2G IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



CLIMATE AND CROP REVIEW. 



Crop Season of 1910. 



Extremely low temperatures prevailed during the first decade of Jan- 

 uary, with two notably heavy snowstorms during the first half of the 

 month. The first being on the 4th-5th and the second on the 12tk-13th. 

 The snowfall was unusually heavy and caused a great deal of delay in 

 railroad traffic, and the accumulating of snow caused considerable dam- 

 age to buildings, especially in the northern part of the state. The roofs 

 of numerous structures collapsed as a result of the weight of snow; the 

 damage to property in Dubuque being estimated at about $10 000. Snow 

 flurries occurred at frequent intervals during the latter half of the month 

 but the amounts of snow were small and only tended to prolong the good 

 sleighing which began on December 5th or 6th, 1909. The ground was 

 thoroughly covered with snow during the entire month in the northern, 

 and most of the time in the southern districts, and as a result fall grains 

 suffered no injury from the effects of the cold weather. The 6th and 

 7th were the coldest days, the lowest temperature occurring generally 

 on the 6th, when the minimum ranged from — S° to — 33° over the south- 

 ern, and — 18° to — 35° over the northern counties. 



The weather during February was exceptionally pleasant; there be- 

 ing no severe storms and a very small amount. of precipitation. The av- 

 erage precipitation being only 0.46 inch which is 0.60 inch below the 

 normal. At many sations it was the driest February in over 30 years. 

 The temperature was, however, below the normal although the weather 

 was moderate during most of the month. The ground was practically 

 bare of snow over the southern counties, except from the 20 to the 

 24th, but over the northen counties the ground was covered with snow 

 during the whole month. Some progress was made in gathering last 

 year's corn but there was over 15 per cent of the crop left in the fileds 

 at the close of the month. 



March, 1910, will long be remembered as having furnished more pleas- 

 ant weather than any other March in the history of the state. It was 

 the warmest and driest March on record. It gave the largest amount of 

 sunshine; the least number of clody days; the least number of days 

 with appreciable precipitation; the least number of days with freezing 

 temperature, and less snowfall than any other March since state-wide 

 observations began. The temperature was uniformly high and above 

 the normal every day of the month. The highest temperature occurred 

 generally on the 23d, and ranged from 81° to 87° over the northern, 81° 

 to 90° over the central, and from 82 to 92° over the southern counties. 

 There was no snowfall in excess of a trace and the rainfall was abnor- 

 mally light. On the 1st of the month there was 6 to 8 inches of snow 

 on the ground in the northern part of the state, but it had all melted by 



