632 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



the worst westward from Adair County to the Missouri River. Between 

 Atlantic and Adair 215 telephone poles were reported down. 



On the 19th between 3 and 4 p. m. an unusual downpour of rain in the 

 vicinity of Leighton about 10 miles northwest of Oskaloosa raised the 

 Skunk River 4.5 feet in 24 hours washed out 300 feet of the C. R. I. & P. 

 R. R. track northwest of Evans station, washed fields clean of recently 

 plowed soil and eroded deep ditches where none had been before. The 

 rain did not fall in ordinary drops but more like the discharge from a 

 hose. Thunder and lightning were absent. Darkness at Oskaloosa was 

 such from 3 to 3:15 p. m. that persons distant 100 feet could not be recog- 

 nized and artificial lights were used in stores and on automobiles. The 

 darkness was not like that of an ordinary storm cloud but more like the 

 advance of evening. Soon after 3:15 p. m. the clouds lifted from the 

 northwest and in 10 minutes daylight was normal. The rainfall at Oska- 

 loosa was light. Hail fell at Leighton. 



The month was unfavorable from an agricultural standpoint, being too 

 cold for plant growth and too wet for plowing and seeding. The rain 

 was especially heavy on the 18th and 19th, and amounted to considerably 

 more than an inch over most of the State. During the rest of the month 

 fields were very muddy and farm work was practically at a standstill. The 

 oat acreage was greatly reduced on account of the protracted unfavorable 

 conditions at seeding time and this was particularly the case in the south- 

 ern portion of the State. No corn had been planted at the close of the 

 month. The cold weather beneficially retarded fruit buds which at the 

 close of the month had barely begun to swell and no foliage had appeared. 



Unusual, complex optical phenomena were observed at Miller's Bay, 

 West Okoboji Lake on April 8. 



Pressure. The mean pressure, (reduced to sea level), for the State was 

 29.85 inches. The highest recorded was 30.28 inches, at Dubuque on the 

 24th, and the lowest was 29.17 inches at Davenport and Dubuque on the 

 1st. The monthly range was 1.11 inches. 



Teynperature. The mean temperature for the State, as shown by the 

 records of 103 stations, was 42.4°, or 6.3° lower than the normal. By di- 

 visions, three tiers of counties to the division, the means were as follows: 

 Northern, 40.3°, or 6.4° lower than the normal; Central, 42.8°, or 6.1° 

 lower than the normal; Southern, 44.1°, or 6.5° lower than the normal. 

 The highest monthly mean was 46.8° at Centerville, and the lowest was 

 37.4°, at Estherville. The highest temperature reported was 78°, at 

 Afton, Clinton, Keokuk and Olin, on the 21st, and the lowest was 2° at 

 Bedford and Thurman on the 5th. The temperature range for the state 

 was 76°. 



Huinidity. The average relative humidity for the State at 7 a. m. was 

 80 per cent, and at 7 p. m. it was 61 per cent. The mean for the month 

 was 70 per cent, or 4 per cent above the normal. The highest monthly 

 mean was 74 per cent at Sioux City, and the lowest was 66 per cent, at 

 Dubuque. 



