AUGUST,1909. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 423 Climatological Data for August, 1909. DISTRICT No. 2, SOUTH ATLANTIC AND EAST GULF STATES. CH.~LESF. YON HERRYANN.Dlstrict Editor. SUMMARY. Mississippi the temperature was above normal, several small The relatively cool, rainy weather that, characterized July areas showing departures of 2" or more above. Moderate in the South At.lantic States continued during tlie first half of temperatures prevailed during the first decade; then the tem- August, 1909, but about the 17th a change to drier, warmer perature began to rise everywhere, and a period of extreme weather took place. The rainy weat,her early in tlie month was heat prevailed from the 16th to the 19th. A period of cooler associated with indefinite barometric depressions, or often weat.her followed, t.he lowest temperatures for the month being merely normal pressure, in tlie Stmatesbordering t.he Atlant.ic generally recorded between t>he22d ancl 26th ; then another and Gulf of Mesico, while successive arcas of high harometcr pronounced warni wave prevailed from the 27th to 29th. Dur- prevailed in the vicinity of New England. The general drift ing these periods of greatest warmth, maximum temperatures of air was probably cont.iniially from t.he moist At.lantk west- of from 100" t.0 108" were experienced. In Mississippi, espe- ward over the land, as is sufficient.ly indicated by the prevail- rially, the weat,lier was extremely warm and dry; in western ing winds which were from t.he nort,heast, in Virginia.. North Florida (.Peiisacolaj during the 17th and 18th stock (dray Carolina, Sout,h Carolina, and Georgia, from t.hc southeast mules) suff erccl severely, many perishing; in Alabama and in Florida, and from the east in Alabama. C;eorgia, as well as farther north the night temperatures were After the passage over Virginia of the marked clistm.l)ance of moderate aiicl gave relief. t.he 17th the areas of high pressure. from t,he north took a more The iiionthly mean temperatures ranged from 66.5" at Hot southerly course within tlie coast, line (often setkling over Springs, Va. (altit.ude 2,195 feet), to 84.6" at Brunswick, Ga., western N0rt.h Carolina and eastern Tennessee) while low pres- on thc sout.11 Atlantic .coast. The highest temperature ob- sure prevailed over Ncw England; the drift of air was t,hen served was 10s" on August 18, at Flomaton and Pushmataha, from the west or southwest. A series of shallow depressions Ala., and the miniinuni was 41 " on the 23d at Mount Airy, N. C. continued to exist in t.he South from t,he 17th to 20th, hut! PRECIPITATION. they brought very litt,le rain or even cloudy weat.lier, ancl in- tense insolation caused very high t.emperatures, especially on The average precipitation for August was below the normal August 18 when maximum temperatures esceerling 100 " oc- throughout t,he district. with the exception of Florida. The curred at some points in all the States of this district, escept greatest, deficiencies occurred in portions of South Carolina, Virginia where the highest. was 99". Florida alone did not share Georgia. and Alabama. In Florida the "rainy season" con- in the period of fair weather, suninier showers continuing the tinued almost without interruption, rain falling at some place entire month. There was a not.al)le absence of severe local or ot,her on every clay of the month, but the average excess storm throughout the tlist,rict. in precipitation was small. The regions of greatest excess were PRESSURE. as follows: In Florida, from Volusia County on the niiddle-east coast southwest to Lee County on the west coast, there was an The shallow barometric depression (39.90 to 30.00 inches) escess of from 2 t.0 7 inches; here the greatest amounts for central on August 1 in western North Carolina and east,crn t.he 1iiont.h were Fort. Myers, 14.59 inches and Bartow, 14.38 Tennessee caused heavy precipitation. especially on the eastern inches. In Georgia two limited regions received an excess of slope of the Blue Ridge in western North Carolina slid Virginia, from 3 to 4 inches, one in the noith-central portion, the other from the 1st t,o t,he 3cI: subsequenlly the pressure rose rapidly on t.he southeast. coast, where Valona received 15.34 inches, over the entire district under the influence of a marked area t,he heaviest recorded anywhere in tlie district; two other sta- of high barometer (30.40 inches) over New England, but un- tions in Georgia had a t,otal niont,hly amount. exceeding 10 settled, showery conditions continued. The baromet,er re- inches . (Eatonboa and Newnan). The only other places mained generally near or slightly above normal until t,he 1Mh, having as much as 10 inches were Georgetown S. C., which when a storni appeared in the Lake region (,29.70inches) which