688 



WINDS 01'^ THE GLOBE. 



In the extreme south of Texas, at the mouth and in the valley of the Rio 

 Grande, the S. E. winds are much more frequent, even in winter, than in the rest 

 of the State. This is an intermediate region, partaking of some of the features 

 of the Mexican climate, wliere easterly winds prevail the whole year. Yet the 

 lower Kio Grande region is subject to violent northers. This seems to lead to the 

 conclusion that in the other regions of Texas, where northerly winds prevail 

 in winter, they are not all northers, there being also nortli winds of moderate force 

 blowing towards the Gulf. 



The mean direction of the winds in the different portions of Texas, is as follows : — 





Spring. 



Summer. 



Autumn, 



Winter. 1 



gs 



.29 





.2? 







g5 



.29 



Is 



Western Texas . 



N 



81° W. 

 3 E. 

 23 W. 

 30 E. 

 56 E. 

 73 E. 

 60 E. 

 47 E. 



.29i 



.27 



.21^ 



.32 



.37 



.56 



.52 



s. 

 s. 

 s. 

 s. 

 s. 

 s. 

 s. 

 s. 



7° E. 

 12 E. 

 14 E. 



32 E. 



33 E. 

 46 E. 



43 E. 



44 E. 



.15 



.52 



.54i 



.4Gl 



• 53 



.46 



.82 



.70 



N. 28° E. 

 S. 44 W. 

 S. 18 E. 

 S. 54 E. 

 N. 77 E. 

 N. 66 E. 

 S. 75 E. 

 S. 81 E. 



.06 

 ■ 07 

 .23 

 .14 



.26 

 .28i 

 .40 

 .351 



N. 57° "W. 

 N. 70 W. 

 S. 72 W. 

 N. 14 W. 

 N. 39 E. 

 N. 24 E. 

 N. 62 E. 

 N. 84 E. 



.33 

 .13 



.08 

 .20 

 .23 

 .32 

 .19 

 .16^ 



Central Texas, N. of 30° N 



R 



N. Texas, E. of 98° W 



R 



Texas, lat. 31°-32° N., long. 94°-97° W. 



S. Central Texas, lat. 29°-30° 



S. E. Texas 



S. 



s. 

 s 



Rio firande Valley 



s 



Forts Brown, Polk amlMatamoras . . . 



s. 



The summer, as is shown by these tables, and the maps Plates 8 and 11, is the 

 season in which the wind is most constant, the mean direction at all stations being 

 between S. 7° E., and S. 46° E., and the ratio of the resultant very great, except 

 in Western Texas. In the three last regions, nearest to the Gulf, the direction is 

 more S. E., while in the more northern part of the State it is rather S. or S. S. E. 

 The influence of the earth's rotation is here clearly seen. The wind begins as 

 S. E., but soon is deflected to the south, and in its further course passes to the W. 

 of S. 



The agreement is not as exact in winter, probably because we have only the 

 number of observations, and not the force of the wind. As the N. and N. "W. 

 winds are known to be the strongest, the mean direction would be much nearer each 

 other in the different parts of the State, if we knew the force of the winds. Yet in 

 all cases it would be seen to be more easterly on the lower Rio Grande near the 

 Mexican frontier. 



Spring and autumn are transition seasons, and in a country with monsoon winds, 

 as Texas, there is very little to say about them. Generally spring is more analo- 

 gous to summer, and autumn to winter. (See Plate 8.) 



I must further remark as to the S. E. winds of the summer, that it would be an 

 error to consider them merely as sea-winds blowing only during the day. They 

 are stronger in the afternoon, while about sunset there is generally a calm. But 

 about 9 P. M. the S. E. springs np again and blows till morning, when there 

 is a second calm. I had occasion to observe this, in the summer of 1873, in the 

 country between the Nueces and Guadalupe, and old residents of San Antonio in- 

 formed me this was the regular course. (See the figures showing the number of 

 observations and the force of the wind at 7 A. M., 2 P. M., and 9 P. M., at the last 



