20 Muhlenbergia, Volume 3 
Highest Temperature by Months and Years 
In December, January. and February the reader will note temperatures 
above 60 degrees; in July and August he will find two records of 100 degrees, 
the highest ever recorded on the University Hill. 
Lowest Temperature by Months and Years 
Seventeen years’ record of lowest monthly and annual temperatures, shows 
the curious variability which is characteristic of our climate. A glance at the 
record of lowest temperatures for January, shows in 1888, in 1890 and in several 
other years, temperatures far below zero. In January 1896 and January tgoo the 
minimum remained throughout the month well above the zero mark. The Feb- 
ruary record of lowest temperatures is of equal interest. There is one record 
below zero in March, and in ten years out of seventeen we find winter tempera- 
tures below the zero mark. 
April’s record of lowest temperatures is a record of severe frosts. The fig- 
ures for May show frost for every year except 1894 and 1898. 
Precipitation 
In 1902, for instance, we had a yearly total of less than five inches of water; 
in 1893 but little more; in 1904 and in 1891 more than ten inches fell; while in 
1890 there fell rain and snow which would amount to over 15% inches of water 
on the level. The annual average for the entire seventeen years is 8.20 inches, 
and this probably comes close to the average annual precipitation for this re- 
gion. 
Snowfall in Inches for Seventeen Years 
The bottom line of totals gives but an inch of snow for the year 1goo, and 
over seven feet for 1890, with a yearly average of nearly two feet. This yearly 
average is somewhat misleading. Two feet of snow distributed through the 
winter and early spring in squalls and flurries will not usually mean much snow 
on the level at any one time. 
The Truckee Valley may be regarded as having a more 
humid atmosphere and a larger precipitation by a few inches 
than the typical valleys of Nevada farther to the east. On this 
account it may be considered as intermediate between the val- 
leys of middle eastern California and those of central Nevada. 
As it is the intention of the writer to refer briefly to the 
plants growing in the Arctic zone around Mount Rose, some in- 
formation concerning the climatic conditions found on the sum- 
mit may be of interest. The information here given is taken 
from an article written by Professor J. E. Church, Jr., in U. S. 
Weather Review, 34: No. 6, June, 1906, entitled “The Mount 
