IOWA WEATHER AND CROP REPORT 593 



OCTOBER 



October was warm and dry, being considerably warmer and drier than 

 October, 1921, and since records of the State have been kept there have 

 been but four Octobers with higher mean temperatures. Of the last 26 

 consecutive months, this month makes 24 that have been warmer than the 

 normal. There were two unusually warm periods, the first six and the 

 last eight days. At a number of stations in all sections the maxima for 

 October were equalled, and never before have such high maxima occurred 

 so late in the season as occurred on the 27th and 28th. Killing frosts oc- 

 curred on the 9th over a large area in the northwestern portion and on 

 the 12th over most of the State except a few Mississippi River counties 

 which did not experience a killing frost until the 18th. The corn crop 

 was practically all matured when the frosts occurred and the damage 

 was of very little consequence. 



Precipitation was deficient over all sections, though there were local 

 areas in all sections that had an excess, but only one station had an 

 important excess. The lack of precipitation was magnified by the fact 

 that at a large number of stations most of the total occurred on the last 

 two days and at most other stations the greater portion occurred in a 

 single shower period on the 5th-6th. 



The weather was favorable for all outdoor work and while the dry 

 weather prevented fall plowing in some sections, conditions were very 

 favorable for gathering corn and at the close of the month a large amount 

 had been cribbed. The dry weather also retarded the germination of 

 some wheat fields but over most of the State the precipitation was ample 

 for germination and the average condition was very good considering 

 that seeding had been generally delayed to avoid the Hessian fly. 



The month was free from severe storms and except for short periods 

 the roads were unusually good. Clear days averaged 21 over the State 

 which has never been exceeded by October. 



There was a serious shortage of freight cars and this condition pre- 

 vented the marketing of valuable truck crops. In the chief truck growing 

 center every available warehouse was filled and some fields were not 

 gathered for the lack of storage room. 



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

 30.00 inches. The highest recorded was 30.43 inches at Sioux City, on the 

 12th, and the lowest was 29.45 inches at Sioux City, on the 28th. The 

 monthly range was 0.98 inch. 



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

 records of 98 stations, was 56.1°, or 5.3° higher than the normal. By 

 divisions, three tiers of counties to the division, the means were as fol- 

 lows: Northern, 54.4°, or 5.4° higher than the normal; Central, 56.4°, or 

 5.5° higher than the normal; Southern, 57.4°, or 4.8° higher than the 

 normal. The highest monthly mean was 59.6°, at Columbus Junction, and 

 the lowest was 52.0°, at Estherville. The highest temperature reported 

 was 96°, at Guthrie Center on the 4th, and the lowest was 14° at Little 

 Sioux on the 17th. The temperature range was 82°. 



