4 BULLETIN 402, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
March to July, inclusive. A more detailed discussion of climatic 
data recorded at the Akron Field Station follows. 
PRECIPITATION. 
In general, the precipitation of eastern Colorado decreases as the 
altitude increases, or from east to west. When the foothills are 
reached, however, there is a rapid increase in rainfall. The rainfall 
is also greater on the high divide between the Platte and Arkansas 
Rivers than at lower elevations to the north or south. In the river 
valleys the additional precipitation from local showers may con- 
siderably affect the total. Local storms of greater or less importance 
occur every year. They are most common during the summer 
months. At other times the storm area is usually quite extensive. 
The limits of the local storms are often very clearly marked. A 
rainfall of an inch or more may occur at a distance of only 2 or 
3 miles from a point — 
RAINFALL 1N INCHES 1 2 
WNeaLL 1M NE. where there is no pre 
20 
1305 EE | 4 3Cipitation. Torrential 
/ 306 EE re aera VILLI ZA, | rains are not uncom- 
OS mon, and much dam- 
1908 See "YUU, WD ults f hail 
(30 ES TTS Wille MMMM B26 CSU TS ieee 
19/0 EE Ui MMMM The distribution of 
/ ZZ precipitation through- 
/o/2 Ue WHY bh ; 
SS STE out the year 1S usu- 
13913 Wi WM ly bl 
19/4 wth ally lavorable to ce- 
1315 MEL +real production. The 
Ace N/E 
Lees eee Cae et : annual and seasonal 
Fic. 2.—Diagram showing the seasonal and annual precipitation at rainfall at Akron from 
the Akron Field Station for eleven years, 1905 to 1915, inclusive. ~: 
The solid bars show the seasonal precipitation, while the total 1905 to 1915 a sho 
length of the bars shows the annual precipitation. graphically in figure Dh 
The annual and aver- 
age precipitation by months for the 11 years from 1905 to 1915 is 
given in Table Il. The data for the first three years and portions of 
the fourth and fifth years, as noted, are from the records of the United 
States Weather Bureau. These observations were made at the town 
of Akron, which is about 90 feet higher in elevation than the field 
station and about 4 miles distant. The remaining data are from the 
records of the Biophysical Laboratory of the Bureau of Plant Industry 
at the Akron Field Station. 
The average precipitation in the 11-year period, 1905 to 1915, in- 
clusive, as shown in Table I, is 19.72 inches. Of this total, 12.33 
inches fell during the months from March to.July, inclusive, or during 
the period which most affects the production of the cereals. 
