Monthly Weather Review/Volume 1/Issue 3

by United States Weather Bureau / United States Department of War's Office of the Chief Signal Officer

MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW,
MARCH, 1873.

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WAR DEPARTMENT,

Office of the Chief Signal Officer,

DIVISION OF

Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce and Agriculture.

STORMS.

During this month eleven storms have crossed portions of the country east of the Rocky Mountains. The paths of their centres have, approximately, been traced upon the War Department Weather Maps, Signal Service, U. S. A.

The centre of that of March 1, 2, 3 and 4 passed from Texas over the Gulf States as a diminished pressure on the 1st and 2d, accompanied by heavy rains and brisk winds, which increased to high northerly along the Texas coast on the 1st and 2d; thence northeastward along the Atlantic coast, followed by brisk and high northerly to westerly winds over South Atlantic and Middle States, but brisk and high northeasterly, backing to northwesterly, over east Atlantic coast, and accompanied by heavy rain over the South Atlantic States but by generally light snow over the Middle and Eastern States; this was followed on the 2d and 3d by very cold weather and brisk and high northwesterly winds from the Northwest and Upper Lakes to the Gulf, which on the 3d and 4th extended eastward over the Atlantic coast; on the 3d thermometer readings from 15 to 36 degrees below zero were reported from Minnesota.

March 6, 7 and 8—nearly due east over Dakota, Minnesota, and Upper Michigan into Canada, preceded by rain and brisk to high easterly and southerly winds from the upper Mississippi valley and Tennessee to the Lakes and northern portions of the Middle and Eastern States; followed by occasional snow over the Lakes and Minnesota, and by brisk and high westerly winds from the Missouri valley eastward over the Middle and Eastern States, increasing to gales over the Lakes.

March 8, 9 and 10—from southern Dakota, a little south of east over Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, as a diminished pressure, accompanied by fresh and brisk winds only; but thence east over Ohio, Pennsylvania, and beyond Cape Cod increasing in severity, with brisk and high winds and generally light rain or snow from Tennessee and North Carolina to Ohio, and thence to Maine.

March 10 and 11—from Dakota over Minnesota and Lake Superior into Canada and continuing north of the St. Lawrence valley; preceded by brisk and high easterly to southerly winds, and followed by brisk and high westerly to northerly winds; accompanied by areas of light rain or snow from Missouri to Minnesota and Lakes Superior and Huron, but thence eastward over the Middle and Eastern States becoming general and at places heavy.

March 14, 15 and 16—eastward from Nebraska and southern Dakota over the Lake region and apparently the eastern British Provices; accompanied by rain from northern Louisiana to New England and north of this line to the Lakes and Northwest; preceded by brisk to high easterly and southerly winds, and followed by brisk and high northerly to westerly, increasing at places to gales.

March 17 and 18—eastward over Wisconsin, the Lakes, New York, and New England; accompanied by brisk winds and rain, generally light, from Tennessee and Virginia northwest, north and northeastward.

March 18, 19, 20 and 21—eastward over Dakota to lower Michigan apparently as a diminished pressure, but then developing into two; one passing over Virginia and thence northeastward along the coast, the other north of the Lower Lakes and over the northern portion of New England; accompanied by rain and snow over the entire country east of the Rocky Mountains, also by brisk and high winds, the easterly having probably been the most severe, increasing to gales.

March 22 and 23—from Dakota over the Upper Lakes into Canada, and thence over northern Maine, accompanied by occasionally light snow and brisk winds, which at places increased to northeast gales.

March 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27—northeastward over the Ohio valley, and developing into two; one over the Lower Lakes down the St. Lawrence valley, the other over the middle and east Atlantic coasts and New Brunwick; accompanied by heavy rain over the entire country east of the Rocky Mountains, except that from northern New England westward over the Lakes to the Northwest it was snow, and by brisk and high winds, which at places increased to gales, the north and west having been most severe, except at Quebec, where a very severe northeast gale prevailed on the afternoon of the 26th; this storm was followed by a severe "norther" in Texas on the 25th.

March 28, 29 and 30—from southern Dakota eastward over the Lakes, New York, and New England; accompanied by areas of light rain or snow over the Northwest and Upper Lakes, but by rain generally very heavy from the lower Mississippi and Ohio valleys and Lower Lakes to the Atlantic coast, also by brisk and high winds; on its passage over the Middle and Eastern States it increased in severity, and the winds to southerly gales on the coast, shifting later to northwest; it has undoubtedly been the most severe storm of the month, and the barometric depression most remarkable, the lowest reading having been 28.80 inch. at Burlington, Vermont, 11 P. M. on the 29th.

March 30 and 31—over the Northwest, Lakes and New England; accompanied by generally very light rain or snow from the Northwest eastward over the Lake region, Ohio valley and Middle and New England States, and by brisk winds, increasing occasionally to high.

During the month ninety-five Cautionary Signals were displayed at the Signal Service Stations on the Atlantic coast and five on the Gulf.

RAIN-FALL.

As compared with the means of a number of years for the month, the rainfall returns from the Signal Service stations show a general deficiency at the stations east of the Rocky Mountains and at San Francisco, from 0.05 to 4.00 inches, except over the southern portion of New England, northern and western portions of the Middle States, southeastern Louisiana, Jacksonville, Florida, and eastern Tennessee and Kansas, where the excess varies from 0.10 to 4.86 inches.

TEMPERATURE.

The mean temperature for the month, as taken from the Signal Service reports, at all stations east of the Rocky Mountains is higher, from 1° to 10°, than the same for last year, except for Jacksonville and Key West, Florida, which is slightly lower, at latter 1°5′. By comparing same of this year with that for a number of years at the same stations, or at others close by, it is observed that the former is from 1° to 5° lower over the Southern, Middle and New England States, Ohio and southern portions of Michigan, Illinois and Missouri, but northwest of this region to Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska it varies from 4° above to 5° below. During the month the weather has therefore been generally colder than usual, but warmer than March of last year, except in Utah, where it has been somewhat colder this than last, and at San Francisco, where there has apparently not been any change.