32¢ Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 
winds were not as strong as during the winter. April 1916 had on the whole 
considerably warmer weather than April 1915; this of course influenced the 
awakening of the plant life, which came earlier than in 1915. The lowest 
temperature, 23°F., was recorded in the middle of April, 1915, and the highest, 
50°F., in the third week of April, 1916. 
In the month of May shorter periods of cold weather may be encountered, 
and quite a little snow may fall, but it soon melts, and the melting of the snow 
may be said to progress continuously as the month advances. It was observed 
that, at the end of the month in 1916, the season was as advanced as at the 
middle of June in 1915. Minimum and maximum temperatures in 1915 were 
registered on May 2nd and 22nd respectively, the minimum being —1-9°F. 
and the maximum 62°F. In 1916, the minimum temperature for the month 
was observed on May 2nd, with 7-7°F.,, and the maximum on May 8th, with 
75-2°R. 
In order to illustrate the climatic conditions during the month of May, the 
following observations, made during 1915 and 1916, are given. The first four 
days of May, 1915, the country, as seen from a high vantage point, still looked 
wintry and had much snow. On closer inspection, however, the snow was seen 
to disappear from gravelly places where the strong wind during the winter had 
allowed only little snow to remain. This was especially the case with a few of 
the gravelly bluffs and the south-exposed parts of slopes and ridges at the har- 
bour. Where bare gravel was exposed, the ground was thawed about half an 
inch down. The snow melted rapidly in the day time, particularly on May 
3-4, and became soft and wet, with many bare places showing; the temperature 
rose to 41-6°F. Colder weather prevailed, however, the next four days, and a 
snow storm lasting for three days covered up the bare places on the ground. 
Apart from two colder days in the middle of the month, when the thermometer 
did not rise above 35°F., the temperature the following two weeks was milder, 
May 22 being unusually warm with the temperature rising to 62°F. The melting 
of the snow was progressing rapidly, so that large areas, particularly on the 
tops of ridges and on slopes with a southern exposure, became bare, and the 
ground thawed out to a depth of one inch from the surface. Temporary pools 
both on the sea ice and on land appeared on May 22.! Two days later the ridge 
west of the harbour was mostly free of snow, excepting the south side and in 
swamps and ponds higher up. At noon the thermometer showed a temperature 
of about 45°F. in the air. In dry gravel, melted free of ice several days before, 
it registered 46°F., and in plant tufts on the same snow-free stretch, 36°F. The 
last week of May the weather was overcast and windy but, with the temperature 
between 22°F. and 53°F, the snow remained wet. 
In 1916, the snow began to melt the last days of April but strong snow drift, 
lasting for three days in the beginning of May, covered up all the bare places, 
and the maximum temperature remained below freezing (about 20°F.) until 
May 6. The two next days, however, were warmer, and on May 8 the tempera- 
ture rose to 75°F. As a consequence, the snow melted rapidly and mosses, 
etc., thawed out in their uppcr layers. The next day, however, was much 
colder, the temperature dropping to 28°F., and though the two following days 
were warmer, with a maximum temperature of 45°F., the middle of the month 
was colder, and quite a little snow fell and covered the places melted bare about 
a week before. The week of May 19-26 was surprisingly warm with maximum 
temperatures ranging from 47°F. to 62°F. The weather was clear, and the 
snow melted at a rapid rate so that finally all higher places with sand, gravel, and 
tundra, with the exception of slopes, became bare, and much stagnant and 
running melt-water was to be seen. On May 21 the following observations 
were made at the harbour: air at noon 438°F.; thermometer lying in a water 
accumulation of melted snow, with dark bottom, on the tundra, showed 54°F.; 
in snow-free, dry plant tufts, the thermometer registered 51°F.; in drier, bare, 
1See Plate IX, fig. 1, in Vol. ILI, Pt. K, of these reports. 
