METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 219 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
REPORTED BY C. S. PHELPS. 
The meteorological observations made under the directions 
of the Station during 1899 were similar to those of previous 
- years. ‘The Station equipment at Storrs consists of the ordi- 
nary instruments for observing temperatures, pressure of the 
air, humidity, rainfall, snowfall, and velocity of the wind, sim- 
ilar to those in use by the Weather Service of the United States 
Department of Agriculture. In addition to the records made 
at Storrs, the rainfall for the summer season (May 1 to Octo- 
ber 31) has been recorded by ten farmers in different parts of 
the State in cooperation with the Station. 
The total precipitation for the year (38.3 inches) was 6.8 
inches below the average at Storrs for the past eleven years, 
and about 10 inches below the general average for Connecticut, 
as computed from the records of the New England Meteorologi- 
cal Society’s observers, who have made observations covering 
periods of from five to thirty years. The rainfall was especially 
deficient for April and May, and for June up to the middle of the 
month. The deficiency in the rainfall during this period greatly 
reduced the yield of hay so that the crop was one of the lightest 
for many years. ‘The rainfall for the balance of the growing 
season was ample and most other crops gave normal yields. 
The average temperature for February was unusually low, 
while for March and April it was about normal. The spring 
opened favorably for farm work and most crops were planted 
earlier than usual. The last killing frost in the spring occurred 
May 4. ‘The temperature for June was somewhat above the 
normal, but for the balance of the summer it was about the 
average. The growing season was shorter than usual, light 
frosts occurring September 7 and 14, and quite severe frosts 
September 15 and 16. The growing season from the time of 
the last severe frost in the spring to that of the first in the fall 
was only 134 days, while the average growing season at Storrs 
