and the con- ,inuance of wind storms is rarely more han twelve hours, and buildings or ,rees are never injured by their vio- ence.
 With rarely any approach of close less or sultriness, that condition so we'll known and dreaded, Yuma. be- ,ause of proximity to the Gulf of Cali ornia, also escapes that other extreme Inown as aridity, which so discomforts nen or animals and retards the devel- Dpment of plant life.
 With minimum temperatures rarely ow enough to injure the most delicate plants, with no frosts, Yuma basks in he sunshine of winter as beautiful as my in the world, and as the warm weather of summer approaches. the 'ulf of California gives us cooling ,reezer."
 You can always praise a wom-