The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-06-20
OLDEST SETTLER IN
ERROR ON WEATHER
Records Of Forty-five Years Of
New York Bureau Show No
Climatic Change.
AVERAGES ARE STEADY

They have not stopped talking yet
those wise raybeards who are always
ready with their tales Of how differen,
the weather is now from the weather
they seem really to have enjoyed when
they were boys. anywhere from forty "a
sixty years ago. our wint'r RS are not
like their winters, nor our summers,
our springs. our autumns. according
to them. In the winter, except during
an especially pr%o.racted cold spell,
they trot out their rec%ollcctions of the
ancient winters, and to listen to them
one would really believe this part of
the country was drifting into tho
tropics 20 far az temperature Ia con-
cerned. And only when the mer-
curry climbs close to the nineties In
hummer are they satisfied that the
weather lie s~easonable and the tenn
perature resembling that which heated
their young blood in the distant past.
Why said a man a little more
than middle aged recently, when
was q lad we never had May months
such as this. There was some warmth
In the sun then and nobody thought
of wearing an overcoat Of an evening,
not to speak Of during the day. I
tell you the weather In these parts
has changed very materially. Take
the winters we have now. They are
warm, sir. When I was a growing
boy we were disappointed II we did
not have skating on Thanksgiving
Day: and We were usually satisfied.
Nowadays 1t II much later than that
before the first skater cuts a mark on
the ice. It's got so that I Wonder
skates are manufactured at all. ex-
cept for use In a rink.
The same. jumping TO the other
end Of the thermometer. IL true Of
the They are not nearly so
warm as they used TO be. As for
springs. I'll warrant we never had
such a cold month Of May as this
one. I tell you the weather Is chang
ing. II Is less seasonable. and that Is
one OF the reasons for 40 much sick
ness as We hea about"
Not for the purpose OF confuting our
respected ancestors. MOI to oppose the
cocksureness Of youth TO the wisdom
Of age but rather TO inform their chill
dren and grandchildren, who are re-
peating the weather comparisons that
father and grandfather are making. the
close history kept by the Weather
Bureau in New York Is invoked
Records are better than ~ecollections
What do they show?
They begin with 1871, and certainly
forty-hve years Is a period Ions
enough either TO prove Of disprove any
contention Of this kind.
As to last month. II was somewhat
cooler than the normal. but not much
The average. or mean. temperature
was ST. degrees. while the normal is
500, a difference Of 16 degrees. which
is hardly enough 70 make one shiver
or 10 brand the weather az outrageous
BY no means was Il the coolest May on
record here. That happened In 1889
when the mean temperature was 53.h
degrees. There have been four months
OF MAY colder than the one Just passed
-ls73, with n mean of $50: 1882. just
mentioned: 1898. with 56.6, and 1907,
with 56.3. But there have been months
Of MAY the mean temperatures OF
which were below the normal, which Is
,us. 60 degrees for the entire recorded
period. The warmcst May was in 1870
when the mercury averaged GAS de-
grees.
But how about the years taken as
a whole-the long past years-what
do they show? Here Il would seem
that some slight change had taken
place, the meteorologists with their
Impossible" to the contrary moth
outstanding.
For the entire period OF record the
mean temperature is $40 degrees. \
record of each year with It's mean
would be tedious, so AXE five year
periods, averaging the means. For
the first OF them, from lS7l to 1919
the average mean temperature was
h04s. which IL the lowest: 1876 to 1851
gives 81 90; that of 1881 to 1885 wa:
al.l4: 1886 to 1890 was 52,34. 1891 4
1895 was 52.42. 1896 TO 1900 was 52.52
1901 to 1905 was 81 Go: 1906 to 1910
was 81. 80. and for the four full years
that have passed since then the NEAR
was 52.32. That is, averaging by Ave
year periods. since 1885 we have
warmed up approximately one degree
and have suffered but a single relapse
between 1900 and 1905.
II may be worthy of note hat the
coolest five year period contained the
codes, recorded year-lS15, with ar
average mean temperature of 4S.6. q
the other hand the warmest Of these
five year periods did not contain The
warmost recorded year, which was
1900 with a mean annual temperature
of 5i3.
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