The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1915-04-03
nature PLAYS HER FRANKS.
MARCH IS USIIEItED OUT WITH
SNOWFALL OVER CENTRAL
AND WESTERN SOUTH
CAROLINA.
Much Snow, Slect and Rain in Past
Twenty-fOur Hours - Weather
Breaks All Records of Seasons for
Recent Years, Although Snow is
Told of i'll May Many Years Back.
The Daily Item, March 81.

From The Daily Item, March 81.
Dame Nature in her playful moods
can play some colossal pranks, such
as the most ingenious OF men could
not have devised in an ordinary life
time. Just now the lady in question
has eXerted herself to break late rec
Ords for weather conditions on
March seth and 31st in the memory
Of the ordinary man or
March was ushcred out by a heavy
fall OF snow, something almost UNI
known in this sunny southland" and
sleet and rain in plenty accompanied
the snow.
h morning late risers awoke to
find hat the rain was not falling, as
it had been when they dropped of
into the land Of nod last night. for
the snow, the beautiful snow that
the poets write about, had come In
it's place and was falling fast in
white and sober beauty. The fall
commenced shortly after z O'Clock
and continued until about 9 o'clock,
when it ceased and the fallen flakes
quickly converted themselves into
the worst kind Of slush underfoot.
The snow was preceded by q cold,
raw day here yesterday, with plenty
OF rain during the late afternoon and
a good sprinkle of sleet during the
early part Of the afternoon. Then
during the night there was an almost
continuous fall of rain, which chang
ed TO slcet at 7 o'clock this morning
and which in turn was changed to
snow a few minutes later. Persons on
the street between s and 9 O'Clock
were given the unusual sight at this
season of trees and houses being COW
cred with snow.
The ground was warm and the
snow and sleet melted almost as fast
as it fell to the ground, making con-
ditions for pedestrians, and vehicles
too, for that matter, decidedly unde-
sirable. No one would have suspect
ed on Monday, when the sun was
shining with 4 warm and spring.
like mildness, hat the next day would
be one of rain, and the next one of
snow. 1t seemed that Nature was
playing a kind Of April fools joke on
humanity.
The chief alternating feature Of the
whole affair was the absence of the
strong, high wind which has come to
be looked for as a necessary adjuct
of March weather, showing hat the
old saying is not always true, "if
March m in like a lion it will go
out like a lamb" and vice versa, for
both the opening and closing days of
the month were devoid Of anything
which could be called a stiff breeze.
1t is true, however, hat there was
month which was almost bad enough
for all the other thirty days.
Nor was Sumter the only place to
suffer from the cold, which delayed
the visit Of spring and made the ladies
and gentlemen lay aside their spring
suits and hats and return once more
to the garments of winter. From ell
of the towns in the northern, central
and western sections OF the State
come reports Of snow and sleet, with
heavy falls OF rain, and, as one re-
port stated "of winter freezing on
the job" Fears for the fruit and
vegetable crop were reported from
some places, although it is too early
yet to state what damage has been
done here, if any, by the freakish
weather to gardens and fruits.
The weather conditions are not I'M
p~recedentcd, for the older citizens OF
the town tell about the time that
there was a heavy fall of snow about
the middle of May, along about the
year 1910, this historical fact having
been told to them by their fathers
and mothers. There are some now
living who remember the big snow on
April IS, 1850.
Columbia, March 30.-Slcct, snow