OF THE WEATHER BUREAU, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. STORM SIGNALS. Storm Signals.-A red flag with a black centre, indicates that a storm of marked violence is expected. The pennants displayed with the flags indicate the direction of the wind; red, easterly (from northeast to south); white, westerly (from southwest to north). The pennant above the flag indicates that the wind is expected to blow from the northerly quadrants; below, from the southerly quadrants. By night a red light indicates easterly winds, and a white light above a red light westerly winds. Information Signal. -Red or white pennant displayed alone.-When displayed at stations on the Great Lakes indicates that winds are expected which may prove dangerous to tows and smaller classes of vessels, the red pennant indicating easterly and the white pennant westerly winds. When displayed at stations on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts indicates that the local ob server has received information from the Central Office of a storm covering a limited area, dangerous only for vessels about to sail to certain points, and serves as a notification to shipmasters that information will be given them upon application to the local observer. Only the red pennant is displayed on the coasts. No night information or hurricane signals are displayed. Hurricane Signal. -Two red flags with black centres, displayed one above the other, indicate the expected approach of tropical hurricanes, and also of those extremely severe and dangerous storms which occasionally move across the Lakes and Northern Atlantic coast Total...... $170,500 $4,449,500 $186,600 $1,118,000 $2,042,300 $1,192,900 $383.700 814,216,400 $23,759,900 During the above period the most destructive tornadoes were those of Louisville, Ky., March 27, 1890; Little Rock, Ark, October 2, 1894, and St. Louis, Mo., May 27, 1896. The latter caused the greatest property loss of the period. Losses during period in North Dakota, $300; Virginia, $2,000; West Virginia, $3,000. Normal Temperature and Rainfall IN THE UNITED STATES. TABLE SHOWING THE NORMAL TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY AND JULY, AND THE NORMAL ANNUAL PRECIPITATION AT WEATHER BUREAU STATIONS IN EACH OF THE STATES AND TERRITORIES, ALSO THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST TEMPERATURES EVER REPORTED FROM EACH OF SAID STATIONS, TO SEPTEMBER 1, 1897. (Prepared in the office of the Chief of the Weather Bureau, U. S. Department of Agriculture, for THE WORLD ALMANAC for 1898.) Bismarck..... Columbus. Toledo Portland Roseburg. Philadelphia. .... 967 108 -55 14.1 14 71 106-48 13.0 -569 110-63 10.8 19 74 107-3518.3 1976 106-3231.7 14 74 106-38 19.1 28 72 104-28 8.5 51 79 102-552.0 44 78 92 866.4 47 SO 103 954.3 67105-44 18.4 3 68 107 49 14.0 22 69 96-1141.9 32 72 99-742.7 34 74 91 147.2 28 74 98-12 46.8 28 68 97-1314.2 34 68 95-1817.3 23 73 98-1837.9 30 74 100-644.8 25 69 100 23 35.0 33 78 104-12 39.9 28 75 103 -20 38.9 26 74 99-1630.9 39 67 102-246.8 40 66 102 635.2 32 73 110-24 9.7 27 72 94 -1641.3 32 76 102 539.8 30 74 103-1236.7 30.69 88-444. 2 30 70 92 8.50.0 49 82 104 1056.7 13 74 103-34 26. 8 41 78 101 755.0 40 81 102 853.3 38 80 104-1050.1 30 77 108-14 24.5 57 84 102 1836.9 44 82 113 5 9.3 43 82 104-146.5 30 73 93 0 7.6 28 76 102-2016.2 1971 97-2528.8 36 78 102-642.8 40 79 102] 2.52.1 30 68 109-26 27.8 38 62 97 -253.1 40 56 78 792.6 35 74 97-10 46.9 15 73 101-43 30.7 19 69 100-2532.1 1964 89-42 8.7 25 67 100-3812.2 1067 100-5411.0 The minus (-) sign indicates temperature below zero. *Not now a station of the Weather Bureau, and report is therefore for the period preceding its discontinuance as a station. Loss by Lightning in the United States. THE Weather Bureau of the United States Department of Agriculture in 1895 issued a bulletin giving these facts: That for the five years ending December 31, 1894, there were 1,120 lives lost from lightning in the United States, an average of 224 per year, nearly all in the six months from April to September, the maximum death rate being in June and July. In the nine years ending December 31, 1893, there were 4,175 fires caused by lightning, with a property loss of $14,309,180. Velocity of Winds in the United States. AVERAGE hourly velocity of the wind at selected stations of the United States Weather Bureau, also the highest velocity ever reported for a period of five minutes. (Prepared by W. L. MOORE, Chief of the Weather Bureau, and revised to October 1, 1897, for THE WORLD ALMANAC.) High-Tide Tables. FOR GOVERNOR'S ISLAND, NEW YORK HARBOR. (Specially prepared from the Tide-Tables of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for THE WORLD ALMANAC.) New York Mean Time. To express in Eastern Standard Time, subtract 4 minutes. HIGH-TIDE TABLES-Continued. TIME OF HIGH WATER AT POINTS ON THE ATLANTIC COAST. The local time of high water at the following places may be found approximately for each day by adding to or subtracting from the time of high water at Governor's Island N. Y., the hours and minutes annexed. EXAMPLE. To find the approximate time of high tide at Atlantic City, N. J., on any day, find first the time of high water at New York under the desired date, and then subtract 20 minutes, as in the above table: the result is the time of high water required. Greatest Altitude in Each State. FROM THE RECORDS OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. NOTE-The above table was prepared for THE WORLD ALMANAC by the Geographic Branch of the United States Geological Survey. It should be stated in connection with this table that it presents only points whose heights are matters of record, and that in several cases in the high mountain region of the far West and the Pacific Slope it is well known that there are higher points within the State or Territory whose heights are not yet known with accuracy, and consequently cannot be given. This table was revised by the United States Geological Survey to November 1, 1897. Mt. St. Elias, supposed to be the highest point in Alaska, is now believed to be in Canadian territory. There are reports of mountains in Alaska far to the northwest higher than Mt. St. Elias, but not yet verified. t Western end of Beaver County, Oklahoma, reaches 5,000 feet elevation. |