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Report of the Secretary of Agriculture in relation to the forests, rivers, and mountains of the southern Appalachian region

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  • SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 149 quarter, with markedly cooler weather and frequently snow on the higher summits in winter. A third type of weather may be mentioned, viz, a type produced by storms which move from the Gulf of Mexico or the West Indies northeastward along the Atlantic coast. In this type strong northeast to north winds prevail. The rainfall, especially in the warm season, is often torrential, and in spring and autumn may continue for several days in succession. In winter such storms are attended by heavy snow and followed by very cold weather. In 1873 a party of Signal Service observers spent the wg**^ ^ months of May, June, July, and August on the summit oflevels- Mount Mitchell, North Carolina, carefully observing the temperature, rainfall, barometric pressure, and other features of the weather. The highest temperature observed on the summit of the mountain during the four months was 72° in July, the lowest, 41° in June. The monthly mean temperatures for the four months were as follows: May, 49.3°; June, 54.1°; July, 56.4°, and August, 55.3°. The rainfall was very heavy, 36.8 inches being recorded while the observers were on the summit. Rain fell on 21 days in May, 22 in June, 15 in July, and 21 in August. There was a great abundance of foggy and cloudy weather, the fog and clouds being frequently below the summit. The prevailing winds were from a westerly quarter. A summary of meteorological observations in the southern Appalachian region appears in the tables which accompany this paper. The highest point at which observations have been made is at Highlands, N.C, elevation 3,817 feet. The mean temperature of summer at that station is 65.7°, of winter, 35.4°. The extremes reached during a period of eight years, 1893-1900, were 19° below zero in February, 1899, and 86° above zero in June, 1895. The temperature has not reached 90° at that station or at Linville, N. C, the next highest station, altitude 3,800 feet, during the. period of observations. The precipitation on the southern slopes of the Blue Ridge and connecting spurs is the heaviest in the United States with the exception of the north Pacific coast. It ranges from about 60 inches in northern Georgia to 70 inches in western North Carolina, whence it diminishes northward, falling as low as 40 inches in the southwestern part of Virginia and to almost that figure locally in several portions of the intermediate region. The rainfall of Rainfall.
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).