1896.] PARKER — CLIMATOLOGY OF NEW YORK. 227 



December to 2.10 in July at Tatoosh, Wash., and 0.60 in P'ebruary 

 and December to trace in May and January at Yuma, Arizona. 



It will be observed that the range is less than at any other place 

 except Yuma, where the greatest for any month is too small to permit 

 of so much. Tatoosh and Yuma represent the highest and lowest 

 rainfalls in so far as reported by the Weather Bureau. The average 

 annual rainfall at Tatoosh is 89 inches while it is a little over 3 at 

 Yuma. In a publication in regard to precipitation issued by the 

 Weather Bureau, dated April 30, 1894, it is said that, it is a matter 

 of interest to ascertain whether the rainfall at any particular place is 

 due largely to small rains, or to great ones. If the former is the case 

 it will generally be favorable to agricultural operations and lessen the 

 injury from floods. 



In order to ascertain the character of the rainfall tables have been 

 prepared giving the percentage of days on which there was no rainfall, 

 those on which the rainfall was between a trace and 0.25 inch, 0.25 

 and 0.50, 0.50 to 1. 00, I to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 5, and over 5 inches. 

 These are all expressed in percentage of days on which such rain fell, 

 and the months have been equalized so that the percentages show the 

 relative times of rainfall, and also, with proper treatment, the relative 

 quantity of rainfall of each kind. Examining this series we find four 

 very distinct types as to the relative frequency of light and heavy 

 rains. The first type is that which is found on the Lower Lakes, and 

 which has its extreme at Oswego. Its especial characteristic is the 

 relatively large number of days on which small rains fell. This number 

 of days is often greater than those on which no rain fell. This is 

 particularly the case with these rains in the winter, but it may extend 

 in some cases through the year and at Oswego it is found that this 

 maximum appears clearly in the annual rainfall curve. 



It would be interesting to decide how much rainfall in a single 

 day is damaging and how much beneficial. Undoubtedly the small 

 rains, generally speaking, are beneficial and the heavy rains damaging. 

 In frequency of small rains it will do no harm to read Rochester for 

 Oswego. The greatest daily rainfall occurred in August, 1893, on the 

 19th, 4.19 inches. This is low compared with the extremes for many 

 other places as, for instance, Alexandria, La., on June 15th and i6th, 

 1886, whenever 21 inches fell. Helena, Ark., reports 12 inches in 

 40 hours ; Hatteras, N. C, 9 inches in one day ; New Orleans, 9 ; 

 Fort Wallace, Kan., g; Mayport, Fla. , 14, and many other places 

 nearly as much. In snowfall Rochester occupies a medium place, 

 with about ten feet per year. There are much greater falls in north- 



