340 The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. Ill, No. 3, 



meteorology of the state as far as it may have some part in the 

 ecology of the region and it is the object of this paper to present 

 the results of such investigations. 



In view of the two very important requisites to trust\vorlh\- 

 averages ; — (a ) records running through a long period of years 

 and id) as uniform distribution o\-er the State as possible, the 

 following stations were selected as representing the meteorologi- 

 cal conditions of Ohio : Ashtabula, Cleveland, Findlay, Mont- 

 pelier, Sandusky, Toledo, Wooster, New Alexandria, Columbus, 

 Milligan, Marietta, Portsmouth, Clarksville, Cincinnati, and 

 Greenville. 



These stations have records ranging in point of duration from 

 six years at Ashtabula, eight years at Milligan, and ten years at 

 Montpelier, on up to twenty-four years at Columbus and thirty- 

 two 3'ears at Toledo, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Although it is 

 claimed generally by meteorologists that a longer record is neces- 

 sary for accurate averat.'es than is yet po.ssessed l)>- some of the 

 stations named, it is believed, in view of the uniformity- with 

 which the stations having the shorter records have checked up 

 with those having longer records, and in view of the fact that in 

 cases of doubt records of neighboring stations were in several 

 cases consulted, that very fair general averages have been obtained 

 and that longer records will not materiall}- alter our charts. 



Precipitation, Total. (Plate III Map II.) 



Taking up first the sul:)ject of precipitation we find no very 

 great range in the normal animal amount. The valleys of the 

 Ohio and Miami Rivers have the greatest ])recipitation, al)out 

 forty inches per year, while the valley of the Maumee River has 

 the least, — below thirt}--five in.ches. 



Snowfall. (Plate III Map I.) 



Precipitation in the form of snow shows an entirely different 

 set of averages from that of the total ])recipitation. The northern 

 part of the state shows some very striking extremes. In less 

 than one hundred miles along the shore of Lake Erie, — from 

 Sandusky to Ashtabula, — the annual snowfall rises from thirty 

 to sixtv inches. vSouth from Ashtabula the snowfall decreases to 

 twent>- inches in 150 miles, while a line drawn through the cen- 

 tral part of the stale from north to south would cover in 200 miles 

 a range of but ten inches of snowfall. 



