MARCH, 1930 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW
NOTES, ABSTRACTS, AND REVIEWS
117
Severe dust storms over Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.-
On March 19, 1930, an exceptionally severe dust storm
occurred in the inland empire of eastern Washington, Oregon, and northern Idaho. The weather map of that date shows a strong HIGH over western Oregon and adja-
cent Pacific Ocean with a LOW in southern Alberta. This distribution of pressure is the ideal condition for a chinook, but, owing to drought and previous warm
weather, there was no snow to melt on the lowlands and the moisture was quiclrly evaporated from the top soil,
allowing dust to be picked up in great quantities. The velocity of the wind exceeded 30 miles an hour at times.
The writer collected samples of the dust that had fallen
on a clean paper held flat by weights that lay on a table
on a screened porch. The dust weighed 2.03 grams per
square foot. Dust deposits in front and at the back of
the house were nearly double the amount given, but were disregarded, since it seemed that they might be above
average and a conservative result was desired. The
deposit of 2.03 grams per square foot equals 62 tons per square mile. Assuming that the inland empire had
50,000 square miles affected by the storm and that the
fall of dust at Cheney was an average of the whole region, some 3,000,000 tons of dust were deposited. Allowing
60 tons per freight car and 100 cars per mile, it would
take 8 freight train 500 miles long to move the dust that the storm moved in about eight hours; or, since a cubic yard weighs about 1 ton, the dust would make a column
1 square yard in cross section and 1,700 miles high.-
0. Vi7. Freeman, State Normal School, Cheney, Wash. Snows do not goaern crops.-According to E. R. Henson,
assistant professor of farm crops a t Iowa State College,
heavy snowfall does not necessarily mean a bumper
crop the next year. Experiments have proved that soils can only hold a certain amount of moisture and when that amount is
attained any additional moisture moves on down through
the soil, finally drain off underneath.
These experimenfs have shown that soil can hold only about 1% inches of water per foot of depth. As the roots of plants normally are largely in the surface 7 inches of soil and the entire system seldom penetrates beyond the 4-foot line, the water that the soil can hold at any time within the roach of plants is equivalent to only about 6 inches of rain. In sections where rainfall is not abundant, heavy snow furnishes an ideal source of moisture and good cro s may follow. In sec- tions such as Iowa, however, where rai&ll is usually abundant and the mil often already has its quota of moisture, the moisture from heavy snows will merely drain off. Where this happens, the soil is often depleted in fertility because of the possibility of the excess moisture carrying off large quantities of calcium and njtrogen together with lesser amounts of phosphorous and potas- sium. Heavy snowfall and excess moisture may, then, be a detriment in aome seasons in Iowa, while in other years it is a great benefit.
Nine waterspouts n e w Equator.-Second Officer E. S. Bryant, of the British steamer Oilshipper, reports that between 1 snd 2.30 p. m. (ship h n e ) on February 23,
1930, in latitude 8’ 49’ N., longitude 84’ 41’ W. (off
Pacific coast of western Panama), nine waterspouts were
observed, the nearest bekg about one-half mile distant. The formation, which was comnion to all, appeared to commence a t the surface of the sea under a low bank of nimbus cloud. A Iew minutes later .a tapering cloud
formation gradually dropped, increasmg in length, a t an angle toward the agitated area on the sea. This
had t b appearance of a whirlpool with an anticlockwise motion. The spray around the base of the spout was
caught in the whirl and carried upwards for about 50
11175&30-3
feet. Throughout the duration of the spout there was no visible connection between the whirl on the sea and the
lower part of the column of cloud, which extended about two-thirds of the distance to the sea. The peculiar
effect suggested that the tapering cloud formation was
hollow and was characteristic of all the spouts. The weather a t the time was calm with a smooth sea, although
all the waterspouts were moving a t a fair rate to the east-
northeastward. The temperature of the air was 82’ F.; of the sea, 86‘; barometer, 29.86 inches.-Hydrographic
Bulletin, Washington, D. C. March 19, 1930.
Forecasting Mean Winter Temperatures for the North
American Interior; by Chas. F. Brooks.-Application of
t’he Groissmayr formula, based chiefly on summer weather
in India, 1929, indicated a plus departure of 1.4’ F. in mean temperature for Winnipeg from December, 1929,
to February, 1930, inclusive. (MONTHLY WEATHER RE-
VIEW, November, 1929, P. 454.)
Through the courtesy of Director Patterson, of the Canadian Meteorological Service, we learn that the mean
for these months a t Winnipeg was 2.9’ F., or 1.6’ F. above a 20-year normal, and 2.2’ F. above the (1873-1920)
normals in “World Weather Records’’ (Clayton). This successful forecast makes the sisth forecast based on Groissmayr’s formula founded on earlier years of record.
Of these six, two were nearly perfect, two reasonably successful, one good, and one poor. M. W. R. p. 455.)
