Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1871-09-07
Storms and the Signal Service Bureau.


The immense area OF the United States,
with its interminable lines of telegraph,
provides field for meteorological-ab-
servations that is wonderful to contem-
plate. AS we have already noted, storm
approaching the Atlantic coast is an
nounced two days in advance Of its
reaching given point. One signal OBJ
server gathers up the first threatning dis.
turbances Of the elements as they fret at
the base of the Rocky Mountains, and
traces them along, for the storm makes
slow time compared with the electric
telegraph until the fully developed storm
reaches the New England coast.
Or, a CHEEKY but unusual wind is felt
in the Mexican Gulf, at Key West, OF
Galveston; the barometer falls suddenly
the indications are that a series Of dis.
turbances are taking place somewhere in
the atmosphere. Presently the storm,
gathering its forces in our semi-tropical
regions, commences its journey toward
the North. 1t is traced along, gather.
ing intensity in its progress, until the
telegraph reports it at New Orleans. The
wind and the rain follow, and dash oven
the "Crescent City," The steamers
start from their moorings, and the deep,
muddy river is dashed into fury, and
seems molten copper under the glare OF
the continuous lightning; the sugar
cane and cotton-felds are desolated
when suddenly the storm, now fairly
launched, turns into the great highway
of the Mississippi Valley, rushes along
twelve hundred miles, until it reaches
st. Louis, deluging that city in rain,
and possibly wrecking some of its more
delicate steam craft then, as if bent on
more mischief, it will strike off toward
Chicago and the great lakes, moving
Westwardly, Northwardly, then East
wordly, until striking the Atlantic off the
coast Of Newfoundland, the DISCONTINUED
and ruin scattering child of the tropics
is finally lost in the intense cold of the
Northern attitudes.
And the history of the four days pro-
gress of this storm-dayS consumed by
its journey through the heart of the
continents not only given, but the az
rival Of the storm at every important
place is anticipated, and its conduct
along the route is kept with unfaltering
precision and the most scientific care.
Twenty-Five miles an hour is shown by
signal service operations, to be the aver
age velocity of a storm; when it has
twice that velocity it becomes tornado.
Now, storm proper starting from the
foot of the Rocky Mountains, and trav,
cling toward the Atlantic coast, even if
severe in its demonstration, Is beaten all
the way by the railway train, which av,
erages more rapidity in its movements
than the ordinary storm while the tele'
graphic message, no matter how much
Roadway storm and railway cars have
made, passes both, and arrives at its DIES
tination without any real perception o
consumed time.
The wind in the upper currents
as marked by the Mount Washington
observations of last winter. is Otter
rushing past at the rate of one hundred
miles an hour. When 1t was of thi
great velocity, at Portland, sixty mile
away, the weather was perfectly cain
and clear.
On the 9TH of March, 1871, Noun
Washington observation, the wind wa
blowing fifty miles at Portland, two
miles. Balloons sometimes reach an al
titude where the wind is blowing hun
bred miles an hour These winds in tn,
high air are almost exclusively from
Southerly dircction-many from TIN
equator toward the poles. But this rul
is not imperative, for the surface of tin
earth, by its heat and cold, affects thu
direction of the high winds. Phenome
nal winds are cyclones, one of the sever
est of which known in history, fey
years ago swept over some portions o
English India.