REMARKS 



The hurricane on the 14th and 15th was the outstanding fea- 

 ture of the weather during September. The storm was much less 

 severe in Amherst than the hurricane of 1938 and comparatively- 

 little damage was done in this section. The highest wind veloc- 

 ity was 55 miles per hour at 10:45 P. M. (E. S. T.) on the 14th. 

 The direction ranged from north to northeast. The barometer 

 reached its lowest reading of 29.13 inches at 10:30 P. M. The 

 total rainfall from the 12th to the 15th was 3.76 inches. 



The mean temperature during the month was 63 degrees while 

 the normal mean temperature for September is 61.7 degrees. The 

 lowest temperat\ire was 33 degrees on the 24th. There were no 

 killing frosts during the month, although there were light frosts 

 on low ground on the 24th and 25th. The domestic heating load 

 during the month wcs 122 degree-days compared to a normal 

 of 149 degree-days in September. 



The rain fall during the month was 5.31 inches, the normal 

 being 4.24 inches. The total precipitation since January 1 is 31.17 

 inches, while the normal precipitation for this period is 33.62 

 inches. There were 207 hours of bright sunshine which is 6 hours 

 more than normal for September. 



Dr. J. K. Shaw, research pomologist, makes the following com- 

 ment: "While the hurricane on September 14 was by no means 

 so severe as that of 1938, it ruined some shade and orchard trees 

 and blew off from 20 to 50 percent of the Mcintosh apples remain- 

 ing on the trees. Later varieties suffered less but some of these 

 fell. The taller farm crops still in the field were injured. Com 

 fields were much disturbed. Hurricane damage was worse in 

 the eastern part of the state where a loss up to 75 percent of the 

 Mcintosh still on the trees was reported. Otherwise, the progress 

 of vegetation was about normal. Most fruits ripened a little 

 earlier than usual, perhaps due to abnormally warm weather 

 during the summer." 



