Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-10-28
THE SIGNAL SERVICE.
Row 1t Foretells storms-some Account Of
it5 Interesting Work.

its Interesting Work.
The RECORD UNION recently referred, edi-
torislly, to the utility of the Signal Ser
vics," and commented upon the good it has
accomplished. Not all are aware of the de-
tails of the work of the Service. Sergeant
Barwick, Of the service station at Sscra.
mento, says he has often been called upon to
explain the working Of the Service, and how
it has come to be,recognized as valuable aid,
and these are the facts in brief as he gives
them:
I. IL well-kn9wn scientific and meteor
illogical fact thai storms in the middle lati-
tutes of the northern hemisphere travel
in an easterly direction, and if their
beginning is known. and the rate
of their eastern motion ascertained, 1t
then an easy matter to tell almost to GER
tainty when that storm will reach certain
point. The Signal Service, under the i'm
mediate charge of General W. Il. Hszan as
Chief Signal Officer, with his headquarters at
Washington, d. c., receives tri-daily, at
eight hour intervals, telegraphic dispatches
from the Numerous Signal Service stations
scattered throughout the United States Gnd
Canada. These dispatches give thu Ir.s-
sure, temperature md humidity of the at.
mosphere, the direction and velocity q the
wind, the state of the weather aud rainfall.
These reports are charted on lap of North
America, and at a glance of that map there
will be found the weather indices for the en-
tire United States and British America at
each tri-daily observation. A storm is there.
fo:e discovered in its incipiency, and is fol-
lowed IN it's entire course across the conti-
nent, or until it is merged in the other storms,
or lost by its own exhaustion.
Along the coast Ut Lakes Superior, Michi-
gar, Huron, Erie and Ontario. are signal
stations similar to the one ia Sacramento !:
also along the Atlantic coast and Ii coast of
the Gulf of Mexico. TIE indications of tie
coming weather for "a hours in advance ia
foretold az A. NJ, 3 P. N. and IL P. NJ, Wash.
ington city mean time. II. in the Judgment Of
the Chief Signal Officer, there is storm coz
ing from TIE northwest, in British America, or
from tae southeast, from the plains of Kansas
ard Nebraska, its time Of approach to ST
Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, or Duluth, is
definitely ascertsined, and il the force CT the
wind il expected to reach % miles or mora
per hour, red flag. with black center, BY
day, and a red light by night ia ordered hoist
ed at the signal stations it Is expected to first
reach. Suppose they were Duluth, Milwau.
kee and Chicago, signals would be ordered up
at least from L 10 Is hours in advance of the
storm at those points, and as the storm al
yanced, signals would be ordered up at other
poilts, say Grand Rapids, Alpena, Detroit,
TOLEDO, Cleveland, etc., ordering signals up at
each station in the track of the storm at least
II to Is hours in advance, and ordered down
when tie storm passes. These signals are for
the purpose of warning shippers and captains
Of ysss lie, plying from pors to port on the
lakes, that storm is approaching, and that
they should look well TO their own instruments
or should remain In port unit! signals are
ordered down, or until their Judgment,
and the consultation OF the weather reports
at each local signal station, gives them good
reason to believe that the worst of the storm
has pssled aud they can safely venture cut.
If heavy northwest winds are expected then
an additional signal, consisting Of white
dag with black certer, is hoisted above the
red flag With black center by day, and a
white light above red light at night. Il
will be seen that Whenever the wind is ex.
pected TO blow from any direction at a rate
of twenty-five miles, or more, per hour, a
red flag with q black center by day and red
light by night is hoisted. During the display
Of this signal, If the Indications are such that
heavy north or west wind, or from direc.
ton between those points, is expected, then
the cautionsry northwest signal is hoisted,
viz: white flag with black center by day
above the red flag with black center, and
by night white light above red one.
