Evening star., 1933-02-09
Capital Forecast Is II De.
grees Above Zero Tonight.
AirmaiI on Time.
TEMPERATURE BELOW
ZERO IN MANY STATES
Deaths From Exposure Likely to
Be Increased-Fruit Damaged
in South and Southwest.

Snow may sweep in out OF the West,
probably within 48 hours, to climax the
present cold wave, which will bring
even lower temperatures tonight before
moderation begins, according to the
Weather Bureau
While the exact time of the SHOWS
arrival was not fixed by the official FORE
caster, there was little doubt that the
Capital would get some of the snow
that has gripped other sections Of the
country with paralyzing effect. Whether
1t will reach Washington by tomorrow
night or come later, however, was prob
lematical.
But there was no qualification at all
in the Official forecast of colder
weather tonight with an expected min
imum temperature of II degrees. Last
night and this morning missed being
the coldest Of the year by one-tenth of
degree. The lowest thermometer
reading, 141 degrees at am. today,
was just that much higher than the IA
degrees" recorded December 16.
The mercury is not expected to rise
much during the sunlight hours today
before 1t starts downward In another
effort to establish a seasons record.
Tomorrow will see definite moderation
of the severe cold, the forecast
promises.
Preceded by Warm Spell.
The cold was preceded by, Spring.
like warmth that sent the mercury to
pleasant 66 degrees yesterday and
tempted washington to abandon over
coats for topcoats. Following the peak
OF the high temperature, which was 20
degrees above the normal for February
3, the temperature began its descent
under the lash Of a mounting wind
that swung in from the West and
Northwest. The steepest decline in any
one hour was recorded between and
4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, when
the mercury fell IL degrees.
The wind, consistently strong, reached
It's highest velocity at about pm.
ana again at 1890 pm, when a max
1mum of As miles an hour was record
ed at the Weather Bureau. Frequently
1t was clocked at 40 miles an hour, and
| 1t was this wind which the cold weather
rode into the city to give steadily
declining temperatures. At 10 O'Clock
last night the thermometer stood at
% degrees. The hourly readings after
| that were: IL pm, 81 degrees; mid
night, 20; am, 19; 2 am, 10; 3
am, II; am, 16; S am, 16; 6 am.
10, am, Is; am, Is, and o
Besides the low temperatures and
the high winds, Washington also got
enough conglomerated visible weather"
to make neat showing on Weather
Bureau instruments. The rain. sleet.
hail and snow which fell totaled .05 Of
an inch.
Air Mail on Schedule.
Clearing skies and subzero weather
greeted air mail pilots in the vicinity
OF the Capital last night and all sched-
ules were completed on the coastal run
! and across the mountains. Passenger
runs were resumed this morning.
Pennsylvania Airlines pilots reported
temperatures far below zero over the
| Alleghenies between Washington and
Pittsburgh, and ground instruments
showed reading of degrees below zero
on top Of Laurel Ridge. High winds
made rough flying for the night mail
on the coastal run through Washington
from New York to Miami, but the pilots
reported no difficulty.
What Washington received in the
way OF weather was hardly a sample
OF what other sections of the country
got In Winters advance to the Atlantic
seaboard. Sub-zero temperatures were
recorded in the Districts neighboring
States, with IL below at Thomas,
w. Va, and at Deal, Pa Keyser Ridge,
the highest point in Maryland, had a
temperature Of below. while Alta
mont, Nd, recorded degrees below.
Storm warnings were displayed along
the Atlantic Coast. all the way from
Jacksonville, Fla, to Eastport, Me.
A blizzard was raging in the White
Mountains Of New Hampshire. The
mercury sank % degrees within a few
hours to below the zero mark and the
barometer dropped under the lowest
pressure ever recorded in the history
OF the Mount Washington Observatory.
Snow in Maryland.
Strong winds were whipping snow
about the mountains in Maryland. It
was zero in ,the western half of the
State, with steady drop under way.
Philadelphia reported a 34-degree drop
in temperature in eight hours, with a
40-mile-an-hour wind. Between mid
afternoon and pm. yesterday there
was a 40-degree decline in New York
City.
Intense suffering among the desti-
tute gave relief agencies new problems
in Western Pennsylvania, where tenn
peratures droped 40 degrees in "a hours.
Snow choked many highways and air
traffic was paralyZed.
Meanwhile there was no 1et-up and
none in sight for the Midwest and
West. Chicago had IL below early this
morning and figured ON Is before sun
| set.
Throughout most Of Ohio storms were
blowing with zero and slightly below
temperature readings. Ice and snow
claimed the lives of two Ohio motorists
and one pedestrian. Two persons died
in traffic accidents in Indiana. In
Southern Missouri the crop experts said
the frigid air had ruined the peach crop.
Two Missourians perished. 1t was be-
low zero, but farther West it was still
colder. Lincoln, Nebr.. had a minus
ID, the coldest since 1918, while Sioux
City, Iowa, reported 33 below. Orr.
Mimi, set new record with so below.
One man was found frozen to death
near Franklin, MINI. Trask, Mont,
with GA below, had the lowest figure un-
officially reported.
Fruit and vegetable crops in Cali
fornia, Texas and Arkansas were
damaged. Southern California citrus
growers were smudging. Scattered live
stock and wheat losses were reported In
other parts of the West. Many rural
schools were closed. Water entered a
gas line serving Dustin, Okla, shutting
of service four hours in sub-freezing
Temperatures. Five deaths were register
ed in Oklahoma, two in Texas and
Oregon and one IN Kansas. =
Blizzards swept from Idaho to Nevada
delaying trains and blocking highways
Throughout Wyoming and Colorado
Temperatures were from Is to rs below
and still falling.