Evening star., 1932-03-16
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.


Revolutionary changes have taken
place in the weather map of North
America during the last few days.
Behind the scenes Of this exception
ally cold March weather extending over
most of the United States and Canada
have been some of the queerest phe-
nomena yet recorded at Weather Bu-
reau stations.
Perhaps the most exceptional COLI
dition has been an almost unbroken
draining of cold for more than 10 days
out of the north polar regions, where
all the cold comes from. 1t is almost
unprecedented for such an inflow to
last for more than four or five days at
time.
The Mackenzie River cold channel
appears to have been clear of obstruc-
tions ike a river basin at the time OF
a Spring freShet so that virtually an
enormous flood" of cold has swept
over the country. At the same time the
celebrated Atlantic coast high" which
has centered over Bermuda more or less
persistently for the past three years and
greatly influenced the weather Of East
ern North America, has gone to pieces.
An area of heavy, cold air is known
as a high" of lighter, warmer air a
low" They move in pairs northward
and southwark.
Least Resistance Paths.
Cold. pushed southwark out of the
Arctic basin, follows paths of least re-
sistance. These may be over the oceans
| or they may be by well established
routes over the continents. The basin
| of the Mackenzie River in Northwestern
! Canada east of the Alaskan Mountains
! and the Rockies is a favorite route into
| North America.
But for the past few years the Mac
kenzie basin cold flow has not been SO
pronounced For 10 years most OF North
, America has been warmer than nor
NAL The climax was reached during
| 1931-the hottest year IN American
history since records have been kept.
| Meteorologists are unable TO explain the
reason for this. The Arctic basin has
| only so much cold, at the most, to dis
pense to the rest of the world. Perhaps
| some other channel has been more
easily available. There have, of course,
been plenty of highs. The phenomenon
has been relative.
| Then, during the past two years. the
whole mechanism of weather was
! further complicated by the Bermuda
| high. 1t was an enormous area OF
| heavy air centering over Bermuda and
extending westward over the Appa-
| lachians. A high" would come down
| through Canada east of the Rockies
and sweep southeastward across the
| United States. Normally it would pass
! over the Atlantic Coast States and out
over the Atlantic, where it gradually
would be lost But right over the At
| lantic and the Southeastern Coast was
! this largely inexplicable high, which
wouldn't give way. The highs on
| their way southeastward would Smash
into its sphere of influence over the
| Southern States and break to pieces.
During the past year some OF the Gun
! States have been exceptionally cold.
The territory north of them, however
has been hot beyond all precedent. IL
simply was because the cold-brlnglng
highs" couldn't get through.
Low Pressure System.
Meteorologists began to look for
trouble late in February when obserV.
ers reported that the Bermuda high
at last was beginning to break. In lts
| place a low-preSSure area was develop
| ing over the Atlantic. Then came. some
thing unexpected, IL days ago. Some
where over the northern Pacific was
a great low-preSsure area. Possibly IL
came from over northern Japan. IL
began to move rapidly southeastward,
struck the Pacific Coast, shot over the
Rockies, and crossed the continent
| through Texas and the Gulf states:
Then it ran into the low which had
developed over the Atlantic. The re-
/ suit was a great low-pressure system
extending over almost half the CONT
nent and almost all the Atlantic. Ihat
! looked like trouble.
| At about the same time great hlgh-
pressure area was developing in the
| Far North, its center over Coronation
| Gulf north of the Hudson Bay region.
There it hung on the weather map IKE
a dark storm cloud. 1t split into two
parts One moved northeastWard over
Greenland. Somewhere in the interior
! of that great ice sheet it was lost from
sight. The other half lay menacingly
over Canada, its jaw over Central
Alberta. Slowly it began to move
southwark, chilling the air in its patn.
| 1t swept over the Canadian border,
, and, gathering momentum as 1t went,
crossed the United States over the Gus
| tomary path of highs" But when 1t
| approached the Eastern States there
was no high" to oppose it. Madly 1t
| raced eastward to the Atlantic sea-
| board
The great low from the North Pacific
passed over the District of Columbia
the morning of Sunday, March 6. The
winds accompanying low move coun-
ter-clockwise, around and toward the
center That is, they are from the
south on the east side OF the low. As