THE ARTESIAN WATER SUPPLY OF EASTERN FLORIDA. 
95 
At New Smyrna in Volusia County, a station about ioo miles 
south of Jacksonville, as shown by the same report the annual 
mean temperature is yo degrees F. The means for the four seasons 
are: Winter 58; Spring 68; Summer 79; Fall 72. The absolute 
maximum for summer heat recorded at New Smyrna is 100 de¬ 
grees F. The lowest temperature recorded is 16 above zero. The 
mean temperatures for the several months of the year (Fahrenheit) 
are as follows: January 57; February 59; March 65; April 67, 
May 73; June 78 ; July 80; August 80 ; September 78; October 73; 
November 66; December 58.* 
At Jacksonville in the northern part of the State there is little 
or no danger of frost before the latter part of October. The 
earliest killing frost recorded, at this station, is November 
12, while the average date of the first killing frost for the past fifty- 
three years is December 4. The latest date of a killing frost in the 
spring at Jacksonville is April 6, and the average date of the last 
killing frost is February 14. Light frosts, however, have been 
known to occur as late as April 28J 
At New Smyrna the earliest date of a killing frost in the fall is 
November 28, while the average date of the first killing frost for the 
past sixteen years is December 23. The latest date of a killing 
frost at this place in the spring is March 22. The average date 
of the last killing frost is February 16. 
PRECIPITATION. 
The season of heavy rainfall in eastern Florida includes the 
summer and early fall months. As a rule approximately one-half 
of the rainfall of the year comes during the four months, June 
July, August and September. 
The average rainfall at Jacksonville for the 32 years ending 
with 1903 was 53.4 inches annually. The mean for the four sea¬ 
sons of the year is as follows: Winter 9.4 inches; Spring 
10.4 inches; Summer 17.9 inches; Fall 15.7 inches. The mean 
for the several months of the year at Jacksonville is as follows: 
January 3 inches; February 3.4 inches; March 3.5 inches; April 
2 .9 inches; May 4 inches; June 5.5 inches; July 6.2 inches; Aug- 
*United States Weather Bureau, Bull. Q. Climatology of the Eastern 
United States, by Alfred Judson Henry, pp. 353, 355, 1906. 
|U. S. Dept. Agric. Summary of the Climatological Data for the United 
States by sections: Section 83.—Northern Florida, A. J. Mitchell, Section 
Director. Also Climatology of Jacksonville, Fla., and Vicinity, Monthly Weather 
Review for December, 1907, by T. Frederick Davis. 
