The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-05-22
GROUND IS WET
Longest DrOuth i'm History OF
Kansas Has Ended.
Soil More Thoroughly Soaked
Than for Years.
RAINFALL ABOVE NORMAL
Nearly Three Inches More Than
the Annual Average.
Total Precipitation for the
Week Is Ais Inches.

The chances are that the longest
drought period in the history of Kan
sas weather records will be effectually
broken this year. Right now the
ground IS more thoroughly soaked
than it has beer for several years
The precipitation at Topeka to date
this year has been 1882 inches; nor
NAL is 1915 inches.
At first thought mere matter OF
two or three inches excess moisture
seems a mere trifle-
But the question arises. what IS
an inch of water"
According to government figures
an inch of water on an acre OF lano
weighs 226,512 pounds or 1884 tons
and is equivalent to 27.14S gallons
sunny Flora, the local "eat . =
observer, has it figured out that 1t
would take the city waterworks TWEEN
ty-three years 70 pump the 1919 ex-
cess of fall-approNmately Two
ami one-half lnches-over the entlre
surface of Shawnee county. And last
wear the water department pumped
1927. 1851 gallons. 1t would take
nine wears or more to pump one men
of water over the county
Five Years Dry.
Last year was the fifth successive
wear in Kansas with the average ram
fall for the state below normal.
The Kaw river is an excellent lndl-
cation of the condition of the subsoil-
Because of the accumulated drouth
the stage of the river December IA,
1914 reached IS feet, the lowest
known in the history of the govern
ment and Santa Fe records. The for
mer date back to the summer of 1904,
and the latter TO 1892. The Santa Fe
records show the extremes only
The AIS inches which fell this week
caused only a comparatively slight
rise in the Kaw. The highest stage
reached was 1917 feet Friday morning
This morning it was only 9-S feet,
which is slightly more than one foot
above normal for this date.
The normal average rainfall for the
entire state of Kansas-that is the av-
erage since 1Ss7-is 27-5s inches
Normal for Topeka is 1916. Topeka
had a heavier rainfall in the famous
drouth year of 1918 than did Kansas
in general by long margin. In fact
the total precipita ton here was above
normal for the entire twelve months,
but it didn't come at the right time.
OF the $3.50 inches for the year at the
capital city 1870 inches fell in the
months of September, october and
December.
There was an excess of rain in 1909
at Topeka. and 1908 was one of the
we'll remembered flood years. the stage
of the river reaching IS feet on June
9. In 1909 the average stage in June
was 11S feet several feet above nor
NAL.
Annual Rainfall.
Following was the annual rainfall
at Topeka for the five successive
years: 1910. 32.57 inches; 1911, 2S.11;
1912, 1892: 1913, $3.50; and 1914, 80
inches
As previously stated there were five
drought years for Kansas as whole.
Previously there had been but two
at a stretch on record. These periods
were: 1887 and 1883 and 1893 and
1894.
The following comment by sunny
Flora on the drought period beginning
1910 is taken from an article on Kan
-sas droughts recently prepared by
Flora and put in printed form:
In 1910 occurred one of the most
severe droughtS on record in the
southern. and especially the south
eastern part of the state. only an av-
erage of "a per cent of the normal
precipitation occurring in the south
ern half of the state in the IL months
ending with November of that year.
a general deficiency in precipitation
occurred during the summer of 1911,
which was really continuation of the
deficient precipitation of 1910. The
six crop growing months of 1911.
April to September, averaged, with
two exceptions, the driest since state
wide observations were begun in 1887.