Meteorology for Twenty Years. 29 



To better understand something of the local conditions of 

 weather in this section of the country a brief description of the 

 physical features would not be out of place. 



To the eastward of Laramie the land rises rapidly to the 

 Laramie Mountains with an altitude of from 1500 to 1800 feet 

 above the city. The general direction of this range is north 

 and south connecting with a spur of the Medicine Bow range 

 about twenty miles to the south of Laramie. 



The Medicine Bow range proper lies thirty or forty miles 

 west of the city, making of the Laramie plains a basin with 

 high elevations on the three sides. This, as would be expected, 

 has a marked effect upon the precipitation throughout this dis- 

 trict. Marked differences may be noted in a single storm over 

 the valley and in the surrounding foot hills varying from no 

 precipitation to veritable cloud-bursts. Storms will often form 

 in the mountains to the west, follow the range to the south and 

 east and dissipate themselves before reaching the valley. 

 Storms may stretch from the Medicine Bow range to the west, 

 cross the valley to the north of the city of Laramie and break 

 on the mountains to the east. It is difficult, if not impossible, 

 to predict the course which storms will follow because of shift- 

 ing of the general directions of the winds. 



In 1893 the precipitation in the mountains surrounding the 

 Laramie Plains was normal, while the precipitation at Laramie 

 for the period was only 3.84 inches. 



Precipitation and other factors determining climtae show 

 marked changes over this territory. This is by no means pe- 

 culiar to this section of the country. Other sections, mountain 

 locked, show similar differences. 



At high altitudes there is generally a marked difference in 

 temperature between the days and nights throughout the year. 

 The maximum and minimum temperatures are very far apart, 

 which greatly lowers the average daily temperature. Even 

 during the summer months when the high temperature in the 

 sun is rather disagreeable, the temperature will usually fall at 



