The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-03-16
MeteoroiOgic Studies Of the Late March
Storms.

storms.
The study Of our late weather, viewed by
the luminous and accurate reports OF the
Signal Office, presents some startling and novel
meteorologic discoveries. Without surprising
any anomaly to exist in the atmospheric
phenomena, Of which the HERALD has lately
given full accounts, it is certain that we now
begin TO read in unmistakable lines the mag
nificent movements of the aerial oceans. The
long-accredited notion, which still prevails,
that our violent spells of winter cold are pro-
pagated eastward across the Continent from
the Rocky Mountains was exploded in tina
HERALD editorial on ''The Great March
Frost" few days ago, and we have since had
the strongest confirmation of our reasoning
then from the records and reported observa-
tons Of the Signal Service. These observa-
tons afford beautiful view of the entire
surface meteorology and upper currents Of the
Continent and so graphically portray the
battle Of the elements that we are forcibly
reminded of the Homeric description OF
Hector's attack on the Grecian walls:-
As when TWO scales are charged with doubtful,
From slide to size the trembling balance mods.
The Saturday snow storm Of the I'd inst.
as clearly revealed the exterior or western
margin Of a vast upper and moist equatorial
air current, which oversweeps the eastern
side of our Continent from the Gulf of Mexico
to Newfoundland, as if line of aeronautic
explorers could have been witnessing it aoft.
The snow fall, occasioned by the imping-
ing of cold bodies of air on the warm
moving mass, was observed on the western
slope of the Alleghanies with great distinct.
ness, forming for the time natural chart Of
the upper atmospheric strata. On the Sd
inst the Pacific reports show the increased
force Of the great movement of warm south
westerly winds which perennially sweep over
Oregon and Washington by the rapid mount
ing up of the mercury in the thermometer,
which reached the more than semi-tropical
figure Of ffty-oue and sixty degrees in the
Upper Missouri valley. It was evidently the
agency Of this southwesterly band Of warm
and vapor-burdened air, now daily augmented
by the influence of the sun in his northward
march, that pressed the Arctic winds over on
our side Of the Continent and gave them to US
In last weeks furious Northwestern, with its
intense cold and thermometers in this State
nearly forty degrees below zero. Geogra-
pliers have located the pole of greatest cold
In America, corresponding to Yakutsk, in
Asia, in about latitude seventy five degrees
north and longitude one hundred degrees west
and we may safely conclude that this ID the
cave Of polar winds which, at this season, is
ever open, deluging the northern part Of
British America with an immense stream Of
polar air. The late observations to which
we allude prove that this is the source of all
our cold snaps and severe snow storms, and
that; except when beaten back and damned
up by southerly currents, the northerly stream
is ever ready to overflow the United States.
value to meteorology, as showing the
movements of the long disputed and
underlined upper air currents, and also the
whole system which connects the weather on
our Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The origin OF
storms and cyclones is one of the most diff
cult of scientific and practical problems yet
unsolved and II may be that the information
lately brought to light by the Signal Service
from these March storms will confirm the
theory that they are mainly the result of the
lateral interference of opposing currents Of
air, having different temperatures. There
would be thus formed region of condensation,
and hence of rarefaction Of the air and
depressed barometer, while, at the same time.
the mechanical conflict of the opposing cur
rents would give the rotatory character to the
storm. The United states is as yet new
world, whose climatology is to be studied, and
such phenomena as we have mentioned are Of
the utmost Importance. Our government has
set on foot the only system OF synchrOnous
observations, we believe, ever attempted in the
world. For while in Europe the old weather
offices have been long established, they have
been making daily observation, each by the
time of its own capital city, and hence they
furnish no reliable charts of the actual move
ments and pulsations Of the aerial ocean for a
single moment of time, This vital defect,
which vitiates all their work, was first seen
and avoided by General Myer, in the organi.
cation Of the American Signal Service, which
is indebted to him for Its success, based as It
must be upon correct synchrouous observa.
tons.
At present the country north OF Virginia
and Tennessee is the battle ground of the two
opposing polar and ca latorial forces. Till
the latter gaina the asocndanov we shall have.