JULY, 1913. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 981 amounta exceeding 2.50 inches at a few stations in each ways out of commission in Fortress Monroe, Newport State. The largest amount was 4.63 inches on the 21st News, and vicinity. at Abbeville, Ga. Raleigh, N. 0.-Hail destro ed or damaged crops over The least rainfall occurred -on the eastern coast of small areas in Nash County, 5. C., on the 19th, and in Florida, but less than 1 inch was received at only one Wake and Johnston Counties on the 20th. On a few 'place, Malabar, with 0.26 inch. farm cro s were almost completely destroyed, particu- The average rainfall for the entire district was 536 larly in t Re vicin;ty of F'uquay Springs aqd Srmthfield. inches and the departure -0.41 inch. The largest Some of the hailstones were an inch in diameter. It is amount was 14.80 inches at Robertsdale, Ala. and the estimated that the damage to crops and property in these least 0.26 at Malabar, Fla. Hail fell at many piaces with counties was $60,000. much damage to crops. RIVER CONDITIONS. MISCELLANEOUS PBENOMENA. Mean river stages were generally normal or slightly The revailin winds were from the southwest in the below throughout the district during July, and flood stages States Prom Ala %ama to Virginia, but from the southeast were not attained at any point. in Florida and south in Mlssissi pi. The hourly wind movement slightly exc.eeded 10 m!i es at some of the coast stations. The maximum wind velocit re orted was 60 LOCAL STORMS OF JULY 19, 1918, IN VIRGINLA. miles an hour from the north at Norfog, $a, on the 2d; [By JAMESH. KIMBALL,Obeecver.] ales of 40 lnilcs an hour or more occurred at Cape Henry, ta., at Hatteras, Raleigh, and Charlotte, N. C., at Savan- Saturday, Jul 19, opened clear and unusually warm, nali and Atlanta, Ga, and Jacksonville and Pensacola, with light nort.K erly winds sweeping over middle Vir- Fla. ginia toward a shallow atmospheric depression, which The average number of clear da was 14, partly at 8 a.. m. occupied the Piedmont section of North and cloudy 11, dolid 8, and rainy 11. xeaverage number South Carolina. At Ric.lunond durhi the morning hours of hour3 of sunsi ine for the district was 285, or 65 per cumulus and strato-cumulus clouds %egan to appear in ossible amount. Highest ercentage 79 at the northwest and by noon the sky was partly cloudy lowest 40 at Hatteras, 2 C. and covered with a thin layer of haze. Light nortli- westerly winds reva.iled untd about 3 p. m. when, with SEVERE LOCAL STORMS. gathering clou 8s and an almost ini erceptible increase ui wind movement, the temperature gegan to fall, and a Atlanta, Ga.-A severe local thunderstorm occurred at few minutes later thunder was heard in the west. About Atlanta on July 31, between the hourd of 3 and 5 p. m., 4 p. ni. a northwest squall set in with li ht rain and a which resented some rather unusual phenomena. The ninrked fdl in tern erature. Shortly aB ter S p. m. a storm sormed southeast of the city and undoubtedly remarkably beautifu Pdisplay of mammato-cumulus clouds moved eastward, but the entire sky at At.lanta became was observed drifting slowly from the west, overcast by thin clouds which permitted sufficient light These notes are abstracted from the Richmond record to pass so that it was com aratively bright during the because of their apparent connection with a number of entire storm. The niost stn% ing feature was the absence violent storms that occurred on the same day in the of the usual outrushing wind; during the disturbance the ad'oining section of middle Virginia. wind velocity did not exceed 8 miles an hour, and while hail was the princi al agent of destruction, but great t,he rain was heaviest the smoke from chimneys ascended loss was also cause: b liglitnbi and h' h wmds. almost vertically u ward. From 3.25 to 3 55 p. m. Buckinghani, Cuniberlmi8 Prince Edward, 5ottoway, 0.80 inch of rain fel.P The electrical display was dro and probably Lunenburg Counties sustained most of the brilliant and continuous, and the thunder reniarkably loss, mid since these counties form the heart of the loud. The cupola on the Terminal Railway Station was Viiia tobacco-growing district their misfortune is of shattered by lightning, and one erson was killed. niore tlim local mterest; Hail fell ir;l enormous uan- The writer, alt-hough for nearyP 30 years an observer tities, and lar e areas of tobacco which had just 73een in the Weather Bureau, has never before seen anythin topped were amost7 ruined. The violent electrical dis- so near1 approachin ball lightning as was observei charges caused the destruction b fire of many barns during tK is storm. $cry many flashes passed between recently harvested wg eat and oata, while the clouds and the earth. At the earth terminal of three highcontainin$ win s from the nortrliwest unroofed houses and exceptionally brilliant flashes which occurred in rapid demolished many less substantial buildings. succession and were of the usual reddish color, brilliant Of the several storms that occurred between 2 and 4 man's head of intensely blue m. on the 19th, the one that developed in central lasted for from 3 to 5 seconds kx&ingham County was undoubtedly the most severe. flashes had disappeared. It began to show destructive properties when nearing A severe local storm occurred on July 7 at Waycross, Enonville, a village hi the sout41i-central part of the Ga., during which large windows were shattered, several county, where a heavy thunderstorm occurred at about houses taken off their foundations, and trees blown down 2.30 p. ni. Thence it traveled in a southeasterly direc- in all arts of the city. A siniikr storm occurred on the tion and was nest reported from Arcanurn, about 4 miles same :ay at Jackson, Miss., which caused much damage distant, where the lightning was severe. Four large to fruit trees, and at Biloxi, Miss, on the 10th and at trees standing within a comparatively small area are said Birmingham, Ala, on the 29th. to have been shattered from top to bottom by successive Nor$oZk, Va -A severe thunderstorm occurred on July dischar es within a 5-niinute interval. Rain and hail 10, attended b7 st.rong gusts of wind over Hampton occurre9 , but these features did not become excessive Roads. Li htnmg caused damage to buildings and boats until the storm reached Sheppard, a village 5 miles to the along the s% ore and put the telephones and electric rd- south-southeast.

Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/26/21 06:33 PM UTC 982 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. JULY, 1913 nom a full and interestin account forwarded from ed e of the countg, three distinct storms were observed, Shep ard by Mr. P. M. Jones t%e following brief summary an% though the md,rain, and hail continued, the losses has I?een .taken: Shortly before 3 p. m. the storm ap- in Cumberland County were moderate. peared suddenly in the north-northwest, movin in an Only one death is known to have resulted from the easterly direction, apparently toward CurdsAe, but storm, that of a colored woman, killed by htning near when northeast of that place it curved to the south and Overly. South of Overly, in the neighborYlr ood o Rice was overtaken by a second storm from the northwest. Depot, the wind and hail again became violent, and large From the point of meeting the reenforced disturbance areas of tobacco were destroyed. StiU farther south at moved southeast with greatly increased intensity, pros- Melierrin, on the southern edge of prince Edward County, in its path. The destruction the hail was still the principal feature of the storm and a straight wind. Three niiles this section also suffered greatly. tlie north sides of forest trees were An accurate estimate of the loss sustained by the from that side ap eared white tobacco growers can not be made, since many of the an%!are. The 1' htnin was not intense, t ut the rain leaves were picked up for curin and something may be and hail increaseff great y in intensity, and tlie loss to saved from the suckers from aousands of plants that property in the vicinit is estimated at $100,000. were cut off near the ground, but in the opinion of a In crossing CumberP and County the storm seems to grower well qualified to how the loss in the section have disintegrated, since at Farmville, on the southern within 30 miles of Farmville may well exceed $1,000,000.

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