3O Wyo. Agricultural Experiment Station. BUL. 100 



night so that warm clothing is needed. Although the mean 

 annual temperature at Laramie approaches that of the far 

 north, this tells only half the truth, because of this range. 



In the light of the above stated fact it can be readily under- 

 stood that the meteorological observations taken at Laramie can 

 not be taken as applying over the Laramie Plains except in a 

 general way, and in comparison with summarized data from 

 lower altitudes may be grossly misinterpreted. 



In comparison with data obtained elsewhere daily and an- 

 nual ranges of some of the important data should be known 

 and carefully compared. 



PRECIPITATION. 



To the farmer and stockman the two most important data 

 are the records of precipitation and temperature. With a 

 knowledge of these important factors the general climatic con- 

 ditions of the country are fairly well fixed in mind. 



The records of the precipitation at Laramie show some 

 interesting features. The variation from year to year has been 

 very marked, ranging from "3.84 inches in 1893, to 13.53 inches 

 in 1908. The heaviest precipitation falls during the growing 

 season, May having the heaviest, while July is a close second. 

 November is the dryest month of the year. (See Table I and 

 Figures i and 2.) 



Practically all of the precipitation from the latter part of 

 September to the middle of April falls as snow, while a large 

 portion of the April and some of the May precipitation is snow. 

 While heavy snows may occur at times during the winter 

 months, the average snow fall is quite light. A large part of 

 the winter's snow fall occurs during or is followed by high 

 winds so that drifting is the rule, thus ordinarily leaving por- 

 tions of the range bare. Usually the plains are bare throughout 

 the winter except for the snow which has drifted into sheltered 

 places. That a direct comparison may be made, the average 



