PART I. 



Report of the Iowa Weather and Crop Service 



for 1912 



George M. Chappel, Director 



The meteorological and statistical data contained in this annual 

 report have been compiled from the monthly and weekly bulletins 

 issued by the Iowa Weather and Crop Service, in co-operation with 

 the Weather Bureau of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture. The data have been condensed, and it is believed that the 

 matter will be valuable and convenient for reference and compari- 

 son in future years. 



Reports have been received regularly each month from 118 co- 

 operative meteorological stations, and from the U. S. Weather Bu- 

 reau stations at Des Moines, Davenport, Dubuque, Charles City, 

 Keokuk, and Sioux City, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb. 



The instrumental equipment has been kept up to a high standard. 



This office distributed 28,400 copies of the Monthly Review of 

 the Iowa Weather and Crop Service, and 65,000 copies of the 

 Weekly Weather Crop Bulletins. The daily weather forecasts were 

 distributed daily to 243,000 telephone subscribers. Daily forecasts 

 were also distributed by rural mail to 2,000 addresses and by 

 ordinary mail to 1,850 addresses. Daily forecast messages were 

 sent to 78 towns by telegraph at expense of the U. S. Weather Bu- 

 reau, and special Avarnings of the approach of cold waves and 

 heavy storms were also distributed whenever issued. Arrange- 

 ments were made through the Horticultural Department of the Iowa 

 State College to send frost warnings, during the fruit blooming 

 season, to all orchardists in the state who were prepared to use 

 orchard heaters in case of frost or injurious temperatures. 



CLIMATOLOGY OP THE YEAR, 1912. 



The climatic records for the year 1912 show some very unusual condi- 

 tions. January was the coldest month on record in Iowa, and the average 

 temperature for the first three months was the lowest on record since the 



