The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1919-12-11
ALL RECORDS
FOR EXTREME
COLD SHATTERED
Mercury Drops to ~ Degrees Be-
low Zero and Kennewick Val
ley Shivers
LOWEST MARK OF RECORD
fn'dest It Has Even Been Before was
21 Below-New Record for
Early Snowfall
FRIDAY Morning)

4. FRIDAY Morning)
Since the article below was written
III former cold records for Kennewick
were smashed this morning when the
sovernment Thermometer registered
q degrees below zero, or 6 degrees
eslder than the lowest temperature
recorded since the government station
wss established here in 1884.
II is impossible at this time to as
certain just what havoc has been
wrought by the extreme cold. Ger
tainly it has greatly added to the Sc
rieusness of the fuel shortage and un-
less some relief, either warmer wea-
tier or new supplies of fuel, comes
within the next day or 50 the situation
viii be critical, indeed.
Many homes this morning are with
ut water and every plumber in the
tswn is being beseiged with hurry-up
calls to thaw out frozen pipes. The
business houses in the Hover block
will be without heat at least part Of
tie day, the main steam pipe in the
heating SYSTEM being bursted.
With ten inches of snow on the
ground and a minimum of a degrees
below to date, this promises to be
Kennewick's most wintry December
Il which there is any official record.
Already the record. for December
mowfall has been broken, and with
The mercury showing but scant incli-
aation to climb, the record for Decem-
tr cold bids fair to be lowered before
Ne month passes into January.
u Official Chronological data for Ken
nswick is not available in detail, but
aecording to summaries on file in the
bcal station only twice since the sta
Hon was established in 1884 has the
mercury dropped to below zero in De-
esmber. In December 1898 a mini
mum temperature of 8 below was re-
corded and in December 1911 the
mercury dropped to 2 below. The re-
cord, however, for the entire period
from 1884 is not complete as the
years from 1887 to 1894 are missing.
According to snowfall summary.
covering the &c years 1S94-1919, the
present snowfall of 10 inches estab-
fishes a new record for December. The
nearest approach to the present snow
fall was in December 1909, when z
inches was recorded, and in 1914 A9
inches fell. Nine of the 26 Decembers
had no snowfall and the average Tor
the period, not including this year, is
% inches The heaviest snowfall OF
record is "a inches in February 1916
which come on top of 14.5 inches In
January.
If weather, like history, repeats It
self, it may be safe to hazard the pre-
diction that colder weather is coming
next month. In 1898 when the mer-
curry dropped to 8 below in December
it registered 13 below the following
january and 6 below in February.
Starting with below in Decembar'
1911, the thermometer begun the new
year with low mark of 8 below In
January, but behaved nicely in Feb
ruary with a low mark of IL above.
While no exact dates are given in the
summary, it is thought the extremes
of 1898 and 1911 come near the end OF
December, and the lower tempera-
lures of the following months were
recorded at the climax of cold period
of comparatively short duration. 1t
is to be hoped the present cold period
now nearing the end of its second
week, viii haye reached an anti climax
by the time January 1 rolls around.
The lowest temperature ever record
ed at the local station was Il degrees
below zero in January 1909. The aV-
erape mean minimum temperature for
December over period of 21 years
is 27.3 degrees and the mean maxi
mum for the same period is AIS de-
grees. - &ss., 8 ~ sr
A browse thru the weather records
seems to Justify the popular belief
that an unusually hot summer is fol-
loved by an unusually cold winter.
The years 1898 and 1911 hold the re-
enrJ g.. ...I.ox~oo Ru,,vnpoar tomnera-