Along the Atlantic coast the signals are the
same, only the white aig with a black cell.
ter over the red flag with e black
center By day, and 3 white light above
red one at night, is q warning
that the wind will blow eff the shore, and are
called "of shore signals" Thus ship-masters
engaged in the coast trade can tell, as they
pass these stations (which are along the beach
of the Atlantic ocean,, what weather is ex-
pecSed, giving them a chance to make the
nearest port or stand cut to sea for more sea-
room.
The men of the Signal Service are Instructed
in the interna ional code of signals, Sd it
matters not what nationality ship may be-
long TO, the captain Of such can ask for assist
apcs if disabled, whether they spsak English
or not, and if ia distress the matter is promptly
reported to the Chief Signal Officer at Wash
ington, who Informs the agent of the ship
asking for assistance, which is promptly for
warded from the nearest port, thereby prob
ably saving the ship, ships crew and cargo.
Whenever wreck occurs on the Atlantic
coast the man of the nearest signal station
immediately opens "hying telegraph sts-
tion, and puts himself il immediate compuni-
cation with the Chief Signal Officer, reporting
to him tie news of thu wreck, and what
is being done TO succor the same. The men
of the l:fe-s2Ying station are notified at once,
that they may co ali in their power to assist
in rescpiBg the ships crew and saving the
cargo. etc. 1 remember very distinctly when
| was in charge of the signal station at a.
pena, Michigan, on Lake Huron, that a cap
tain cali when the storm signal was fs ing.
to ascertain the direction in which the storm
was travelling. etc, and he said he bad never
placed any dependence in them until on an
occasion when he left the po5t Of Port Huron,
Michigan, when the storm signal was flying,
aud ia about ten hours thereafter ne had TO
put back to port, and came very near losing
his boat and ali en- hoard; as it was, he lost
mis- deck load OF lumber, end he remarked
thst ever since then he paid the strictest at
tention to the warnings given by the flying
of the storm flag, whether it was always
verified or not.
To the Southern States the Chief Signal
Officer gives them frost warnings, which are Of
great value in reference TO the cotton crop
These tri daily indications are posted in the
Chambers of Commerce, Boards Of Trade,
etc, 10 every CITY, anu also furnished by the
Chief Signal Officer to the Associated Press,
which sends them all over the United States
The indications published in the morning
papers are those made from the II P. NJ.
weather reports Of the previous day, and
| those published in the evening papers are
made uo from the weather reports received st
A N. of the same day. At certain stations
designated by The Chief Signal Officer is
placed printing press. and the indication of
the weather te,egraphed there from the Chief
Signal Office. They are then printed and
mailed from these designated ststions) to all
Postmasters who can be reached by noon of
the day they are printed. Such indications
are received by Postmaster Hopping, of this
city. from San Francisco, which is a printing
station designated by the Chief Signal Officer
for printing these indications and mailing
them to the nearest Postoftices, where they
are posted by the Postmasters in frames fur
nished by the Chief Signal Officer.
The forecast of frosts are made as early in
the season az may be with reasonable safety.
They are furnished to the press in special
bulletins issued daily from the office of the
Chief Signal Oficsr at Washington, d. c.,
st l and 10 A. NJ. For the benefit of the
sugar interests, they are sent by special
message to New Orleans. whence they are
furnished to the press and TO the Sugar
Planters Association. They are also dis
tributed from New Orleans, By telegraph, to
the plantations. They are sent by special
message TO Galveston for the press and the
Cotton Exchange, and for distribution, by
telegraph, to the plantations. A special
message is also ssnt to Alexandria and
Natchitochos, Louisiana.
For the tobacco interests, forecasts are sent
by special message to Madison, Wis; from
thence the warning is repeated to twenty
stations: st. Louis, No., SO: Cincinnati,
Ohio, 40; Springfield, Mass, 5; Hartford,
Conn, %; New Haven. Conn, 40; Elmirs,
N V IL: lancaster Pa 9: Wilmington