22 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
ty-four hours, 2.96 inches, occurred at Plover, Pocahontas county, 
on the 24th. Measurable precipitation occurred on an average of 8 days. 
Sunshine and Cloudiness. — The average nunjber of clear days was 
16; partly cloudy, 6; cloudy, 9. The duration of sunshine was below 
the normal, the percentage of the possible amount being 67 at Daven- 
port; 60 at Des Moines; 57 at Dubuque; 62 at Keokuk; 50 at Sioux City, 
and 57 at Omaha, Neb. 
Wind. — South winds prevailed. The highest velocity reported was 
48 miles per hour from the south, at Sioux City, Woodbury county, 
on the 19th. 
DEOUTIIS IN IOWA. 
September, 1908, will go on record as having had the longest period 
without rain of any September since the establishment of weather 
stations in this state. With the exception of a few light showers in 
small sections of the state on the 5th, 13th and 23d, there was practic- 
ally no rainfall from the night of August 31st to the night of September 
25th, making, at most of the stations in this section, twenty-five rain- 
less days. Copious rains fell in all parts of the state between the 
night of the 25th and the 28th. During the dry period the temperature 
was considerably above the normal and the weather was almost cloud- 
less. The atmosphere was, however, more or less hazy, and over the 
eastern counties light to dense smoke was observed from the 14th to 
the 23d, presumably due to forest fires in the upper lake region. 
From the 4th to the 25th, inclusive, the maximum temperatures ranged 
from 80 to above 90°, and the night temperatures were correspondingly 
high. 
Previously to September 1st, the conditions had been favorable for 
abundance of soil moisture; there being an excess of precipitation for the 
state of 3.84 inches in May, 1.14 inches in June and .78 inches in August, 
and a deficiency of .78 inch in July, making a total excess of 4.98 
inches for the four months. May to August inclusive. All ponds, 
streams and sloughs were well filled with water and in May and June 
the rivers approached the flood stage, so that there was more than the 
normal amount of moisture in the soil on September 1st and all wells 
furnished a good supply of water during the entire month. 
The effect of the dry, hot weather during September was very 
injurious to pastures, late potatoes, garden truck, buckwheat, late 
fruits and the surface water supply. By the 15th pastures were brown 
and the soil was too dry and hard to plow, and by the 25th the fields 
were dusty and most of the ponds, sloughs and small streams were 
dry. The stage of water in all rivers was low and in some, the stage 
was said to be the lowest ever before known. 
While the effects of the drouth were serious and damaging to 
pastures, late potatoes and apples, the beneficial effects to corn more 
than overbalanced the injury done, and it may as well be said that the 
dry w^eather was of great benefit to this state. Corn, the principal 
crop in this section, was unusually late due to the heavy and continuous 
rains during the latter part of May and June and the fore part of July, 