The forecast formula can not be said to give any more than simply the mean temperature. This forecast
of the past winter as one averaging slightly above normal
would hardly have led one to expect the moderately cold December and January, 1.9’ and 3.4’ F. below
normal, and the extraordinarily warm February, 11 .go F. above normal. Is a forecast simply of the mean tem- perature for the three months together of any value? Air-Mail Pilot Encounters Sezjere Thunderstorm in Florida, by James FI7. Smith.-Air-Mail Pilot F. B. C a m
encountered a thunderstorm of unusual intensity over east-central Florida the afternoon of March 23. Pilot
Cann took off froni Daytona Beach a t 4 3 5 p. m. with the
southbound air mail. The ceiling was low, 600 to 800 feet, and a light rain was falling a t the time. Reports
from southern Florida indicated fair weather, and no re-
ports were available from other regularly reporting stations along the route, due to the fact that the plane
was several hours behind schedule. The rain increased from li h t to heavy and soon it was impossible to see the groun % from above 300 feet. The air became very rough, with strong vertical currents, and,
considering the poor visibihty due to the heavy rain, Mr. Cann thought it safer to gain altitude and fly blind, which he did, a t the 1,000-foot level. The rain was unifornily
warm and no hail or lightning observed, although thunder crashed heavily on two occasions. Such severe
storms are unusual a t this season, and it seemed better to
“stick it out)’ for a few minutes than to go back through
the weather just experienced and land at Daytona
Beach. The storm lasted to just south of Titusville, requiring
30 minutes for a portion of the trip ordinarily covered in 22 minutes. Here the rain stopped and the dense clouds
abruptly broke away, leaving the sun visible through a layer of high thin clouds. The storm passed quickly out over the ocean and rapidly whipped up a rough sea. On
the fringe of the storm over Indian River Mr. Cann counted 15 whirlwinds which picked up water froni the
.
118 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW MARCH, 1930
wave crests, but none of which attained the proportions
of a water spout. Seeing some fishing boats, he flew low enough to warn them of the approaching storm, then con-
tinued south to Miami. A check-up on the plane after landing showed that paint had been removed from the more exposed portions
as though by a sand-blast, and the forward edge of the steel propeller was nicked and eroded to such an estent that it was necessary to order a new one. Pilots and me-
chanics of the Miami airport agreed that they had never before seen a propeller so damaged by rain. The asbestos
packing was washed from the gaskets and the cockpit was soaked, which is unusual even in a heavy rain, alt’hough the mail, which was in a closed double-bottomed cockpit,
escaped injury.
Mr. Cann had at no time expected the storm to be so
severe nor of such long duration, and states that in the went of meeting another he would immediately land the plane, if possible.
A low-pressure area, about 29.75 inches, was central over Florida at the time, and the 8:00 a. ni. reports from
near-by stations the following morning showed heavy rainfall: Jacksonville, 2.34 inches; Orlando, 3.48; Eustis,
1.34; Titusville, 1.68; and Sanford, 1.01.
Speed record airplnneJlight, Ralph Sanders.-On March 2, 1930, Pilot Frank J. Andre, flying the air mail, took off
from Atlanta at 3:30 p. m., arriving a t Macon a t 3:55
p. m. The distance of 77 miles (airline) was covered in
25 minutes, averaging 185 miles per hour. Line Superintendent A. P. Kerr left Macon a t 1 2 0 p. 111.
and arrived a t Jacksonville a t 2 :35 p. m., flying an airline
distance of 210 miles in 75 minutes, an average of 168
miles per hour. (The pilot’s report and field manager’s time report disagreed by 10 minutes. On pilot’s log,
arrival time is 2:25 p. m. Departure from Macon agreed
on both reports. If the pilot’s time, 65 minutes, were
used the average speed would approximate 200 miles per
hour.)
On the flight from Macon to Jacksonville the pilot
reported that below 6,000 feet the air was unusually
bumpy, but a t 7,000 feet, which altitude he held, it was quite smooth. The balloon runs made a t Atlanta
(12:lO p. m.) and Jacksonville (3:OO p. m.) yield the
following information:
6,000 feet: Atlanta wind northwest, 56 miles per hour; Jacksonville wind west-northwest, 45 miles per hour.
7,000 feet: Atlanta wind northwest, 76 miles per hour; Jacksonville wind west-northwest, 56 miles per hour.
8,000 feet: Atlanta wind northwest, 94 miles per hour; Jacksonville wind west, 63 miles per hour.
Since the wind backed toward west as the plane from
Macon approached Jacksonville, giving cross rather than
tail winds, with an appreciable decrease in velocity, the
reason for the greater speed of the plane from Atlanta to
Macon over the one flying from Macon to Jacksonville is apparent.
