422 MONTHLY WEA!CEEB REVIEW. DECEMBER, 1908
os1 observations of the British National Antaretic Expedition,
commanded by Commander R. F. Scott, R. N., which left
Cowes in August, 1901, and returned to Spithead in Septem-
ber, 1904.' This volume has been prepared under the super-
intendence of Doctor Shaw, Director of the Meteorological
Office, with the cooperation of a committee of the Royal Society;
and several eminent British meteorologists, official and other-
wise, contribute to the discussion of the several kinds of obser-
vations. An extended review of this publication appears in
Nature of December 17,1908. The expedition has rendered
a splendid service to meteorologyin obtaining two years of
continuous observations at a station far within the Antarctic
Circle (lat. 7 7 O 50' 50" S.).
Especially timely end interesting is Doctor Shaw's review
of the question as to the existenoe of a permanent anticyclone
over the South Polar Continent (p. x-xiv). This question re-
mains unsettled.
Das Wetter announces that the aerological expedition of
the Royal Aeronautical Observatory at Lindenberg, to the Vic-
toria Nyanza and the coast of East Africa, fitted out at the
expense of Messrs. W. Tepelmann, Brunswick (Friedr. Vieweg
& Soh); Prinzhorn, of the Continental Caoutchouc and Gutta
Percha Company, Hanover ; Arnhold, Berlin; and von Guilla-
ume, Cologne, sailed in June under the conduct of Professor
Berson, of Lindenberg, Doctor Elies, of Berlin, and balloon
inspector Mund, of the aeronautical observatory. It was to have
returned at theend of December, after having made a series of
ascensions on Victoria Lake and on the east coast of Africa
from Mombassa to Delagoa Bay, with kites, registering bal-
loons, and pilot balloons-the latter up to a height of 22,000
meters. Most important data have been obtained on the
monsoon winds and the processes in the upper layers of the
atmosphere, in the interior of Mrica, under the equator, and
on the Indian Ocean.
TOF4NADOES IN -BAS DURING NOVEIMBER, 1908.
. At 8 a. m. November 23, 1908, a small low of moderate in-
tensity (pressure 29.66 inches at center) was central over the
northwestern corner of Arkansas. Rain had recently fallen,
or was falling, over the northern two-thirds of Kansas and over
eastern Oklahoma, with thunderstorms at Little Rock, Ark.,
and Memphis, Tenn. Southerly and southeasterly winds pre-
vailed over tbe States bordering the lower Mississippi on the
west.
This low (No. 1) moved northeastward, rapidly increasing
in intensity, and by 8 .a m. of the 24th ita center was over Des
Moines, Iowa, with a pressure of 29.35 inches, or lower. Simul- taneously a second and almost equally intense low (No. 2) had
developed over southeastern Utah, accompanied by snow in the
southeastern quadrant. The whole Mississippi Valley was
included in the rain area of Ohe low No. 1, and a number of
thunderstorms occurred in its southeastern quadrant.
By 8 a. m. of the 25th the low No. 2 had moved south-south-
eastward into Texas and then turned northeastward to a posi-
tion central over Dodge City, Kens., with a pressure of 89.40
inches, while low No. 1 had moved northward but a short dis-
tance to Duluth, Minn. The whole country, except for the At- lantic and Gulf shores, was involved in rain, and a belt of
thunderstorms reached from Dodge City, Hans., to Milwaukee,
Wis.
!&rnadoes of November 28, 1908.
The weather conditions outlined above proved particularly
favorable for khe development of tornadoes in Oklahoma, west-
AEBOLOGIOAL EXPEDITION TO EAST AFRICA.
