The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-06-21
For The FREH THNOt
Weather Predictions.

gers of the times by observing under what con-
stelation Of stars or planet he was born. In
those days whatever was observed as striking
or peculiar porlended some great calamity or
destructive pc,ilencc
But in studying the signs and phenomena
Of the weather. we are entirely apartf from any
thing supcrsttious or necessarily speculative;
for we deal with facts ana facts only. Yet
am often called Il weather prophet, rain doc
tor and supcrstitious for making an effort to
learn something of the apparent changes that
take place before the approach of storm.
That there are such changes is just as posi-
tive as that there is a cause for every effect;
for there are certain conditions in which ram
is possible and Others in which it is impossi-
BILE dry atmosphere. westward winds, and
a steady barometrc pressure is Il much better
sign of dry weather than humid atmosphere,
changing winds, and sudden rising and falling
Of the barometer.
To be sure all the laws of the great storms
that sweep over the country are not as yet dis
tlncty understood by our mctocrolOgists as
they might be or undoubtedly will be, but so
much has been discovered that it is no longer
matter of speculation or guessing to deter,
mine, to limited extent, what kind of wea-
ther may be expected at "A certain place at a
certain time Yet if some of the laws that
govern atmospheric changes are not perfectly
known, nevertheless there are but few storms
in the course Of the year that do not send
their messengers many miles in advance TO
warn the observing of their approach; and it
was these facts which slowly worked their way
to prominence that in 1867 resulted in the es-
adjustment of the United States Signal Ser
vice, which has excited so many Of our citi
Zens' surprise to see the accuracy with which
change of weather is predicted But right
here leu me be understood that do not pre-
tend to foretel the coming weather with the
same precision that an officer from the Signal
Service would, for have no communication
with any part of the country beyond where
the eye can reach, and storms are often affected
by changes that are going on at very distant
places For instance, heavy rains in the south.
ern ATTITUDES may cause an unusual flow of air
to the middle regions, resulting in very seri-
GUS disturbances OF atmospheric pressure,
which, of course, | could possibly know moth
ing of without extended observation over a.
very large area Of country; but with all these
possible objections weather predictions at
single locality are not without their merits
and fruitful results and few storms will break
upon a close observer without his anticipating
their approach.
But in the study of the weather there are
IN lac oh no
acquired bv the study of books. The reading
of other mems theories and observations, to be
sure, are of great assistance but by far made
Quate to make u man an expert in weather
prognOsticS. \ man must see and Judge for
himself. The limited time have studied the
subject have learned much which would be
very difficult for me to impart to another Il
have noticed that a certain combination of
clouds, with certain directions or changes Of
the wind, rarely ever failed, when seen IN the
morning, to be followed by rain before sunset,
and do not think | ever could describe it to
any one else so that he could observe ii and
Judge it equally well. But will give a few
others which are more simple and easily OBJ
served, which may sometime benefit the read
ers of this article.
When the upper clouds move in direction
different from that of the lower clouds or that
OF the prevailing wind at the surface of the
earth, sudden change Of wind may be look.
cd for. Remarkable clearncss of the atmOS-
phere and stars unusually numerous and
twinkling brightly, indicate an unusual
amount of moisture in the upper atmosphere,
and with good reason rain may be expected
have noticed that when light scUd is seen
passing across IL haZy strata of clouds that
wind or rain usually follows. Circles around
the sun indicate a precipitation Of vapOr in the
upper regions and fOretell the approaching
rain or snow storm, whichever il may be.
When the outlines Of the Cumulus clouds,
which are often called cotton piles are sharp
and irregular, it indicates that the atmosphere
is dry, and good weather may he expected but
If otherwise, look out for thunder showers.
Fogs are rarely a sign OF rain, Tor focgy
morning is usually followed by pleasant day.
If several months IN succession have been eX-
remely hot or cold, dry or wet, instead of pre-
dieting the same kind of weather TO continue,
you will be much more certain 20 hit it by
predicting the opposite: for the mean temper
ature and average quantities of rain one year
with another tluCtuate within narrow limits,
and the longer the period of unusually wet
weather continues the greater Is the prObaDiii-
ty that the succeeding months will be unuSu.
ally dry, or warm. or cold whatever the eX-
IRENE has been
Predictions of this kind are beyond que,
tol, LOT tuey are drawn from purely sClchti-
tic standpoint and can be clearly proven and
firmly established by watching the course OF
the weather for single season. But TO make
predictions more accurate, a wet bulb Their
mometer and good barometer are indispcnsa-
bic. knowing the dew point and the weight
Of the atmosphere, rain will rarely surprise "a
close observer Of the weather For the last
six years have never lost fOrkful of hay by
imprudent cutting or having it rained upon,
or been caught in u single shower OF rain I'M
prepared. People do not realize how much
benefit as well as convenience they may de-
rive by little study and observation in this
direction. 1t costs no time and is of intense
interest. | have been giving DR.. Hard. of
Earlville a few of my new discoveries and
their worth may be easily found out by inter-
roga.ing that gentleman. FRED. !. DAVIS
Earlville, June 10, 1879