Eastern
Air Transport states that these planes have a maximum
speed of 135 miles per hour, with a generally used cruising
speed of 110 miles per hour.
On the same date as the other two flights Pilot Eugene
R. Brown took off from Atlanta a t 9:05 a. m. for Greens- boro, arriving a t 11 :05 a. m. The airline distance of 307
miles was made in two hours, an average speed of 153
miles per hour. The 6:lO a. m. balloon run a t Atlanta shows a surface
wind of 25 miles per hour from west-northwest, steadily
These two flights are record flights for speed.
and rapidly increasing to 78 miles per hour from north-
west a t 7,500 feet, decreasing to 67 miles per hour from
the west a t 8,200 feet, then increasing again to 90 miles per hour from the west a t 10,800 feet. This gave the
pilot strong cross winds, which hindered rather than helped, but he was helped by the wind shifting toward
the southwest as the plane approached Greensboro, as
shown by the following data taken from the 6:04 a. m. balloon run a t that place: Surface west-northwest, 10
miles per hour; 6,000 feet west, 51 miles per hour; 7,500
feet west-southwest, 54 miles per hour; and 8,000 feet west-sout,hw-est, 56 miles per hour.
The above information, wi6h the exception of the wind data, was furnishe.d by Mr. E . V. W. Jones, editor of
New Wing, published by Eastern Air Transport, owner of bhe planes.
Pilot ?Vhea ton’s Expe rien.ce Again,& Terrific Head Winds, by L. A. U’a.rren, (7heycnn.e Airport.-Pilot H. A. Wheaton, flying the morning westbound mail out of Cheyenne on March 22, 1930, relates the following expe-
rience against terrific head winds. Leaving Cheyenne about 5 a. m. he attempted to fly
the usual course over Sherman Hill, a point, about 30
i d e s west and approximately 3,000 feet higher than
Cheyenne. His air speed was calculated a t from 90 to
100 miles per hour, but the head winds he encountered
were of such force as to cause the plane to actually drift hac,kward. Seeing that he was making no progress
against the wind he turned back and flew over the moun-
tain range several miles south and a t a lower height.
The winds there were of high velocity, not too strong, to prevent a very slow progress.
High winds from a westerly direction are frequently
encountered over the Sherman Hill Pass, but not often of such velocity as to prevent a t least a slow movement against them.
Changes in. the Daily Wea,ther Report of the London hhteorological O j k e . [Condensed from. the Meteorological Magazine, illetaorological c3fFce, Air Ministry, Lon,don, Alwch, 1,9SO.]-Due to rather drastic revision in the
international exchange of meteorological information brought about a t the Conference of Directors of Meteoro-
logical Services at Copenhagen in September, 1929, the
London Meteorological Office deemed it advisable to change the form of the Daily Weather Report issued by that office so as to include, beginning March 1, 1930, a
weather chart for the Northern Hemisphere for the morn- ing of the date of issue. The dimensions of this new chart
are substmantially 12 by 12 inches, a small reduction in size from the one previously issued. The pressure dis- tribut,ion iJ shown by isobars drawn for an interval of
4 nullibars (0.12 inch); t,emperature, in degrees Fahren- heit, is printed on the chart, as are also wind direction and
force and the state of the sky by appropriate symbols.
The only serious hiatus on the chart is the absence
at times of reports from about a quarter of the Northern
Hemisphere, say, from 100’ to 180’ east longitude. It may be, however, that means ‘of communication with Siberian st.ations along and north of the fiftieth parallel
of north latitude are not yet as fully developed as may be
possible.-A. J. H. Climatic cycles in the E0cen.e.-A geological paper of
more than usual interest to climatologists is “Varves and Climate of the Green River Epoch; by Wilmot H. Bradley.’ This is a study of marlstone, oil shale, and fine-grained sandstone from lake beds of middle Eocene
1 U. Y. Gwlogicd Burvey, Professional Paper l&E, Washington, 1928.
MARCH, 1930 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW 119
age (first of the five subdivisions of the Tertiary) in
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. These rocks consist of varves, not glacial but bio- chemical in origin. Each varve consist of two lanlinae,
one of ooze that has lithified into oil shale, the other of calcium and magnesium carbonate such as is now being
deposited as marl in many lakes. From analogy with
modern lake deposits it is argued that the carbonates were precipitated in early summer, the oil shale later in
the hottest season, and t,hat these sediments were still
more sharply separated by differential settling. Study of the sandstone layers suggests that the climate was marked by a well-defined winter rainy season, and
examination of plant remains indicates temperatures and
rainfalls similar in amount to those now prevalent in
Louisiana. In addition to the bilaminal annual cycle, recurrent
groups of thick varves show an average inferval of a little less than 12 years, with individual intervals ranging from
7 to about 18 years. An average cycle of 21,630 years resulted from measure-
ments on four groups of alternating beds of oil shale and marlstone, affording 16 cycles. Croll’s hypothesis, it will
be remembered, was based on a cycle of about 21,000 years, the resultant of the cycle of the precession of the
equinoxes in 25,000 or 26,000 years, and the revolution
of the line of apsides, in the qpposite direction.