'National a n e N c expedition, 1901,1904. Meteorology, part 1; Ob- eervations at winter qumtars and on sledge journeys, with disoussions b~ vadougauthors. Prepared under the superintendence of the Director of the Meteorological Om9ae with the cooperation of a committee of the Boyd Society. London. 1908.
ern Arkansas, and southern Missouri during the afternoon and
evening of November 23, and again in eastern Arkansas on the
afternoon of November 26. Except for local deflections due
to local topographic features, the tornadoes travelled from the
southwest to the northeast in all cases, as shown by the map,
fig 1. There seem to have been two and perhaps three dis-
tinct periods of tornado development on the 23d.
I I
:WASHINGTON i MADISON 1. N E W-TO N I S E A R C Y
i i'
U N I O N
F I ~. l.--Tracks of tornadoes in western Arkansas November 93, 1908.
The earliest reported occurrences came between 1: 30 and 2
p. m. Canfield, Lafayette County., Ark., was visited at 1 :30 p. m.
by a tornado moving from southwest to northeast, which des-
troyed $1,500 of property, over a path about one-fourth.mile
wide, and injured four persons, none fatally. A t about 2 p. m. a tornado passed 15 miles northwest of Huntsville, Madison
County, Ark., traveling in the same general direction along a
path one-fourth mile wide. It did much damage near Hunts-
ville and slightly injured several persons. This same tornado evidently continued past Rock House into Carroll County, Ark.,
causing damage to the amount of $60,000 in the vicinity of
Berryville, Carroll County, which it reached at 2:15 p. m.; it past out of the State into ]Idissomi at Blue Eye, Stone County,
Mo., and there blew away a school house without injuring the
DECE~EB, 1908. MOKCHLY WEATHEa REVIICW. 423
school children then in it. No further reports of this storm
have been received. Its path was 160 yards wide at Berryville.
Between 2 and 3 p. m. a severe tornado, with a path 30 yards
wide, struck Cravens, Franklin County, Ark , destroying many buildings, killing four persons and injuring many others. This
same storm killed fourteen persons at Watalula and injured
several at Jethro, Franklin County, Ark., before it died out
within 20 miles of the latter place.
Between 3 and 4 p. m. another tornado past northeastward
and eastward along the Arkansas River between Piney, John-
son County, Ark., and London, Pope County, Ark., destroying
much timber, several farm-houses, and injuring thirty or forty
persons. The path of this storm was about 300 yards wide. The damage is estimated at $26,000. About the same time a
tornado in Garland County, Ark., struck the small frame school-
house at Gardener Ferry, lifted it with the assembled school
and set all down unhurt 20 feet distant. Another tornado
past northeastward thru Crawford County, Ark., about one-
half mile north of Uniontown, and mowed a clean path about
100 yards wide thru the forests and across farms. A number
of small houses were demolished and one farmer was injured.
At 6 p. m. a tornado past 1 mile north of Rust, Polk County,
Ark., and shortly afterward past thru the northern part of
Mena, about 5 miles from Rust. Two persons were reported
killed and three injured at Rust. At Mena two houses were
wrecked and four or five persons injured. This storm had a
path 50 to 100 yards wide and was followed by heavy hail.
The damage was estimated at $6,000. At 6 p. m. a tornado past
1 mile north of McNeil, Columbia County, Ark., but a t the
time it was too dark to see the funnel-shaped cloud. Its path
was about 150 yards wide and it destroyed houses and-fencing
to the value of $400 without injuring any persons. The indi- cated path of this tornado would seem to be a continuation
of the one reported at Canfield at 1:30 p. m. the same day.
Tornado of November 95, 1908.
On November 26 a severe tornado traversed Green County,
in northeastern Arkansas, from southwest to northeast. The
The first report was from Lorado, near the southern line of
the county. The tornado appeared here between 3:30 and 4
p. m., moved northeastward with a destructive path 75 to 150
yards wide and about 6 miles long. One child was killed and four other persons injured, the 3-room school building had one
end blown outward from bottom to top, and two churches and a
parsonage were also wrecked. The damage was estimated at
$30,000. The storm continued to a point 2 miles east of Wal-
cott, having there ci path about 50 yards wide. Here one boy
was killed and five adults injured, while damage to the extent
of $20,000 was reported Newspaper reports indicate consider-
able damage in the more rural districts from which no direct
reports are available.
