Evening star., 1935-05-21

The change brought no relief to the
southern part of the drought area
Western Kansas. Eastern Colorado,
Northern Texas and New Mexico
and it seemed not unlikely that these
sections would experience a repetition
Of the drought. Meteorologists watch
ed anxiously for the highs to encounter
the lows far enough south to bring
rain, where 1t was so badly needed.
This did not happen until the middle
OF May, when polar air masses had
pushed south over Kansas and an
extensive low formed over Northern
Arizona.
The two were in precisely the right
relationship to each other to bring
abundant rain. The result was some
of the heaviest precipitation ex-
perienced by that region in recent
years. OF course, there Is no absolute
guarantee that this situation will con-
| tinue and the Weather Bureau refuses
to make any predictions. Meteorolo-
gists point out, however, that weather
conditions tend to persist once they
have been established. When a
drought Is broken it usually continues
broken.
Mr.. Kincer sees scant basis for the
dire predictions that a considerable
part of the United States may revert
to desert. There have been just as
severe droughts in the same region be-
fore. and for the same reasons.
THE recent drought In the Great
Plains" he said, was only what may
be expected to occur periodically in
climates such as this. There is no
evidence that during the last few
years the climate here has perma-
nently changed. Rather, we are going
through a periodic dry phase of the
existing climate. Such periods Of dis
astrous drought are not confined to
our Great Plains, but obtain in other
parts of the world having similar ci-
mates"
Such factors as deforestation and
drainage play very little part in caus-
ing such a drought, he says. West
Virginia, for example. is heavily for
ested, yet no part Of the United States
was more severely afflicted by the
6ASoS oh6AI1 O1 4CoO. 40 AOi sAAS
drainage theory, Mr.. Kincer says:
1T Is argued that, with the destruc-
tion of thousands of square miles of
water surface, there is obviously less
moisture contributed to the air
through evaporation and consequently
less to condense and precipitate as
rain. This Is superficial reasoning.
Before the recent drought Nebraska
was credited with less than per cent
OF water surface, including ponds,
lakes and rivers. A little simple arith-
metic shows that If every ounce OF
water evaporated from these should
have been returned to the State in
rainfall, the annual amount would be
increased by only half an inch. With
10-acre pond on every half section
Of land In the State, assuming that
every bit Of 1t was evaporated and re-
turned as rain, there would be pro-
duced only about an inch and q half
annually"
There Is water enough normally in
the atmosphere, Mr.. Kincer says, to
provide the norman amount Of rain
fall. The great source Of supply for
that section of the country is the Gulf
of Mexico, although normally the gulf
water would have fallen as rain and
again have been evaporated into the at
moSphere several times before reach
ing the Central Great Plains. The
whole great tropical air mass has been
moisture-laden, but there has been
nothing to squeeze the water out.
The future depends on the McKen-
xie Valley remaining open. II the
polar ~ masses continue to soms