




METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 243 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
REPORTED BY C. S. PHELPS. 
The meteorological observations made under the di- 
tections of the Station during 1898 were similar to those of 
previous years. The Station equipment at Storrs consists of 
the ordinary instruments for observing temperatures, pressure 
of the air, humidity, rainfall, snowfall, and velocity of the wind. 
The instruments are similar to those in use by the United 
_ States Weather Service. In addition to the records made at 
Storrs, the rainfall for the summer season (May tst to Octo- 
ber 31st) has been recorded by eleven farmers in co-operation 
with the Station. 
The total precipitation for the year (51.1 inches) was 5.3 
inches above the average at Storrs for the past ten years, and 
about 3 inches above the general average for Connecticut, 
as computed from the records of all of the New England Me- 
teorological Society’s observers who have made observations 
covering periods of from five to thirty years. The rainfall 
was fairly well distributed throughout the year. Early in 
the season there was sufficient rain to give all crops a vigorous 
start, while during July and August there was a slight excess, 
but, on the whole, the moisture in the soil was about right to 
keep up a healthy and vigorous growth of all crops. 
The temperature for January and February was about 
normal. March was unusually mild, so that some garden 
truck was planted and oats were sown. The temperature tor 
April and May was unusually low, and the spring as a whole 
was rather backward. The last killing frost occurred on May 
roth. The summer months were unusually warm and. the 
weather conditions were favorable for nearly all crops. The 
hay crop was a heavy one and nearly all early-cut fields pro- 
duced a large second crop. Light frosts occurred on low 
grounds September 13th and 14th, and more generally on 
september 21st and October 10th and 13th, but the first 
killing frost was on October 17th. The length of the grow- 
ing season from the last killing frost in the spring to the first 
killing frost in the fall was 160 days. The average growing 
season at Storrs for the past eleven years has been 147 days. 
