Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-01
TEMPERATURE IS
NEAR 100 MARK
HEAT RECORD FOR MAY IS
ALMOST REACHED
ONLY TWICE IN SO YEARS WAS
MERCURY SENT HIGHER
At Noon Yesterday Thermometer In
dlcated e6 Degrees-Weather Man
Promises TorrId Period viii
Not Last Longer

mortal exercises, and that he set a
torrid pace is putting the results of his
labors in a lukewarm light, for yester-
day sunny Southern California came
into it's own and, ably assisted by Old
Sol the thermometer scared to a point
during the midday which threatened to
break all records for May.
At noon the mercury registered 90
degrees above, which is near a record
for May, although twice in the last
thirty-three years the mercury in the
same month has passed the 100-degree
mark.
May 25, 1896, the thermometer
reached 1903 degrees and May q, 1888,
it went as high as 100 degrees. During
| the last thirty-three years there nave
been but ten May days when the tenn
/ perature exceeded 80 degrees, so that
yesterday will go down as one of the
record breakers.
| Sunday the weather man tried out
his heating apparatus and, finding it
| in fairly good condition, threw open
the clutch yesterday, and that he is in
fine fettle for the summer stretch can
best be told by those who traversed
Los Angeles streets yesterday.
A slight breeze made an Intellectual
attempt to ameliorate the excessive
heat, but from the feeling it was evil
| dent the breeze had spent its force-at
least, It's frigidity-in crossing the
deserts.
1t was a hot, burning zephyr that
was waited through Los Angeles, al
though during the afternoon the wind
freshened and it was comfortable for
those who were not obliged to travel
| in the rays of the sun.
Rush Made for Beaches
The beach towns were the Mecca
yesterday for those whose business did
not detain them in Los Angeles, and
the electric lines did an enormous bust
ness. Venice seemed to be the popular
point of destination, and the railway
companies were kept busy supplying
extra cars to meet the demand of
those who wished to pass the holiday,
and incidentally escape the heat, near
| the seaside.
| The ice cream parlors, soda fountains
| and thirst quenching emporiums did a
rushing business, the heat and the hol-
iday crowds combining to make the
dispenser of cold drinks smile as the
silver and gold jingled in the cash reg
lister.
1t was the real opening of summer,
long delayed, and for that reason more
forcibly felt by those who were not
prepared. Heavy underwear was cast
aside and Los Angeles streets were in
real summer attire.
1t was the hottest Memorial day
celebration in Los Angeles in the
memory of the oldest veteran, and as
one Grand Army man stepped off the
car on the return from Evergreen
cemetery he remarked: Makes me
think of Bull Run and Balls bluff, but
there's no fourflushing about this
weather. 1t was warm there and it's
| warm here, and all one needs to do is
to picture the bullets flying and the
weather will do the rest to complete
Sherman's picture of war"
A young man, who had been in Los
Angeles for the first time and only for
| a few days, was seen standing at the
corner of Third and Spring streets with
an umbrella under his arm. A friend
| inquired why the cause of the UNI
brella. The newcomer spruced up,
looked at the sky. mopped his per-
spring forehead and remarked Il guess
we will get heavy thunder shower
after this awful heat"
Thunder Showers Infrequent
He doubtless is wiser this morning,
for thunder showers in Los Angeles
are as scarce as hens teeth, and the
young man admitted that the climate
was not just like what 1t was back IN
New England.
The man who asks the foolish ques-
lions was in his element and bobbing
| serenely about, everyone he encoun-
tered was approached with the query,
WARN today, isn't it?' He evidently
found out that SUCH was the case
before he ended his promenade.
The cause of the unusual hot spell
was the high barometric pressure in
the northern part Of the state, which
drove the heat from the sun-scorched
| valleys. However. the weather man
promises relief and states that the hot
| spell will have spent its force before
| tonight
1t was estimated that 100000 persons
! left Los Angeles yesterday for the
beach towns, and the electric lines
carried five times the regular number
of passengers TO points outside of Los
Angeles,
The throngs which left the city were
4 not going merely to pass the holiday,
the thought uppermost in their minds
being to escape the heat and with bas-
ket lunches sit by the sad sea waves
until Old Sol retired for the night.
The beauty of California climate was
shown by the fact that the humidity
was scarcely perceptible. In the east
ern cities, with the mercury lowering
about the 100-degree mark, numberless
prostrations would have occurred, but
the dry atmosphere of Southern Cali
| fornia, the absence of great humidity
/ make sunstrokes and prostrations an
unknown factor.
At 5 a. IN. yesterday morning the
Thermometer registered 73 degrees
above and at p. m. SO degrees. The
maximum temperature for the day was
| SO degrees and the minimum So.
The barometer at 5 O'clock a. m. was
80. SO and lowered during the following
ten hours ~ of a point.
Although the official maximum gives
the highest point attained yesterday
as 9S degrees there were many places
in Los Angeles when the bulb exceeded
| the 00-degree mark. ~
Touches LOG at Fresno