﻿0. 
  L. 
  Fassig 
  — 
  March 
  Weather 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  321 
  

  

  America. 
  The 
  study 
  of 
  conditions 
  during 
  March 
  brings 
  to 
  

   light 
  several 
  interesting 
  facts 
  about 
  the 
  controlling 
  factors 
  in 
  

   the 
  weather 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains. 
  An 
  average 
  pres- 
  

   sure 
  above 
  the 
  normal 
  in 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  persistent 
  high 
  pressure 
  

   over 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  Ocean 
  invariably 
  brings 
  to 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  

   States 
  mild 
  ocean 
  temperatures; 
  an 
  average 
  pressure 
  above 
  the 
  

   normal 
  of 
  the 
  persistent 
  high 
  area 
  over 
  the 
  interior 
  of 
  British 
  

   North 
  America 
  as 
  invariably 
  brings 
  to 
  the 
  Central 
  and 
  Atlantic 
  

   States 
  the 
  cold 
  air 
  of 
  the 
  northwest. 
  During 
  a 
  normal 
  month 
  

   of 
  March 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  States 
  are 
  alternately 
  under 
  the 
  control 
  

   of 
  the 
  high 
  area 
  in 
  the 
  northwest 
  and 
  that 
  over 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  

   Ocean, 
  resulting 
  in 
  the 
  changeable 
  weather 
  and 
  strong 
  con- 
  

   trasts 
  in 
  temperature 
  so 
  characteristic 
  of 
  March. 
  

  

  An 
  intimate 
  relation 
  is 
  also 
  shown 
  to 
  exist 
  between 
  these 
  

   pressure 
  areas 
  and 
  the 
  distribution 
  and 
  amount 
  of 
  rainfall, 
  and 
  

   in 
  the 
  paths 
  of 
  storms 
  across 
  the 
  country. 
  

  

  Historical 
  revieio. 
  — 
  Hoffmeyer, 
  the 
  eminent 
  Director 
  of 
  the 
  

   Danish 
  Meteorological 
  Service, 
  as 
  early 
  as 
  1878 
  recognized 
  the 
  

   importance 
  of 
  securing 
  observations 
  over 
  the 
  widesf 
  field 
  pos- 
  

   sible 
  in 
  the 
  discussion 
  of 
  weather 
  sequences."^ 
  It 
  is 
  to 
  his 
  

   efforts 
  that 
  the 
  world 
  is 
  indebted 
  for 
  initiating 
  in 
  1873 
  the 
  

   excellent 
  series 
  of 
  daily 
  synoptic 
  weather 
  charts 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  

   Atlantic 
  Ocean 
  and 
  Western 
  Europe. 
  He 
  showed 
  to 
  what 
  a 
  

   great 
  extent 
  the 
  winter 
  conditions 
  of 
  Northern 
  Europe 
  are 
  

   dependent 
  upon 
  the 
  prevailing 
  pressure 
  distribution 
  over 
  the 
  

   North 
  Atlantic 
  Ocean. 
  He 
  made 
  a 
  careful 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  

   origins 
  and 
  paths 
  of 
  storms 
  over 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  Ocean, 
  f 
  and 
  

   pointed 
  out 
  how 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  practicable 
  by 
  joining 
  Iceland, 
  

   Greenland, 
  the 
  Azores 
  and 
  Bermuda, 
  with 
  neighboring 
  main- 
  

   lands 
  by 
  cable, 
  to 
  secure 
  a 
  daily 
  weather 
  chart 
  sufficiently 
  com- 
  

   prehensive 
  to 
  permit 
  of 
  making 
  fairly 
  accurate 
  forecasts 
  of 
  the 
  

   approach 
  of 
  storms, 
  and 
  to 
  note 
  carefully 
  the 
  pressure 
  changes 
  

   in 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  persistent 
  high 
  pressure 
  in 
  the 
  neighborhood 
  of 
  

   the 
  Azores. 
  

  

  The 
  winter 
  of 
  1879-80 
  was 
  very 
  severe 
  throughout 
  Central 
  

   Europe 
  ; 
  M. 
  Leon 
  Teisserenc 
  de 
  Bort,:j: 
  of 
  the 
  Central 
  Meteoro- 
  

   logical 
  Bureau 
  of 
  France, 
  made 
  a 
  careful 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  condi- 
  

   tions 
  which 
  prevailed, 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  causes 
  which 
  produced 
  them. 
  

   In 
  charting 
  the 
  mean 
  monthly 
  pressure 
  over 
  the 
  North 
  

   Atlantic 
  and 
  over 
  Europe 
  for 
  the 
  months 
  of 
  December, 
  

   January 
  and 
  February, 
  it 
  was 
  revealed 
  that 
  during 
  December 
  

  

  * 
  Distribution 
  de 
  la 
  pression 
  atmosplierique 
  pendant 
  I'iiiver 
  sur 
  'I'Ocean 
  Atlan- 
  

   tique 
  Septentrional 
  et 
  influence 
  que 
  en 
  resulte 
  sur 
  le 
  climat 
  de 
  Europe. 
  In 
  Cong, 
  

   intern, 
  met., 
  Paris, 
  1878; 
  also 
  in 
  Met. 
  Zeitschr., 
  Wien, 
  1878, 
  pp. 
  337-347, 
  5 
  pis. 
  

  

  f 
  Etude 
  sur 
  les 
  tempetes 
  de 
  I'Atlantique 
  Septentrional. 
  4°. 
  Copenhague, 
  

   1880. 
  47 
  pp. 
  4 
  pis.; 
  also 
  in 
  Met. 
  Zeitschr., 
  Wien, 
  1880, 
  pp. 
  345-361. 
  

  

  X 
  Etude 
  sur 
  I'hiver 
  de 
  1879-80. 
  Annal. 
  du 
  Bureau 
  Centr. 
  Met., 
  Paris, 
  vol. 
  iv, 
  

   1881. 
  

  

  