Meteorology, weather, and methods of forecasting; description of meteorological instruments and river flood predictions in the United States

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 edition. Excerpt: ...of the Adriatic Sea is a wind which blows down off the high plateau of Carinthia. At Trieste, Austria, it is a furious northerly wind. Tramontana.--On the Italian side of the Adriatic Sea, the same wind which blows from the mountain along the shore is called the "Tramontana." Gregale.--At the island of Malta the same wind is known as the dreaded "Gregale." Buran.--The steppes and deserts of central Asia are subject to a north-east wind called the "Buran," which blows as a gale. It is very cold and carries clouds of drifting snow. Purga.--The " Purga" is another name for a more violent wind in Siberia, of the same kind as the Buran. Blizzard.--In the United States the north wind in Montana and the Dakotas in winter is at times very strong and exceedingly cold. This wind is called the "Blizzard." In the most violent of these, the wind will blow at the rate of 50 miles an hour for a whole day, with the temperature 300 below zero. In these storms the wind has been known to blow at the rate of over 40 miles an hour for 100 consecutive hours. No one exposed to these winds can live for any great length of time. Low temperatures can be borne without much inconvenience when the air is still. The body creates about it a locally warm atmosphere. When, however, there is any wind, this atmosphere is carried away and has to be perpetually renewed, causing a great drain of heat from the system. In the arctic regions in quiet air, with the temperature 400 below zero, a person can be out-doors and take pencil notes with ungloved hands. But in a wind of 40 miles an hour even a temperature of freezing would be unendurable for any length of time. The blizzard extends from Texas to Illinois, but is milder than...