EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IX 497 



CLIMATE AND CROP REVIEWS 



J anuary was fair and mild until the 10th, when it was followed 

 by a cold wave, and temperatures of zero and lower occurred 

 in nearly all portions of the State during the next few days. A 

 storm center attended by snow passed over the State on the 20- 

 21st, and was followed by a cold wave with temperatures of 14 

 to 20° below zero in the northern counties. In the north part 

 of the State, where the snow was heavy, it drifted and interfered 

 seriously with rail traffic. Temperatures of 50 to 60°, the high 

 est of the month, were general on the 28th. General snow on the 

 30-31st was followed by the most severe cold wave of the win- 

 ter, which was sweeping southeastward across the State at mid- 

 night of the 31st. 



February was the driest month of that name since state-wide 

 observations began in 1890, and the coldest since 1905. It was, 

 however, rather a pleasant winter month as there was only one 

 bad storm which occurred on the 4th when the temperature was 

 below zero all day north of Des Moines, and the minimum tem- 

 peratures ranged from 8° below zero at Keokuk to 28° below 

 zero at Lake Park. The velocity of the wind ranged from 39 

 miles an hour at Des Moines to 69 miles an hour at Sioux City. 

 Over the greater part of the State these conditions were ac- 

 companied by falling snow, which made the worst blizzard for 

 many years. Railroad traffic was suspended for several days 

 on some lines in the northern counties. Although cold the re- 

 mainder of the month was generally pleasant. Some oats were 

 seeded in Davis County on the 26th. 



March opened cold with temperatures of zero or lower in all 

 but the southeastern counties on the 4th and 5th, the lowest be- 

 ing 13° at Lake Park on the 4th. Excepting a warm period^ 9- 

 11th, it continued cold till the 19th, after which it was warm. 

 Precipitation, as in the two preceding months, was above normal 

 in the northern, normal in the central, and below normal in the 

 southern division. A severe glaze storm occurred on the 12th 

 from Fort Dodge to Des Moines and east to the Mississippi River, 

 which did $175,000 worth of damage to telephone and telegraph 

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