The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-02
JULY RAN GAMUT OF
SUN AND SHOWERS
frcaky Month Excelled in
Spots for Brightness as
Well as for Gloom.
HAIL STORM A FEATURE
Within One Degree of the
Heat Record--St. Swithin
Failed to Fulfill Fable.

The July that passed in its meteor
logical checks on Thursday may not be
classified AZ unique or even phenomenal
but by the beard Of the Prophst James
II. scarr, who Is clean shaven. It was
q month that viii be remembered In
the annals Of the weather. Bureau be-
cause Of some of its peculiarities. While
not remarkable as q whole II was as
tinctiy extraordinary in spots. IL gave
unusual vogue 10 the fable OF b.
Swithin, impelling folk fond OF PERFECT
uating superstitions to talk about II
for at least nine days OF the Tabled
forty.
The FIRST 1--WE days Of the month were
100 per cent sctntillant. not q CLOUD
marring the sometimes nery inverted
copper bowl Of the sky. Every one or
those FIVE days was fifteen hours long,
and that meant rs hours of sunshine
The nights also were clear.
These five brilliant days were units
ually hot, but, fortunately. not oppfes-
sive with humidity. The maximum tenn
peratures were respectively IS. ~, 20,
IS and 90. There were three other days
with all the sunshine that can be nj
tered through the circumambient to the
earth in this latitude. and they were
In the last quarter OF the month
cloud Maker. Work Overtime.
The cloudy days were many. Col
Pluyius of the Cloud Makers Union per
hitting only 29s.3 hours OF Illumination
out of q possible ASA hours The mood
that started Swithinesquely on the AZ
tsenth lasted nine days -and deposited
7.s3 inches on the top of the Whitehall
Building at the lower end OF Manhat-
tan. thus establishing a record for the
last twenty-five years.
The greatest rainfall for the month
was SEA inches in 1883. Other deluges
were s.45 inches in 1872 and $50 In
1897. In other parts of the vast bor-
oush the rainfall might have been more
thar that measured officially on the Of
ncial tower, but the impression Of Fore
caster Scarf and his able staff Is that
there would not be a material difference
I'm the various boroughs. and that the
record Of 7.s3 might we'll represent the
average rainfall of the entire city.
In the St Swithin period Of nine days
the sky was not overcast In the daylight
hours all of the time. sunshine fire.
quently piercing the gloom and thus add
ing to the whole a considerable quota OF
radiance. But the public generally and
the advocates OF the Swithinese doctrine
particularly, seemed to believe that the
that clouds are made of and will be in
clined to discredit the real figures. The
fact Is that there was less actual cloudi-
ness than In the average July: but those
nine days obsessed the multitude that
seemed to fancy Il had been looking
through umbrellas darkly most Of the
month.
Dark Julys Not Unusual.
The percentage of sunshine was IS.
despite the nine gloomy days, and this is
just per cent more than normal which
shows that dark Julys are not unusual
There were eight days clear, twelve
partly cloudy and eleven almost wholly
cloudy.
A hailstorm not mentioned or observed
by the general public was noted down
town on the 2eth. 1t may have had q
purely local origin and may have been
confined to the lower end of the island
Hail Is not usual in July. The month
also had three days Of dense fog. the
18th, 18th and goth, and a series of
thunder storms, occurring on the 9Th,
18th, 18th, 26th and 2sth. July came
within one degree of beating the heat
record for the month, which IL 80 de-
grees, and was recorded on the Sd, 1888
II was a very cool month. but not the
coolest on record, the average maximum
being SOS degrees. The average maxi
mum previously was s21 degrees.