44 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



January 20th, mean temperature 7.3° below zero. The mercury fell below zero eight 

 times, of which five were in January and three in February. 



The warmest month was July, with mean temperature 76.18°; the warmest week was 

 June 30th to July 6th, mean 81.30°; the warmest day was July 20th, mean 83°. The 

 mercury reached or exceeded 90° on 26 days ( 16 below the average number), viz.: one 

 in May, six in June, seventeen in July, one in August, and one in September. 



The la>t hoax frost of spring was on May 22d; the first hoar frost of autumn was on 

 October 14th, giving an interval of 135 days, or nearly five months, entirely without 

 frost. The average interval is 155 days. 



The last severe frost of spring was on March 29th ; the first severe frost of autumn 

 was on the 1st of November; giving an interval of 217 days, or nearly eight months, 

 without severe frost. The average interval is 199 days. No frost during the year 

 caused damage to crops of grain and fruit. The low temperatures of January and Feb- 

 ruary were generally destructive to peach buds. 



RAIN. 



The entire rainfall, including melted snow, was 40.65 inches, which has been but 

 twice exceeded on our sixteen years' record (in 1876 and 1877), and is 6.40 inches above 

 the annual average. Either rain or snow, or both, fell on 106 days — three more than 

 the average. On two of these days the quantity was too small for measurement. 



There was no approach to a drouth during the year, the longest interval without rain 

 in the growing season being eighteen days, from August 25th to September 7th. 



The number of thunder showers was 32. Hail fell on two days, February 3d and 

 May 13th. 



SNOW. 



The entire depth of snow was 12.50 inches, which is 8.57 inches below the average. 

 Of this amount, five and a half inches fell in January, four inches in February, one 

 inch in October, and two inches in December. Snow fell on 21 days. The last snow of 

 spring was on March 24th ; the first snow of autumn was on October 24th. 



FACE OF THE SKY. 



The average cloudiness of the year was 45.24 per cent., which is .84 per cent, above 

 the average. The number of clear days ( less than one-third cloudy ) was 169 ; half-clear 

 (from one to two-thirds cloudy), 98; cloudy (more than two-thirds), 98. There were 

 71 days on which the cloudiness reached or exceeded 80 per cent. There were 55 en- 

 tirely clear and 50 entirely cloudy days. The clearest month was November, with a 

 mean of 58.22 per cent. ; the cloudiest month was October, mean 58.27 per cent. The 

 percentage of cloudiness at 7 A. m. was 49.47; at 2 p. M., 48.66; at 9 p. m., 37.59. 



DIRECTION OF THE WIND. 



During the year, three observations daily, the wind was from the S. W. 291 times, N. 

 W. 250 times, N. E. 219 times, S. E. 166 times, S. 58 times, N. 47 times, E. 35 times, W. 20 

 times. The north winds (including northwest, north and northeast) outnumbered the 

 south (including southwest, south and southeast) in the ratio of 516 to 515. 



VELOCITY OF THE WIND. 



The number of miles traveled by the wind during the year was 141,164, which is 

 2,787 miles above the annual average for the ten preceding years. This gives a mean 

 daily velocity of 386.75 miles, and a mean hourly velocity of 16.12 miles. The highest 

 hourly velocity was (50 miles, on May 13th; the highest daily velocity was 1,010 miles, 

 on January 10th ; the highest monthly velocity was 15,661 miles, in May. The three 

 windiest months were April, May, and December; the three calmest months were June, 

 August, and September. The average velocity at 7 A. M. was 15.19 miles; at 2 p. m., 

 17.96 miles; at 9 p. m., 15.58 miles. 