TORNADO IN OXLA~OMA.
Newspaper clippings report that a tornado past over the
North Flats, near the Holmes Ranch, 30 miles northeast of
Kenton, Okla., along the New MexiceOklahoma boundary, on
November 23. Many piles of lumber were carried 60 miles from
the South Flat region and dropt over the North Flats.-
G. A., jr.
~-~
TEE WEATHER OF THE MONTH.
By Yr. P. C. DAY, Acting Chief, Qimatological Mriaion.
PBESSUBE AND WINDS.
The distribution of the mean atmospheric pressure for De-
cember, 1908, over the United States and Canada, is graphi-
cally shown on Chart VI, and the average values and de-
partures from the normal are shown for each station in Tables
I and III. The variations of the mean pressure for the month from the
December normal were not marked by any special features.
Comparatively high pressure dominated the Gulf States, and
the usual winter area of high pressure over the central Rocky
Mountain district and thence westward to the Pacific, was
somewhat more pronounced than usual.
The average pressure for the month was below the normal
from the Missouri Valley eastward and southeastward to the
'Atlantic coast, while from Texas westward and northwestward
to the Pacific coast, it was above the normal, the maximum
excesses, .05 to .15 inch, embracing the Rocky Mountain region
from southern New Mexico to British Columbia.
As in the preceding month the continued prevalence of
moderately high pressure over the mountain districts was un-
favorable to the formation of storm centers over those regions,
and the majority of the low areas that developed during the
month appear to have had their origin on the Great Plains of
the Canadian Northwest.
The high pressure along the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains and over the southern portions of the Great Plains,
was probably instrumental in confining the storms that de-
veloped over the Canadian Northwest to the northern circuit in
their progress eastward.
As a result but few storm centers crost the interior portions
of the United States and the month, as a whole, was remarka-
bly free from adverse weather conditions. . With high pressure over the Rocky Mountain region and
thence southeasterly to the lower Mississippi Valley, the dis-
tricts to the northeast were under the influence of frequent
warm southerly winds. I n the middle and southern Rocky
Mountain, Plateau, and Pacific coast districts, cold northerly
winds were of frequent occurrence.
TEXPEBATUBE.
The month of December, 1908, opened with an extensive
area of high pressure covering the northwest, accompanied by
the first well-marked cold wave of the season. Temperatures from zero to 10" below were reported on the mornings of the
1st and 2d from points in the upper Missouri Valley, and the
cold area gradually overspread the eastern and southern dis-
tricts during the 3d and 4th. A second cold wave appeared
over the upper Missouri Valley on the morning of the 6th,
with temperatures from 10" to 20" below zero over northern
Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana, and moved rapidly
southeastward to the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts by the
8th. Moderate temperatures prevailed from the last-named
date till about the 30th, when cold weather again set in over
the northern Rocky Mountain district, and at the end of the
year had overspread the district from the Rocky Mountains
eastward to the Mississippi and Ohio valleys and Lake region,
with temperatures from 10" to 20" below zero along the
northern border from the upper Lakes westward to eastern
Montana on the morning of the 31st.
During the first decade the mean temperature ranged from
4" to 10" below the normal over most of the interior districts,
but was generally above normal along the Atlantic and Gulf
coasts, the Mexican border, and generally over the Pacific
coast States. Unusually high temperatures prevailed on the
1st along the immediate Atlantic and Gulf coasts, where tem-
peratures aB high or higher than previously recorded during
the first decade of December occurred.
During the second decade the mean temperature was above
the normal from 3" to 10" over all interior districts from the
Rocky Mountains eastward, while over the western district it
ranged from 3" to 7" below. From the 16th to the 18th some
unusually high maximum temperaturea occufied over the