University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1909-11-18
DATES ON WHICH
THE SEASONS BEGIN
George Reeder of Weather
Bureau Gives Dates He
Would Set.
DERIVED FROM AVERAGES
Winter Begins November %.
and Lasts Until March
Is. He Says.
DERIVED FROM AVERAGES

=, seems never to have been def
nitely determined upon what tempera-
rure the seasons depend, that is, at
what temperature and corresponding
date does spring open? When is the
flood time OF summer the opening OF
autumn, The beginning OF and the mini
mum cold of winter" writes Geor"2
Reeder, of the United States weather
bureau in Columbia, in a recent issue
OF the Monthly Weather Review.
Some say that spring begins When
the temperature reaches forty -four de-
greeS Fahrenheit, but this does rot
seem to correspond to any u.Stli:ct
epoch in biological phenomena As a
rule, Narure's signs are well advanced
before W. begin ia take notice OF
them. The sap h;ts began to Iun.
insect life is stirring, the brown sod
is showing green and then we say
that spring Is here. But the processes
OF lie have alrs adv renewed their Nc
tivity before these signs appear. At
just what time ioes that mysterious
:CuCh Of nature take place III ne early
SPRING."
Seasons Well Marked Here.
A study of the dn annual or nor
nal temperature OF place gives no
satisfactory answer to this query. ac-
cording to Mr.. Reeder, but the mean
daily temperatures and particularly
the mean daily minima present very
interesting features.
In Missouri the seasons are par
ticularly well marked and both Co
lumbia and Mexico afford very salts
factory points for observations which
are calculated to develop the seasonal
temperature fluctuations in the lay crs
OF the atmosphere and the earth which
are nearest each other, says Mr..
Reeder. One may often experience a
warm spring-like day during the lat
ter part of February and the first of
March. but no insect seems to be
stirring. On March Is, however. it
32-deg!ee line and this date is evi-
IDENTITY the opening day OF sprin"
While March Is may mark the awak-
ening, there is very little to mark the
phenomenon at this time. as all life
seems Yet dormant. but the sap be-
gins to run and between April S and
- the soft maple. which is an cary
variety. begins to put forth its first
leaves.
We have taken June 2 as the first
day of summer because that is the sirst
day on which the mean daily Temporal
ture reaches 20 degrees and H2mainc
above it, writes Mr.. Reeder. The
astronomer informs us that the long
est day of the Northern summer is
June 81. when the sun rises farthest
in the North and sets farthest in the
North. But it is generally known that
the greatest heat in summer does not
Z
Autumn Begins September H.
80 would call September ~ the open
ing day of autumn for the locality
under discussion. Some fifteen or
twenty days later we see the forests
, beginning to assume their autumn
cOlorS.
Winter at Mexico. Mo-. begins No
vember %. when the daily minimum
falls below 80 degrees and stays there.
About a month later the days are the
shortest and the hours of darkness
are the longest, but the winter cold
/ does not reach its minimum until
February 4. or about forty-tive days
after the winter solstice"