NOTES An account of the phenomena of meteorological importance observed during the recent total solar eclipse is to appear in an early issue of the Monthly Weather Review. If those members of the Society who took careful observations at that time will be kind enough to send their results to the Chief of the Weather Bureau, Washington, they will help in the compilation of this article. A striking result of the wave of economy in governmental affairs about which we hear so much today is the fact that the Weather Bureau, because of lack of funds, can no longer afford to send daily weather maps to all the colleges which need and use them, and in some instances, suggests that the instructors simply use old maps in teaching about weather and forecasting. BAKERSFIELD, Calif., Dec. 20.-Charles H. Hatfield, professional "rainmaker," has failed in his contract to produce one and one-quarter inches of rain for the cattlemen of Kern County. Under the agreement signed on November 6, Hatfield was to receive $2,000 if he produced that amount between November 20 and December 20, and $4,000 if he got a one and one-half inch downpour. Although he succeeded in producing a smaller amount, his cloudmaking device was broken and he has departed for other fields.-New York Herald-Tribune. TOKIO, Jan. 31.-Yesterday's snow was a foot deep, being a record for thirty-eight years. In many parts of Japan the snow is red and in others it is yellow, due to volcanic activity, although some ascribe the colors to Mongolian dust storms. The cold is intense today and there is much suffering.-Chicago Tribune, Feb. 1, 1925. AND IT DOESN'T MELT THE SAME (Cartoon from the London Mail) Pessimistic old man- "It ain't the snow we 'ad when I was a boy. It ain't so wooly nor it ain't so white." The Illinois Portion of the Glaze Storm of December, 1924 A severe glaze storm extended across Illinois during the second decade of December. In the affected areas trees were badly damaged, and thousands of electric service poles were broken down. Some rural telephone systems were ruined. Trees with wide spreading branches suffered most, especially soft maples and elms. The storm was followed by a cold wave, and the icy conditions and cold weather that prevailed during most of the two weeks following, rendered difficult the work of restoration. The situation at Springfield was typical of the rest of the area. Probably three-fourths of the trees in the city were damaged to a greater or less extent. The duration of ice on trees and wires is probably without precedent in this section, as some lasted until January 4. The total damage to wire service in Illinois has been estimated at $5,000,000. If there is added to this figure the loss of business, the damage to shade and orchard trees, and the possible injury to winter grains, the storm may be classed as one of the most disastrous of its kind in the history of the state. Excerpts and abtsract of article by Clarence J. Root in Clim. Data, Illinois Section, p. 48a.) NOTE-Some very striking photographs of the results of this storm will appear in the December, 1924, number of the Monthly Weather Review. BULLETIN OF THE CONT OF THE Umreckallt OF ILLINOIS AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY Published Monthly by the American Meteorological Society at Worcester, Mass. Vol. 6 MARCH, 1925 WASHINGTON MEETING May 1-2, 1925 No. 3 The sixteenth meeting of the Society will be held at the Central Office of the Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C., on the evening of May 1st and on the morning and afternoon of May 2d. A special feature of the meeting will be the showing of two films recently completed by the Office of Motion Pictures, Extension Service, Department of Agriculture. The films are entitled "Exploring the Upper Air" and "Watching the Weather Above." The first shows Dr. Meisinger carrying on his special free-air investigations at Scott Field in April-June, 1924. The second film gives a general survey of the free-air work of the Weather Bureau, including the various methods employed, the data obtained and the forecasts issued for airmen. These are the first of a series of films, now being made, that will show all phases of the Weather Bureau's activities. Another feature of special interest will be a symposium on "Solar Radiation and Weather" to be given on the morning of May 2d. THE PROGRAM FRIDAY EVENING SESSION, MAY 1ST, 8 O'CLOCK 1. A Review of the Meisinger Free Balloon Flights. (20 min.) (Lan- 2. 3. The Present Meteorological Needs of Aeronautics. (15 min.) Isothermal Surfaces in the Ocean. (20 min.) W. J. HUMPHREYS. KINCER. 