JULY, 1920. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 426
SPECIAL WARNINGS-
STORMS AND WEATHER WARNINQS.
By H. 0. FRANPENFIELD, Supervising Forecaster.
[Aug. 24, 1920.1
Stown zcwnings.-There were no severe stoimis during the month, a.nd no storm 1%-ariiiiigs weie necle.;sary.
Small craft warnings for fresh to moderat,ely stwng winds were issued on July 3 for the Maim const. on July
18 for the lower lakes, on July 23 for Lakes Michigan and Huron, and on July 34 for the New England coast,. These warnings were justified. From July 14 to 16, inclusive, low pressure prerailcd over the southern Caribbean Sea and the north const of
. South America, and some. heavy rains a n t 1 moclemtely strong winds were re ortecl over the Pmrtnia Canal Zone.
Frost wamings.-$arnings of possible light f r ost in the cranberry bogs of New Jersey were issued on July L'G iind 27. The lowest teni erature reported was 37" on the morning of July 2 i , t ut no Irosts occui.red, so far as is
known. Special forecasts.-S ecinl wind and weat,lier forccwts
Yacht races off Sandy Hook, N. J., and lor t.hc United States Army aeroplane flight from New York t.o Alasks.
were issued during t r ie progress of the Intxmiational
-WEATHER.AND CROPS.
WARKINGS IN OTHER DISTRICTS.
c!ilimqo, ZZ, Disti.icii.--Pu'o fiast. WRI nings were issued during the nionth, except for. northwestern Wroming on
tlie 6th.
Oxing to t.he pi.otmct,ad dry wcntliei. in tlie far North- a-ofitm, t,lio fire haxtird l i d iiicrsascd t,o such iin estent that spwial fire-wcznt!icr forcc.ast.s for Montana were requested I,- the district forest,er at MiIisscrula, on the 20th iiist., and were t,clegr,zpherl clriily during the remainder of the month.--I1. J . C0.L i V w Or& cms, La., District.-No storm wrtmings were issued during t,he niont,li and no st:orni occurred along the Gulf const. Mild weather prevailed generully 1vit.h a. gwater number of rniny clays over t.hc sonthoastern portion of 6lie district
D C I ~ wr? Coli)., District.-No wnrniiyp of m y kind were issued during the month.-A. H. Th t'sscli.
Sun P'riiircisco, C k d i f ;, Districi.-Tlie only warnings issued during the month were fire-weather warnings in
C!a!iloi-nin on t.hc 2nd. There were no st.ornls on the coast .-G. H. 1 Vi Zlsi~~i..
t,llali tho iLvci.xge.--l. A!. C?li~t~.
RIVERS AND FLOODS, JULY, 1920.
By ALFRED J. HENRT, Meteorologist in charge, River and Flood Divislon.
[Weather Bureau, Washington, Aug. 30, 1920.1
The floods of the month were mostly local and unini- portant, exept in the Carolinas, where general though moderate floods prevailed from the 20th to 35th. The usud details appear in Table No. I. I n a year of remarkably low water in the rivers of the Pac& drainage, it is rather unusual to find a stream of the ma,gnitude of the Colorado discharfng a large flood
'flow. l'he snow cover in the Gran and Saq Juan drainage, also in the u per Rio Grande drainage was exceptionally heavy an8 melting was delayed b low temperature until the season was so far advnncei that melting was general and rapid in the higher elevations.
As a result the Colorado was in flood from its source to its mouth and the upper Rio Grande was also in mod- erately high flood. It seems probable that the Elephant Butte Dam of the Reclamation Service in New Mexlco took care of tlie peak of the Rio Grande flood. The following report on the Colorado flood has just come to hand:
REPORT ON RIVERS IN THE DENVER DISTRICT FOR YAY
AND JUNE, 1920.
