794 lOVVA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



mum was — 14°. The greatest daily range was 61°, at Inwood, Lyon 

 ('ounty. The average of the greatest daily range was 4?.°. 



Precipitation. — The a\'erage precipitation for the state, as shown by 

 tlie records of 121 stations, was 2.48 inches, or 0.56 inch more than the 

 normal. By sections the averages were as follows: Northern, 2.42 inches, 

 or 0.69 inch more than the normal; Central, 2.58 inches, or 0.60 inch more 

 than the normal; Southern, 2.43 inches, or 0.38 inch more than the nor- 

 mal. The greatest amount, 5.88 inches, occurred at Marshalltown, Mar- 

 shall County, and the least, 0.74 inch, at Rock Rapids, Lyon County. The 

 greatest amount in any 24 consecutive hours, 2.54 inches, occurred at 

 Nora Springs, Floyd County, on the 13th and 14th. Measurable precipita- 

 tion occurred on an average of 9 days. 



Snow, — The average snowfall for the State was 5.3 inches. By sections 

 the averages were as follows: Northern, 6.2 inches; Central, 5.2 inches; 

 Southern, 4.5 inches. The greatest amount, 14.5 inches, occurred at 

 Charles City, Floyd County; and the least, a trace, at Cumberland, Cass 

 County, and at Keokuk, Lee County. 



Sunshine and Cloudiness. — The average number of clear days was 11; 

 partly cloudy, 10; cloudy, 10. The duration of sunshine was below the 

 normal, the percentage of the possible amount being 59 at Charles City; 

 65 at Davenport; 62 at Des Moines; 51 at Dubuque; 56 at Keokuk; and 55 

 at Sioux City. 



Wind. — 'Northwest winds prevailed. The highest velocity reported was 

 at the rate of 53 miles an hour from the northwest, at Sioux City, Wood- 

 bury County, on the 1st. 



REPORT ON THE TORNADO AT OMAHA, NEB., OF MARCH 23, 1913. 



By L. A. Welch, Local Forecaster, U. S. Weather Bureau. 



The tornado that passed through the city of Omaha, on the evening of 

 Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, was undoubtedly the most destructive to 

 life and property that ever occurred in the Missouri Valley, and probably 

 one of the most destructive in the history of the country. The storm, 

 attended by the pendant, funnel-shaped cloud, first struck the city at its 

 extreme southwest limit, point northeast across the western and northern 

 portions of the city to Cut Off Lake, which is located near the Missouri 

 River and in the extreme northeast portion of the city. The length of 

 the tornado path, between the points named being about five miles, and 

 its width, in the line of destruction across the city, varied from about 

 one-fifth to one-fourth of a mile. The length of time consumed in the 

 passage of the tornado across the city cannot be exactly ascertained, but it 

 is believed to be about 13 minutes. The funnel cloud passed 40'th and 

 Farnum Streets at 5:49 p. m. and 24th and Lake Streets at 5:55 p. m., 

 having traveled slightly more than two miles during that interval. The 

 distribution of the wreckage and debris leaves unmistakable evidence of 

 rotary winds, and the presence of a whirl in the cloud at the points 

 in the path where the greatest violence was shown and the greatest de- 

 struction occurred; this was particularly the case at the Sacred Heart 



