"Febrero loco,
Porque de todo,
Tiene un poco,"
which, being interpreted, means, February is a fool because it has a little of everything, i. e., all kinds of weather.
According to Humboldt, the annual rainfall at the City of Mexico amounts to fifty-nine inches. In the northern part of Mexico, the rainy season is in the months of July, August, September, and half of October.
Snow falls in winter at an elevation of about 8,500 feet. According to Humboldt, the line of perpetual snow in Mexico is 15,091 feet above the level of the sea.[1]
The atmosphere on the Mexican plateau is very dry. This aridity proceeds from two causes: 1. The evaporation that occurs on great plains, which is increased by the high table-land; and, 2. The country is not sufficiently elevated for a considerable number of the mountains to penetrate the region of perpetual snow. Tourists are liable to suffer from thirst and chapped lips on arriving in the valley of Mexico, owing to the dryness of the climate. The nights are cold throughout the year on the great table-land north of the eighteenth parallel of latitude. In general, the temperature will sink as low as 45° Fahr., and occasionally the thermometer will fall to the freezing-point on the higher plains. The coldest part of the night is just before daybreak. In the vicinity of the snow-clad mountains, the sky is usually free from clouds in the early morning, but toward nine o'clock they rise gradually, and often cover the higher peaks for the remainder of the day. In the tierra caliente, and in the greater part of the tierra templada, a clear sky prevails, as a rule, during the entire year, except for a few hours of the day during the rainy season (el tiempo de agua). Strong winds are com-
- ↑ Under the equator the snow-line is estimated at 15,750 feet.