Colorado River.-At the end of March, 1920, reports from the tributary watersheds of the Colorado River indicated that the water content of the snow cover was eater than the normal in the Grand and Gunnison gainage areas and considerably greater in the Yampa, White, and San Juan areas. Interests affected were advised that the seasonal flow of the Colorado would be 30 per cent or more greater than the normal flow. Data
available at the end of June showed that tlie discharge for tlie early art of tlie summer wm about 45 per cent
flow for May esceeded the normal by only 5 per cent, while the flow for June was ab.out 80 per cent greater than the normal. Flood stages were reached a t several stations on the upper tributaries early in tlie third decade of May and at tlie rating stations a t Elgin, Utah, and Fruita, Colo., netw the close of the month. On May 37 interests at Topock, Ariz., were advised that the highest previous stage woulcl be esceeded a t Topock. The highest pre- vious stage, 33.3 feet, was assed on the 39th, and 24.4
feet was reached a t Topoci on June 3. The discharge at Yuma attained its maximum for the season, 190,000 second-feet, on June 8. On June 9 the discharge was 163,000 second-feet, and by the end of June the discharge had decreased to 74,000 second-feet. Frequent advices of the expected discharge were furnished to the public affected by hiuh water in tlie lower Colorado. Owing to tlie absence 03 discharge data durin the early art of May the estimates were too low. iff ter the mi !i dle of May the estimates were generally remarkably close to the measured discharge a t Yunia. Rio Cra.nde.-Moderate stages prevailed in the Rio Grade during April. The liiuhest stages in the lower Rio Grande occwred, as usuaf, in May. At Espanola, N. Mes., a stwe of 7.4 feet, or 1.G feet below the flood stage, was reacked on May 32. Three spans of the bridge near Espanola were washed away on that date. The flood stage was reached a t Albuyuer ue, N. Mex, on
in several instances the actual stages bein within one- tenth of a foot of tlie predicted stages.-F. %. Brist.
in escess oi t 7 ie normal for tlie past eight years. The
M a 24 and at San Marcial, N. Mes. , on x t e 27th. Timely an B accurate forecasts were issued for the lower stations;
426 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. JULY, 1920
TABLE No. I.-Flood 8t~ge.q during rnontlr of JuZy, 19.90. MEAN LAKE LEVELS DURING JULY, 1920.
Atlantic Draiu~ge: heuse: Nema, N. C ..................... Pmlthficld N (1 ................. CapeFear: Elilalh.btown N C .__.._._
Haw: Mnnamo N.C ....................
Ferguwn, 8. C .................. $Cuds: Pelzer, S. C .....................
Lit& Kanawhs: Glenvflle, W. Va .._.._ Des bldues: Ottumwa,Iowa ............
WyetteviIle, Id. C: ..........
Bantee: R ~~/,S .C .....................
Ilblll9Lssi piDmlnage:
Grand: Brunswick, Mo ..................
Grand: Stnte Bridge, Colo ............... West Gull Dralnnqe:
Paclnc Drainage: Columhia: Marcus, Wash ...............
Above flood Flood stages-dntcs. Crest.
River and station.
I
StSEB.
I
I
I-
Feet. FCft.
14 21 23 19.3 22 22 25 29.9 35 21 23 41.6 22 20 20 a3.2 ia n 27 13.0 12 25 30 12.7 .7 22 22 7.0
!Z2 25 2.5 21.9
10 14 16 11.0
10 (1) 19' 12.3
9 (1 ) e. 1
24 (1) (3)'
I
28.5
By UNITED STATES LAKE SURVEY.
[Dated: Detmit, Mlch., August 4,1920.]
- The following data are reported in the "Notice to Date- Mariners" of the above date: -
I
Fwt. I Fed. Fmt. Mean 1nwl dnring Jiily, 19ao:
dhnve mean wa level rtt Kow Yorl;. ..... -4bove or tx=Iow- Ifem stage of Jnne 1920. ............ Mem stage oI July '1019 .............. -tvcrage staw for .thy, last IO years.. +o.~o +o. I I -0.19 Biahest recorded Julv strtga .......... -0.M I -2 .S -1.79 Lokcst rerorded J u l ~ stage.. ........ +l.IG
1
+1.13 +1.17 -4vemge relation of the July1evt.l to- Juiic level.. ....................................... +&IO -0.10 August level ....................................... +O. 10 +O.?O
I
1 Lake St. Chir's Icvcl: B July, 575.M feet.
-'
Dntarlo.