lies near t,he coast. and Bay 8t. Louis and Bilosi, Miss., near moved southeast to western Pennsylvlvania, ancl thence to t.he t.he Gulf coast. The rainfall occurred as already stated, mostly vicinity of Norfolk, Va., tlie pressure falling to 29.54 inches on during the first half of the month. August 17 at Hat,teras, N. C. The lowest pressure for t.he Esccssive rains (3.50 inches or more in twenty-four hours) nioiibh was recorded nearly everywhere on the lith and the occurred at only t,wo stations in Virginia, at 14 stations in period of rainy weather now terminated over niost of the tlis- North Carolina, at, 8 stations in South Carolina, at 10 stations trict. The marked area of high pressure that moved from the in Georgia, at. 14 stat.ions in Florida, at 7 stations in Alabama Nort.hwest to the Lakes during August 31 and thence sout,li- and at G in Mississippi. ward to the southern Appalachian region dominated the The areas of deficient precipitation were much larger, espe- weather throughout most of bhe district until August 28. The cially in Virginia, Alabama, and parts of Mississippi. The maximum pressures were generally recorded from the 23cl to State average rainfall for Mississippi was the least since 1900, the 35th. Very warm weather occurred again on the 28th ancl iiiany station in the northern part of the State receiving less 39th under the influence of a nioclerate depression over the than half an inch; in Alabama the average rainfall for August Lakes. The month closed with light showers clue t.0 a moderate was less than that of the present month only five times during barometric depression over central and northern Florida. the past eighteen years; in South Carolina the total for the TEMPERATURE. month was less only in August, 1896, and August, 1900. Gen- The temperature during August was below normal over erally from Georgia northward cluring the latter portion of the niost of Virginia, N0rt.h C.hrolins, and South Chrolina and at month t,here wm a period of t.ea days or niore of fair weather several stations in central Georgia and eastern Alabama, as at most stations, while to tlie south and west the rainfall was well as in the extreme southern portion of Florida. The great- light and scattering. The average number of days with rain est deficiency was a little over 4" at some st,ations in North was about 8 over most of the clisbrict, except in Florida where Carolina. In the central portions of South Carolina, in south- the average was 15 rainy days. The number of thunderstorms ern Georgia, as well as over most of Florida, Alabama, and was not very large nor were any of the storms especially violent. Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/23/21 10:04 AM UTC 424 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. AUGUST,1909 The following statistical data with reference to rainfall is of water, but the flood stage was not maintained, as the highest interest. The largest monthly total for August, 1909, was stage reached at Smiths Mills, 98 miles below Cheraw, was 15.34 inches at Valona, McIntosh County, Ga., the least was only 13.9 feet, or 2.1 feet, below flood stage. Warnings were 0.46 inch at Okolona, Chickasaw County, Miss. The heaviest issuecl sufficiently in advance to permit the safeguarding of twenty-four-hour fall was 6.10 inches in five hours at Aiken, property. S. C., on the 5th. The largest number of rainy days was 23 at MISCELLANEOUS PHENOMENA. Arcadia and Tampa, Fla. Atlanta received 1.50 inches in thirty- The prevailing winds were from the northeast in all the five minutes on the 2d, Montgomery 1.00 in thirty minutes on States bordering the Atlantic except in Florida where the pre- the 7th, and Columbia 1.03 inches in 31 minutes on the 6th. vailing direction was southeast; in Alabama the prevailing di- RIVER CONDITIONS. rection was east, and in Mississippi southeast. The average During the first half of the month the rivers throughout the hourly wind velocity at regular stations exceeded 10 miles at district maintained their highest stages, after which t.here was the following places only: Jupiter, Fla., average hourly veloc- a gradual decline to the lowest stages near the close of tlie ity 11.6 miles, Pensacola 11.9, and Sand Key, Fla., 13.0 miles; month. The rivers of Virginia were low throughout the month. at Hatteras, N. C., it was just 10 miles. The maximum wind Heavy rains during the first few days of the month caused a velocity for tlie month was 63 miles from the south on the 19th rapid rise in the lower Ronoake aid Cape Fear rivers in North at, Pensacola, Fla., the effect of a small disturbance near the Carolina, but only Fayetteville on the Cape Fear reported a mouth of the Mississippi which did not develop into a dis- reading above the flood stage, namely 47.6 feet on the 5th tinct storm.