5. On the Mean Variability in Random Series. WOOLARD. (15 min.) E. W. 6. Weather Forecasting as an Aid in Preventing and Controlling SATURDAY MORNING SESSION, MAY 2, 1925, 9.15-12.15 O'CLOCK 7. Symposium: Solar Radiation and Weather. (Based on data pub- (3) Discussion of anal variations of solar heat radiation and the analysis. (30 min.) C. G. ABBOT. weather. (40 min.) H. H. CLAYTON. (4) General discussion. (30 min.) SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION, MAY 2, 1.15 O'CLOCK 8. The Use of Motion Pictures in Illustrating Meteorological Problems. (10 min.) C. C. CLARK. 9. Showing of two films, entitled "Exploring the Upper Air," and "Watching the Weather Above," Office of Motion Pictures, Department of Agriculture. FRED W. PERKINS in Charge. 10. Some Remarks Concerning the Occurrence of Precipitation in Connection with the Disturbance of February 22-23, 1925. (25 min.) (Lantern) R. H. WEIGHTMAN. 11. Meteorological and Other Observations during the Total Solar Eclipse of January 24, 1925, at Middletown, Conn. (10 min.) 12. Meteorology of the Solar Eclipse of January 24, 1925. (15 min.) (Lantern) S. P. FERGUSSON. W. I. MILHAM. SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION, MAY 2, 1.15 O'CLOCK 13. Meteorology and Superpower in the Ohio Valley. (20 min.) W. C. DEVEREAUX. 14. Influence of Land and Water Temperatures Southeasterly Wind of Texas. (15 min.) NEHILL. on the Prevailing (Lantern) I. R. TAN 15. Tornadoes in Alabama. (15 min.) W. R. STEVENS. 16. Long-Period Recording Instruments. (20 min.) (Lantern) S. P. FERGUSSON. Other scientific societies will meet in Washington as follows: 1. American Physical Society, April 24-25 at the Bureau of Standards. 2. National Academy of Sciences, April 27-29 at their new building. 3. American Geophysical Union, April 30-May 1st, at the same place. Section C, Meteorology, of the Union will hold its meeting on May 1, 9.30 A. M., to 12.30 P. M. The program follows: 1. Reading of minutes of 1924. 2. Report of international Section meeting at Madrid: H. H. KIMBALL. 3. Details of method for obtaining samples of air from great altitudes. W. J. HUMPHREYS. 4. The possibility of broadcasting meteorological observations from the Pacific and Japan in Europe, through the co-operation of France and the United States. E. B. CALVERT, by invitation. 5. Meteorological observations by airplanes. W. R. GREGG. 6. 7. A form of simplified Calendar. C. F. MARVIN. Principles on which weather forecasts for the United States are based-an illustrative example. A. J. HENRY. THE TORNADOES OF MARCH 18, 1925 On the afternoon of March 18, 1925, one or more tornadoes visited southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and Indiana, parts of Kentucky and northern Tennessee. These wrought the greatest havoc recorded in such a catastrophe since February, 1884. The latest count, according to the Associated Press, place the dead at 830, the injured at between 2900 and 3000, and the property damage about $18,000,000. Some towns were completely obliterated. The passage of the tornado across one of these is described by a survivor as a "crash of thunder preceded by two blinding flashes of lightning, after which there was nothing left.” In the nine years, 1916-1924 inclusive, 876 tornadoes are known to have torn across smaller or larger strips of this country, exacting a toll of 2242 lives and about $92,000,000 of property.1 The greatest disaster Hunter, H. C.: Tornadoes in the United States, presented at recent meeting of Am. Met'l. Society, to be published in Mo. Wea. Rev., and Finley, J. P.: Tornadoes in the United States in 1924, Insurance Press, Jan. 28, 1925. from this cause occurred on February 19, 1884, when 57 tornadoes in the same day killed about 1200 people, injured about 3000, and wrecked about $35,000,000 of property. May 27, 1896, a tornado at East St. Louis, Mo., causing 425 deaths and a property loss of about $12,900,000, ranks third in the list, while that of June 28, 1924, at Lorain, Ohio, with property loss placed at $13,000,000, is equal to it in damage done.8 A DRY SNOWFALL The "driest" snowfall coming under my observation occurred at Bismarck, N. Dak., in the morning on January 10, 1925, when three inches of snow fell with a water equivalent of only .02. This gives the unusual density of less than .006. It is the belief of the writer that some observer's give too much importance to trying to obtain a density ratio of ten inches of snow to one of water when great variations from this standard occur. Samples of the snow were carefully taken by two observers but in no case could more than .02 inch water be obtained from the three inches of snow. Very dry snowfalls often occur here during the coldest weather when there is not a cloud in the sky and the moisture condenses in the clear air, but under these conditions only very small amounts fall. The above mentioned snowfall, however, occurred under usual conditions with the temperature slightly above zero and rising and with a light wind blowing from the southeast and south. This snowfall was very soft and feathery and settled