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Show THE CITIZEN There will ordinarily be a minimum temperature about sunrise and a maximum about The wind will also reach a maximum velocity about and a minimum in the early morning hours. " Any interruption in these normal mid-afterno- mid-afterno- on us ng herald of a storm, is not far about above the earth, and is checking alta-cumul- us A midnight electrical storm on the west desert. Lightning flashes from cumulo-nimb- i, or thunder clouds. the average. It is posible, however, Mr. Alter asserts, for the average layman to predict weather changes for at least a day ahead, and it does give a man a sense of superiority to put out his It's hand in the morning and say: going to rain today Then to really have it rain. so we turn to some of the weather signs around Salt Lake and in various parts of Utah, which' might help us to predict changes in temperature, and in the AND approach or departure of storms. When neither a high or a low is near, the weather is fairly stable. There are few clouds in the sky, save in the summer time when thunder clouds, entirely local in na- , radiation of heat from ' the earth. On about the third or fourth day before the storm, temperature will run very high, with a sultry, stuffy feeling. That phenomenon was one that fooled the writer, among others, a week or so ago, when every one was remarking: Thats the way it is. Hot already. You go right from winter the the sky and a lower temperature. though not a' grept deal more than 1 m When the cumulus, clouds are smaller at sunset than at noon, it is reasonably sure to be fair weather, and if you see the tufted cirrus clouds dissolving in the sky, the signs are also good. Snow crystals in the upper air produce rings' around the moon'" and around, the sun, and are an indication of the presence of the cirrus clouds, or forerunners of a storm. ANOTHER an invisible blanket of moisture, the Following the storm, the air would be clear, with a few streamclouds dotting ers of . draft. on. changes means the proximity' of a storm. It may, or may not pass di' rectly over Salt Lake City, or the would follow the strato-cumulclouds, and lastly the stratus and point from which you happen to If the blankets of heavy be making observations. nimbus1, low-lyiclouds, dropping their burden of temperature does not fall on a clear, water upon the earth. quiet night, it is usually a sign that But the weather does not choose to follow a simple, fixed routine. This year spring is some two or three weeks behind. While the average killing frost for Salt Lake is April 19, it is not customary for cold weather to persist until May first. There is also considerably more precipitation for the past four months than in previous years, al- When the pressure is high, fogs move up and fires burn with better ture may roam the heavens at will. ern slopes of the Rockies, where the clouds, forced to rise over the crests of the mountains, are cooled and part of the moisture dropped as rain. Preceding this storm would be a period of low barometric pressure, with cirrus clouds coursing through the sky like smoke blown from a forest fire, and in increasing temperature, as the warm air rushed up in the great eddy. Then Ordinarily, also, Salt Lake City should enjoy the four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, with definite weather phen- omenon for each season. 3 . into summer As long as the cirrus clouds only partly obscure the sky the storm is usually more than 24 hours distant, no matter how the other signs read. The field becomes denser, until there is no break or rift, and then the storm is very near. ONTRASTING of a storm, is the period of the which is in high, or evidence after a storm has passed over or near you. The air is crisp the-approa- anti-cyclo- ch ne, and blue. There is almost a crackle about it which is tremendously exhilarating. Men sleep, eat and feel better during a high, particularly during the summer months, when a period just prior to a storm is apt to be most depressing and deadening. Sheep scatter over the hills on the approach of good weather, but huddle close to shelter when a storm is brewing. During a period of low, smoke falls to the ground, and fogs move down the ravines. clue to the weather that the increasing humidity prior to a storm ' tends to increase the carrying qualities of sound, the visibility of objects on the earth. Thus the proverb, sound traveling far and wide a stormy day will betide One of the most beautiful sights in. the Salt, Lake Valley, and one which can be enjoyed without the necessity of leaving your home, is sunset beyond the Oquirrli Mountains and the Great Salt Lake. And, strangely enough, the more striking the effect, the more sure you are to enjoy1 fair weather on the morrow. The red showing in the sunlight when the sun is near the horizon, i3 due to the breaking up of the light rays, by the dust particles, to which have adhered the tiny molecules of water, thus forming minute Dust is always present globules. in the atmosphere of Utah, large quantities being raised from the desert beyond the Great Salt Lake, so that during the spring, summer and autumn, we can expect a certain amount of color every evening. TOUT, the larger the particles of moisture adhering to these dust motes, the greater will be the dis persion of the light rays, and hence the more specular the coloring. A red and colorful sunset means, therefore, that the rising currents of air have not picked up very much moisture, and which has only cooled a i these maximum heights. On the contrary, a red sunrise means that at that time, which is the coolest part of the 24 hours, when there is least convection or lifting of vertical currents by the action of the sun, the air is, nevertheless, more or less laden with moisture, and the day is not apt to end without storm. There are many other ways which individual observers have evolved for predicting the weather for friends. Perhaps the safest bet is (Continued on page 15) |