INSECT PEST SURVEY BULLETIN 
Vol. IS ' Summary for 1938 
Introduction 
The outstanding feature of the weather in 193$ was abnormal warmth. 
For the country as a whole, it was one of the warmest years of record# The 
greatest abnormalities in temperature occurred in the interior of the country. 
The precipitation for the year in most States was also above normal. Since the 
recent drought years, 1938 was the second in succession with somewhat above- 
normal rainfall. The first half of the year was unusually wet, but the Latter half 
brought harmful deficiencies in moisture to some midwestern sections, especially 
the normally drier areas of the Great Plains. The South Atlantic and Gulf areas 
and the northern Great Plains were relatively dry# 
‘The winter of 1937-38 was uniformly mild throughout the country and this 
condition, accompanied by abundant rainfall, continued throughout the spring# 
However, in March the entire Atlantic coast showed a deficiency in moisture and 
in April dry areas occurred in scattered sections, especially in the Southwest. 
May did not show the decided above-normal temperature of the first part of the 
year, the northeastern, Middle Atlantic, and a large section of the northern 
Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions being cooler than usual, brought the 
country as whole an. average of about normal temperature. This feature was re- 
flected in insect abundance. 
The summer was characterized by relatively high temperatures and, during 
most of the period, by abundant rainfall# The temperature averaged above normal 
in all sections, except for very limited areas. With the exception of South 
Carolina and Florida, all States east of the Mississippi River had above-normal 
rainfall for the season. Between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains all 
States except Louisiana, Iowa, and Montana had below-normal rainfall. This con- 
dition existed during June in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; however, 
during the first part of September the droughty conditions in most of this area 
were relieved- by general rains# In the more western areas all States except 
I doll o, Wyoming, and Nevada received below .normal rainfall. The abnormal warmth 
continued through September. Precipitation was abnormally heavy from North 
Carolina northward and was also above normal over a belt from Lake Michigan 
southwestward to Colorado and northern New Mexico. Other parts of the country 
were largely deficient in precipitation. October was abnormally warn over the 
entire country and wan extremely dxy. From the Great Plains eastward it was one 
cf the driest Octobers of record. On the other hand, the rainfall was relatively 
heavy in central and northern sections from the Rocky Mountains' westward. The 
warm weather continued into a very warm fall# 
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