Fcct. 248.70
+O. 14 -2.05
-1.15 -3.02 +1.11
+0.30 -n. io
-
EFFECT OF WEATHER ON CROPS AND FARMINO OPERATIONS, JULY, 1920.
By J. €3. KINCEH, Meteorologist.
The weatmher during July was generally favorable to farming interests. As is usual in this rnont!h, precipita- tion was rather unevenly distributed geographically and w&s heavy in limited areas, articularly in portions of Florida, the estreme lower hississippi Valley, and in some south Atlantic districts; the tem erature areraged
moisture was mostly am le for crop needs generally,
many central and northern and some southern parts of the country. It was rather cool for best development of warm-weather crops during part of the month in most central and northern districts east of the Mississippi. "he absence of: extended rainy periods was unusuallv favorable for harvesting and the thrashing of small
gains, and the harvest of winter wheat was c.ompleted by the end of the mont-h in near1 all central and eastern districts and in most of the 6entral Rocky Mountain States, under favorable conditions. At the close of t.he month the harvest of sprin wheat was also under way in
maturity in the western portion. Spring wheat, whik was in very satisfactory condition a t the beginning of the month in the principal producin areas, was favorabl affected by the weather of the Erst half of the mond generally. During the latter half, however, rust became prevalent. in many districts, and there was insufficient moisture in some sections. The high temperatures dur- in the last decade in the north-central portion of the
considerable complaint was received of dama e from this disease. There was a falling off in the con ition of the crop during the month in all States of the belt, except in North Dakota, the deterioration being marked in Minne- sota, Nebraska, and Montana, and rather pronounced in South Dakota and Iowa. At the close of the month the condition of the crop continued above the average in North Dakota, and was near the average in Idaho and South Dakota, but elsewhere it was unsatisfactory, es- pecially in Washington and Iowa.
near the normal in most sections of t R e country. soil
although at the close of t % e month rain was needed in
the eastern part of the be f t, and this crop was neari o.
be 7 t was conducive to the propagation of black rust, and
The warmer weather that prevailed in central and southwestern district3 tlie first of the month favorably af€ ec.ted corn, and t-hat crop made satisfactorv progress in nearly all sections ; t,liereafter mostly favorable weather )rerailed for this crop, dthough i t was rather cool for Lest growth in some east-central and northeastern local- ities. The weather wtxs very farorable in the lower Great Plains, and corn made excellent advance during the month in that area, where the condition at the end of the month was from 40 to 70 er cent abovo the 10-year
Late in the month, however, rain was neede in much of the central and u per Missisijippi Valley, and in the west- ern portions of %ansa!! NebrasktL, and Oklahoma. At the close of the month the condition of corn was better than :he 10-year average quite generally, except in tions of the South and Northeast and in Illinois, w ere it was somewhat below the average. Cotton made steady improcemen t during the first two decades of the nionth under the influence of favorable weat,her conditions, but during the last decade the pro r e s was variable, the weather being rather unfavorab e for growth in Florida, Alabama, parts of Mississippi, and in Louisiana, where frequent rains and lack of sunshine caused shedding and weevil act.ivitv. At the close of the month the crop was in hetter condition than at the begin- ning in nearly all sections of the belt, the improvement being more substantrial in Tesas, Oklahoma, and Ten- nessee than in the other States. There was practicdy no change in the condition, however, in Louisiana. did Tell during t,he month, and the
truck, and minor cro s made satisfactory advance in
was badly needed for gardens .and ve etables in many central and north-central localities, in t % e f a r Northwest, and at some places in the South. Pastures, ranges, and fruit maintained mostly satisfactory condition during the month, and live stock continued in good shape.
z
averaee, as reported by the i! ureau of Cro Estimates.
lor-
f-
Oats and barle weather was most ? y favorable for harvest; while potatoes,
most sections, dtlioug f near the close of the month rain