The Long Wet Summer

Almost no one east of the Rockies needs to be told that summer 1958 has been a season of abnormal rain, overcast skies and generally cooler temperatures, but last week meteorologists were ready to fix the blame. Principal culprit: the band of planetary winds that flow eastward across the North American continent at 10,000 to 40,000 ft. The planetary winds ordinarily stay far north in summer, allowing warm air to flow up freely from the South. But this summer, for reasons unknown, the winds have veered far southward into the U.S. middle, dragging with them cold northern air that causes repetitious rainstorms when it butts against the flow of moist tropical air.

As a consequence, July rainfall has been three times normal in sections of Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota and most of Missouri, almost as heavy in Kansas, Georgia and Maryland. Springfield, Mo. measured 16.4 in. during July's first three weeks (normal precipitation: 2.31 in.). Audubon, Iowa was drenched by over 12 in. in eleven hours; 19 drowned in resulting flash floods in the Nishnabotna River valley. Indiana's floods are the worst in 45 years, and the state's wheat crop this harvest may be only half the 38 million bu. estimated earlier. In North Dakota's Red River Valley, corn that stood 30 in. tall a year ago is 19 in. because of rain, chill and lack of sunshine.

The weather has affected more than river towns and cornfields. In Chicago, where temperatures were 5DEG below normal last month and rainfall 2 in. above, only the hardiest take to Lake Michigan's chilly waters. Des Moines' Ashworth swimming pool has had 34,000 fewer customers so far this year than last. Peoria's "Heart of Illinois Fair" was almost washed out of the heartland last week; dripping dairy princesses sloshed to the judging under plaid umbrellas. And in Quincy, Ill. Librarian Caroline Sexauer reported that the combination of unemployment and rainy weekends has made more people borrow more books than ever. Once they defined the wet summer's cause, meteorologists last week volunteered more bad news. The stubborn planetary winds show no sign of changing their tactics. Early August forecast for the northern U.S. east of the Rockies and for mildewing Midwesterners in particular: more rain.

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