The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1912-10-10
Three Years Weather
Figures Prove that Sunny Southern
Idaho" is COrrect---Frost Stays
Off for Tenderest Plants

Ii is now almost three years since
the local weather bureau was estab-
iished. During that time, a careful
daily record has been kept OF the
weather, the rain, snow, frcst, sun
shine, shadow, and whatever else
there is in the weather subject 1t
makes an absorbingly interesting, Ii
not a thrilling story.
We talk of sunny southern Ida-
no." usually with a bit of mental
reservation, or with public apol-
ogy. There have been months in
the past three summers, when not
single cloudy day was recorded.
In August, 1910, there were 29
days with not enough cloud to
notice. There was one other month
cloud; two such months in 1911,
and the August just passed had no
cloudy day The record for the
three seasons, beginning in Febru-
ary, 1911, shows 543 clear days;
3O5 with a little cloud; and only
112 when clouds predcIninated 1t
gives amost 60 per cent Of the
days without cloud. and most OF
the rest Of the time the sun was
beating the clouds to death. No
one needs to apologize for saying,
or for believing it himself, the pet
phrase of Sunny Southern Idaho. :"
The dry-goods- s-box-whittling phil
osopher who worried about the worll
growing colder until 1t should fin
ally freeze into a solid block of ice
in about million years---while his
wife took in washing at a dollar a
day---would have good reason for
mis- fears, if he believed the ten
dency to grow colder indicated b.
these figures, was to hold good.
rhe seasons have actually grown
colder each year The hottest days
were in July, 1910, when the mer-
curry showed SO degrees cn two
separate days. That was the hot
test month, with a mean or aver
age temperature Of 1876 degrees.
February Of 1911 was the lowest
average, 1875 degrees; though
the coolest day was January 1872.
1S below zero. In general, there
has been an average drop of about
degrees for the average month
since 1910. Only one month, Aug
ust of this year, was as warm as
the corresponding month Of 1910;
this year the mean was 64.S. as
against 64.1 in August. 1910 Al
mcst every month of 1911 showed
a drop from the year before; the
average was about degrees, and
the drop this year was about the
same from last year. So a return
CT the glacial age is indicated If
these figures prove anything.
1t is the habit to believe that
wherever one may be, that is the
most tickle climate known to civil
lied man. Probably no new country
has had as many people, even its
best friends, commen ton the rapid
ity Of it's changes of temperatur
and weather conditions, as Sunny
Southern Idaho. 1t is true, that
there may be occasional changes o
weather here, if enc cares to stay
eng enough to observe them. For
instance, on August 3rd, 1910, tn
dropped from 81 de-
grees, down to 36, the same day,
4 range of So degrees of tempera-
ture Of 55 degrees in "a hours. 1t
was the greatest range recorded in
he three years But the writedi
nee saw the mercury go from
degrees above tc 20 degrees below,
inside of 1S hours, range of 80
degrees. That was back in Iowa,
where they grow peaches, melon
md almost everything but bananas,
which do not thrive Idaho has a
ong ways to go to come within
shooting distance of the versatile
Iawkeye climate.
In 1910, there were frosts hard
enough to do scme damage to ten
Ter plants, June 3rd, Sth and 9th; I
ind then the first frosts in the fall
we're September 5, 7, ), and 26. III