The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-10-20

storm signals.
Frog1 Me ChloaqO 1Tlbune.

Storm Signals
FSom he Chicago Tribune.
At the last session Of Congress, the Sec
retaryiof War was instructed To- provide
for t6e;tahng Of meteorolo oglcal iobsefga-
tions tthe military, stations in the intetior
Of this continent, and at other points IN
the United States and Territories, Tor the
purpose Of giving telegraphie notice Of
the approach. and force Of storms on the
northern lakes and sea coast, for the benefit
Of our lake and marine commerce.
The chieiasignal officer Ept, the army,
charged withSthe execution s0f this duty,
has at length perfected his preliminary
arrangements, and proper officers have
been detailed to the various stations, with
instructions 10 prepare for taking the
necessarily yobservati and ransmittng
their reports 70 the several coast'staaons
selected.
The published plan provides that
synchTonous observations shall be taken
ut all the stations, three or more times
daily Of the heights Of the barometer and
thermometer: the difference of the wet
bulb thermometer; the direction and force
of tho wind; the condition Of the sky and
the, amount and time Of the fall Qf. rain
hail of snow. These obServati ions VIII be
transmitted iby telegraph three times daily
from each station, TO all other stations in
the chain, so that at each place record
will be presented Of the meteorological
conditions obtaining at the time, over the
entire area OF the United States and a
great portion Of the Territories. These
reports viii be posted in prominent places
and furnished 70 the newspapers toE pub
licatioi, soithat o. know ledge OF the tacts
mayIbe Bptead,as widely as possible X ]
We know very little Of the initial causes
OF meteorological disturbance, as yet, but
considerable progress has been made with
ia the mast few, years in arriving at yalla:
BILE Eeheralizations Of the leading phe-
'nomena; e Two Of. the most important Of
these ascertaincd facts, In practical
sense, are. tho following 4! In the north
temperate zone the. general course OF
storms Is always from west to east, though
sometimes veering rs much as four points
of the compass In either direction, the or
dinary rate Of travel being thirty:six miles
per hour, while the greatest velocity does
not exceed 45 miles per hour, 2. That
tho wind always blows from q region of
high barometer pressure, toward q region
ofIoW barometer pressure, the force OF the
wind being in proportion io the, difference
of the two pressureS. .'b7pp yruiS -hHHt no
Hence the storms which play such ter
rible havoc with our, lake vessels, apd our
ocean shiIjs, originate far 10 the westward,
often taking their rise in the Rocky Noun
tain region; and violent storms may genep-
ally be looked for In places which lie De;
tween two localities, where the barometer
indicates tho weight Of the superincum.'
bent atmosphere 10 be very unequal. And
inasmuch as thestorm travels along At the
leisurely speed iofEG' railroad train 1t Is
possible, in nearly every case, TO give tel
cgraphiC warning Of its approach several
hours In advance Of the time Of Its arrival
at places situated TO the eastward. The
mariner being thus forewarned, can pre-.
pare for tho outburst Of elemental Jury,
and, often. .saYe many lives and much iyaluS Y
able propcfty, from other 4Yise Certain dc
structi6n3 y3.IYst { S!@R vliEf
A system Of storm. warning signals was
established in England, nine. years nago,
and It's value has since becomeso apparent
that 1t was soon extended all over Europe.
Tho continuity OF these signals has recent7
" been interrupted by tile war between
France and Prussia, previous to which
daily kilograms were sent oil over Europe
from Paris. But the advantages OF tho
system will be far greater here thAnin Eu.
rope, because there the principal scaports
he oni the western and southern coasts,
and storms often come directly from the
Atlantic upon their western ports withopb
ptossible PREVIOUS warning. On; the Egn;
trary, our principal ports lie eastward Of
a vast continental stretch, which permits
Of the telegrqphlc tocsin being sounded
invariably In time to prepare for the storm.
We arc, therefore, warranted ip oaDtiet.
Mating that the System now inadgdtated'
willprove to be Of immense help to onr
commercial community, IS, in addition TO
rendering our lake and ocean travel and
traffic much safer than heretofore, u will
also make itmucli cheaper, by disthisstng
tue cost Of insurance, which must decrease
as the risk Of loss is lessened.; When, We
consider fhat S6S ana 1862 Ehe losses
on the great lakes alone footed up the
melancholy aggregate. Of 231, vessels CYql.
ued; with their ricargoeeS at gal s50p and
$50 lives, We shall find no difficulty In re.
cognizing the vast importance Of any
measure which essays to prevent such
fearful havoc in tho future. ~
The following stations Of observation
and report have already been designated