rapidly during the afternoon, while during blizzards when there is snow falling along with the blowing snow it is very coarse and much like salt although it is also quite dry. Snowfall in North Dakota is very unimportant for the crops due to the fact that it is usually light and the ground freezes up so hard that the snow is melted and all evaporated by the dry winds, therefore never soaking into the ground. The effect of the wind on the people is somewhat opposite for the dry winds here seem to "pass by" without any very cold effects while in more humid regions the wind seems to "soak in" and is very disagreeable. Eighty percent of the precipitation in North Dakota falls from April to September although at times some heavy snowfalls occur and remain on the ground for many months.F. J. Bavendick. EXTRAORDINARY SEASON IN EUROPE Weather in Relation to Pressure Distribution The autumn of 1924 and the winter of 1925 have been characterized in the British Isles by a continuance of the wet weather of the summer. In considering the relation of weather to pressure distribution it was found that the belt of low pressure which had extended across the Atlantic Ocean and British Isles from April to June had been replaced in July and August by an area with pressure more than 5 mb. below normal, centered near Thorshaven, and covering a large part of the British Isles. The area was still in existence at the end of February. Finley, loc. cit. Hunter, H. C., The Lorain, Ohio, tornado, June 28, 1924. Mo. Wea. Rev., June, 1924 vol. 52, pp. 809-810. Throughout most of this period the pressure remained above normal in southern and central Europe. Such a distribution was very favorable to persistently strong and storm winds from the south and southwest. The existence of the belt of low pressure from April to June was attributed chiefly to the reversal of the normal pressure gradient between Newfoundland and southern Greenland in January to March, which hindered the free outflow of the cold Labrador Current. A partial explanation for its continuance is found in the pressure anomaly between the Azores and the coast of Africa in the spring of 1924. The reversal of usual conditions there must have caused southwest winds to replace the usual northeast trades in this region. Correlation of trade wind velocity with subsequent pressure in western Europe and the North Atlantic shows that an abnormally weak or reversed trade is followed 6 to 9 months later by low pressures in southern Greenland, Iceland, the Faroes and northern Norway, and by high pressure in the Azores. Moreover the weakened trade results in a reduction of the drift of warm water into the Caribbean Sea and northward into the Gulf Stream, so that the surface waters of the Norway-Greenland Sea become cooler than usual, and the contrast in temperature between the ocean near the Azores and near Spitsbergen is accentuated. A second cause for the unusual pressure distribution is the supposed lack of ice in the East Greenland Current. Since the fall and winter area of low pressure came into existence just as the spring and summer one was dying out, the southwesterly winds and stormy weather persisted with hardly a break. (Abstract from article by C. E. P. Brooks in The Met'l. Mag., March, 1925, vol. 60, pp. 29-32, map.) Such pressure distribution caused temperatures to be above normal over practically all of Europe, the excess being 11° F at Spitzbergen, December, 10° for December and 17° for January at Haparanda (on the Gulf of Bothnia). During this same period Canada and the United States are reported as suffering from intense cold and storms.-(Abstract from The Meteorological Magazine, Jan. and Feb., 1925.) Old Man Winter Seems to Shun Northern Europe BERLIN, Feb. 28, 1925.-Stories of the remarkably warm winter keep coming into Berlin from Sweden, as well as from points in Germany. Records of the Stockholm observatory, dating back to 1768, show that the last month of 1924 was the warmest December since 1789. Lack of snow in some parts of Sweden is interfering with the local lumber industry, and private observers say the average temperature has been 40 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. Storks arrived in Kovno late in January to the great surprise of naturalists, who declare they have never known the birds to return so early in the year to the Baltic states. In Hildburghausen, Saxe Meiningen, a plum tree in full blossom has attracted attention, and adds to the strange freaks of nature noticeable throughout Central Europe during this singularly mild winter. The winter in Hungary has been so mild, with practically no frost or snow, that artificial heat was not needed in buildings. Spring Usurps Role of Winter COPENHAGEN, March 16, 1925.-This is the mildest winter Denmark has known in three centuries. Not once has the temperature fallen |