A third cycle, of about 50 years, is represented by regularly recurrent layers of calcite-filled cavities that
are supposed to have originally been filled wit.h a salt- like glauberite. This corresponds to no well-established
rhythm. Climatologists will envy Bradley his wealth of material.
From measurements of -varves he estimates the Green River epoch to have lasted between five and eight
million years.-Eric R. Miller. Padm, Italy, precipitation, 1900-1928.-A correspond-
ent asks us to print the continuation of the Padua record
of annual precipitation that was given in the article by
Robert E. Horton on “Group distribution and periodicity
of annual rainfall amounts, this REVI-EW, 51: 514-521.
This we do in the following table:
Total annual precipitation (millimefere) 1
1915 ________________ 943. 3
Meteorological summary for Chile, February, 1950 (by J. Budos Navarrete, Observatorio del Salto, Santiugo, Chile) .-The weak atmospheric circulation over the Pacific and the scantiness of rain noted in January
I Record by monthsin Sitzungsberichteder kaiserlichen Akademieder Wissenschaften. 111. Abt. 118. lW.
continued during this month. In the first decade de-
pressions of minor importance crossed the extreme southern region and were accom anied by scattered rains
amounts on the 3d and 4th. Thereafter the weatbeer was
settled in high degree over, the entire country. Two anticyclones of major importance were charted as fol-
lows: 17th-18th7 moving from Chiloe toward. Argentina,
and 25th-28th, moving from Magallanes northward.-
Translated by W. I,$’. R.
between Magallanes and Va P divia, with maximum
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. FITZHUGH TALMAN, in Charge of Library
RECENT ADDITIONS
The following have been selected from among the titles
of books recently received as representing those most likely to be useful to Weather Bureau officials in their
meteorological work and studies:
Alexander, William H., Le- Patton, Charles A.
American national red cross.
Climate of Ohio. Wooster. u. d. 69 p. figs. 23 cm.
Mississippi Valley flood disaster of 1927. Washington.
Flugwetterdienst und Lnftverkehr. [Beeskow i. M.] n. d.
(Ohio agric. exper. sta., Bull. 445, December, 1929.)
[1929.] vii, 152 p. figs. plates. 23 cm.
18 p. figs. 23 cm.
Berlin. Flugwetterdienst.
Byers, Horace R.
Summer sea fogs of the central California coast. Berkeley. 1930. D. 291-338. figs. Dlates (fold.) 27% cm. (Univ. I -
Cal. pub. geogr., v. 3, i o . 5.)
Solving the problem of fog flying. A record of the activities of the fund’s full flight laboratory to date. New York City. n. d. 152 p. 22 cm.
Der Sturm in Norddeutschland am 4. Juli, 1928. Berlin. 1929. 39 p. figs. 26 cm. (Sonderausg. Sitzungsber. der preuss. Akad. der Wissensch. php-math. Kl. 1929. XXII.)
Areas covered by intense and widespread falls of rain. West- minster. 1929. 32 p. figs. 22 cm. (Esc.: Minutes of proc. Inst. civil engin., v. 229, sess. 192S30, pt. 1.)
Section of terrestrial
Comptes rendus de l’assemblbe de Prague, septembre, 1927. Paris. 1929. sii, 369 p. 25% cni. (Bull. no. 7.)
Rainfall characteristics and their relatioil to Soils mid run-off.
p. 3-47. figs. 2236 cm. (Amer. SOC. civil engin., Proc. January, 1930.)
New England flood of November, 1927. Wasliingtou. 1929. iv, p. 45-100. figs. plates. 33% CIU. (U. S. Geol. sur vey, water-supply paper 63gC.)
Wetter. Praktische Winke zur Wettervoraussage. Bern.
11. d. 112 p. figs. 16); cm.
. Meteorological science to-day. 18 p. 35 cm. (Repr.: Realist, November, 1929.)
Thermoelectric radiometer for ecological use ou land and in water. p. 103-113. figs. 2432 cm. (Repr. Ecology, v. 11, no. 1, .January, 1930.) (Prof. paper no. 14, Boyce Thompson inst. for plant research, inc.)
La temperature de Tsingtao. 1929. iii, 69 p. plates (fold.)
25 cm.
Daniel Guggenheim fund for the promotion of aeronautics, inc.
Ficker, H. v.
Glasspoole, John.
International geodetic and geophysical union. magnetism and electricity.
Jarvis, C. S.
Kinnison, H. B.
Schmid, Walter.
Shaw. Napier.
Shirley, Hardy L.
Tsiang, P. J.