Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-02-23
HOW IS WEATHER
IN FRANCE? COLD


Snow and Everything.
Columbus, Ohio-What about the
climate in France? What about the
probable effect of weather upon the
health. comfort and military opera
lions Of the American soldiers In
France? Is there much difference In
the climate and weather there from
that in the United States?
These questions pour into practic-
ally all the weather bureaus OF the
United States daily and have become
apparently. Of such general interest
that the Ohio section, Genealogical
service Of the weather bureau, U. S.
department of agriculture, has pro-
cured information from Washington
that is expected to answer most OF
the queries that people Of Ohio are
making since Ohio soldiers reached
the western front.
Winter weather in France is rather
rigorous and unpleasant" says a
statement issued by the local weather
bureau. This Is due to persistence
of comparatively low temperatures,
much cloddiDess and frequent rain and
snow"
The winds blow mostly from the
west and southwest and are fire.
quently damp and chilly. Winter
nights are long and days correspond
ingly short.
In the extreme northern portion Of
France near the present battle lines,
sunset In December was little be-
fore 4 o'clock in the afternoon and
sunrise about 5 o'clock in the morning,
making the nights about 16 hours
long.
The rapid warming up when spring
comes is not so noticeable as in the
United States, the weather bureau
says. The average temperature In
March is only 2 to 4 degrees warmer
than In February. April and May are
moderately cool and not unpleasant
the length of the day increases much
more rapidly than in the United States
and there is correspondingly large
increase in the amount Of sunshine
Rainfall is comparatively light but il
occurs frequently.
Summers are more pleasant than
those in the United States. Day tenn
peratures are moderate and the nights
cool. Heat is not excessive and heated
periods are Of short duration usually
Fall brings lots of rain, both in in
tensity and frequency. This usually
is the season of maximum rainfall.
The geographical position of France
and Belgium, it appears from inquir.
les to the department, are not very
we'll known to most people. They liz
about as far north as the section be-
tween Boston and New Foundland
Marseille, the most southerly import
ant city Of France. is farther NORTH
than Boston, while Paris is nearly sol
miles farther north than Chicago
Brussels is more than so miles farther
north than Winnipeg, Canada.
1t should be expected, the weather
bureau says, that in view Of the loca
ton SO far north as compared will
Ohio, that France would be colder
than Ohio, but its climate is affected
by the Atlantic ocean, from which pre-
vailing winds come, these not beinl
broken by mountain barriers in reach
ing the interior. Since large bodie
of water heat slowly and cool slowly
more steady temperature results
The warmth from the Atlantic ocean
!. which keeps France and Belgium from
being very cold, is from the Atlanti
drift, originating in the so-calle,
Gulf stream, which transports warn
water from the Gulf of Mexico. Nor
NAL westerly winds carry the warmth
to adjacent land.
1T Is of interest to note," tn
weather bureau says, that Will
Brest, on the western coast of France
has about the same latitude as Devil
Lake, North Dakota, the average Janu
airy temperature at Brest under thes
conditions Is A degrees, while q;
Devils Lake 1t Is about zero. Brest'
| lowest temperature seldom is as col
as zero, while Devils Lake has bee
, as cold as 60 degrees below zero. o.
/. the other hand, owing to less rapi
cooling of the ocean water, the Jul
t average temperature at Brest is "a de
E grees, while at Devils Lake 1t is
degrees"
Rainfall in New Orleans is thre
! times as heavy as in Paris, but it
considerably more frequent in Pari.
The average annual rainfall Of Chi
!. cago Is one and one-half times as larg
S as in France and Belgium; at Ne,
York more than twice as large.