January

February

March

April
May

June.

HIGHEST WIND VELOCITY, DIRECTION, AND DATE FROM JULY 1, 1877, TO APRIL 30, 1901.

GREATEST PRECIPITATION IN THE SHORTEST PERIODS OF TIME FROM JULY, 1877, TO APRIL, 1901.

FRESNO.

By Mr. J. P. BOLTON, Observer, Weather Bureau.

Fresno, Cal., in latitude 36° 43′ North, longitude 119° 49′ West, is situated in the fertile San Joaquin Valley, nearly midway between the Sierra Nevada and Coast Range mountains. Its climate in a general sense may be divided into two seasons, a wet season and a dry season.

During the period from October to May, comprising the wet season, Fresno County is favored with well-distributed rains at irregular intervals, aggregating for the season an average of about 10.12 inches. The greatest number of consecutive days with rain was eight, in January, 1895, the greatest amount recorded in any twenty-four consecutive hours being 2.10 inchesDecember 29 to 30, 1891.

The annual precipitation of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is much greater than that of the valley; precipitation in those high altitudes occurs mostly in the form of snow which is preserved by the cold of elevation in sufficient quantities to furnish abundance of water to our rivers, creeks, and canals during the dry season. The run-off, or amount of water which may be made available for the purposes of agriculture through this process of conservation, is estimated to be about 45 per cent of the total annual precipitation on the west side of the crest of the range.

A dry season prevails over this section during the period from May to September. The highest temperature ever recorded at Fresno was 114°, on July 1, 1891; the lowest was 20° above zero, on January 17, 1888.

Year.

MEAN MONTHLY AND ANNUAL TEMPERATURE (DEGREES FAHRENHEIT).

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Annual.

1888.

1889.

1890.

1891.

1892.

48.5

1893.

42.8

1894.

43.8

1895.

45 3

52.6
53.4

44.1 53.2 54.1 67.1 68.6 74.1 80.6 86.3 83.4 68.9 56.0 48.6
43.6 50.5 58.4 63.5 69.6 79.5 82.6 82.2 75.6 62.8 54.1 49.1
42.3 41.2 54.6 61.2 69.4 73.4 82.5 80.8 74.6 64.5 56.9 43.8
45.4 48.5 54.4 59.0 67.1 73.0 83.6 83.6 74.6 67.0 56.2
53.2 55.6 57.6 67.2 72.8 79.4
81.4 73.6 63.9 56.4
48.4 52.2 55.9 66.9 73.2 80.8 82.0 68.4 60.8 52.8
46.8 53.0 62.2 67.6 68.9 82.7 82.1 74.0 64.0 58.6
53.7 60.0 67.4 77.2 79.4 80.6 70.4 66.6 52.8

65.4

64.3

62.6

MONTHLY, ANNUAL AND SEASONAL PRECIPITATION (INCHES AND HUNDREDTHS).

[An accurate record of rainfall was kept by Louis Enstein from August, 1881, to August, 1887; measurements were made with a standard rain Weather Bureau records began in August, 1887.]

gauge.

GREATEST PRECIPITATION (INCHES AND HUNDREDTHS) IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.

1888.

1889.

1890.

1891.

1892.

0.06

1893.

0.39

0.00

1894.

1.28

0.62

0.20

0.07

0.94

0.74

0.95 0.13 1.05 0.20 0.31
T.
T.
0.29 0.53 0.55 0.32 0.33 0.00 0.00
T. 0.00 1.73 0.48 0.75
0.74 0.30 0.33
0.15
0.43 0.00 0.00
T. 1.12 0.00 0.22
0.54 0.50 0.26 0.29 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.27 0.00 0.21 2.10
0.24 0.38 0.53 0.43 0.82
0.00 0.00
0.32 0.22
0.66
1.48 1.22 0.32
T.
T. 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.15 0.55
T.
T. 0.75 0.28 0.27 1.12
0.00
T.
T. 0.06 0.13 0.12
0.00 0.06 0.15 0.06 1.28 1.01 0.56
T.
0.00
T.
T. 0.48 0.13
0.00 0.00 0.00 1.12 0.03 0.34
0.60 0.00 0.00
0.00
0.85
0.72
0.06 0.15 1.12 1.73 1.33
25
30
29 22-23
1896 1896

a Also September 25-26, 1898.

HIGHEST WIND VELOCITY (MILES PER HOUR) AND DIRECTION FOR TWELVE YEARS.