Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-27
THE AWFUL STORM.
The Chief Signal Officer Says it is q Hum
bug.

Editor of the New York TYibune-Sir: On
the 9th of November, 1882, Mr.. E. Stone
Virgins, of Ottawa, Canada, addressed a
letter to the President of the United States,
which reads as follows:
On the 23d of September last I an
tnounced through the Canadian press that
a great storm would occur in March next,
that it would first be felt in the Northern
Pacific, would appear in the Gulf of Mexi-
CO on the night of the 9th, and being re-
Elected by the Rocky mountains-would
cross this meridian from the west at noon
of Sunday, March II, 1883.
No vessel, whatever her dimensions, will
be safe out of harbor, and none of small
tonnage can hope to survive the tidal wave
and fury of this tempest As the wind
will blow from the southeast,the planetary
force will be sufficient to submerge the
lowlands of the American coast, especially
those bordering On the Gulf of Mexico and
washed by the gulf stream, while the air
currents for several hundred miles along
the east side of the Rocky mountain range.
owing to the great atmospheric pressure
In those regions, will spread universal
destruction. The New England
states will also suffer severely
from the wind and floods. No point out
side of harbor in the whole area of the
Atlantic-especially north of the equa-
tor-will be place of safety; for this will
be pre-emintly the greatest storm that has
visited this continent since the days of our
illustrious first president.
In view of this event, therefore. take
the great liberty of representing to your
excellency the ACCESSIBILITY of ordering all
United States ships into safe harbors not
later than the 5th of March till this storm
! be past. I have the honor to be, etc.,
| E. STONE WIGGINs, LII. D., Astronomer.
This letter which has been widely dissem-
mated by the PRESS of the country, might
well receive no official notice, but for the
fact that many people, who have no facili-
ties for judging of the value of such a
prediction, are disposed to give it Gre
dence. There are always some to be found
| who will put confidence in the widest
speculations of those who profess to fore
tell future events, and it requires only
boldness in making a prediction and
tone of authority in delivering the message
to enable the prophet to gain listeners.
The number of followers, however, will
surely diminish in proportion as the people
are instructed in the fallacies which under
lie these predictions. In the example af-
forded by Mr.. Wiggin's letter the follow
ing may be pointed out:
l. No storm track has ever been OBJ
served which moved in the path indicated
by the words ''frst be felt in the Northern
Pacific, would appear in the Gulf of Mexico
on the night of the 9th, and-being re
Elected by the Rocky mountains-would
cross this meridian (Ottawa) from the west
| at noon of Sunday, March II, 1885," The
Rocky mountains do not possess the power
of "ref1ecting'' storm, though they may
| modify its course, and it is difficult to un-
derstand how storm can proceed from
the Pacific to Canada via the gulf
OF Mexico and suffer any reflection
| whatever from the Rocky mountains.
There are two distinct classes of storms
which traverse this country, the one which
| enters the country in the northwest (some
of which can be traced from the Pacific
! across the mountains) and more easterly
| or southeasterly to the Atlantic, and the
| other which enters the country in the
| Gulf states and more northeastly along
| the coast. 1t sometimes, though rarely,
happens that two storms, one of
! each class, unite in their course.
| which mayU give { slight semblance
Of truth to such a description as
! that given above, but it lshould be
| distinctly noted that the words quoted will
| not stand critical examination. The
| same may be said of the sentence which
| alludes to the planetary force" causing a
submersion of low lands, and the air cur
| rents On the east of the Rocky mountains
spreading universal destruction. Should
| a severe storm area cross the country in an
>Astsrly direction from the Rocky noun
| tains, strong southeast winds will blow to-
| ward the storm confer in ADVANCE of it, and
strong northwest winds will follow it, &C
| cording to we'll established law of rota-
| ton of the winds in the vicinity of an
! area of low barometer. This is all that
| can be truthful in the sentence under dis
cussion. There is no "great atmospheric
pressure" in that regton of the Rocky
| mountains, except that an area of high
pressure may temporarily prevail there,
and the words planetary force belong to
the vocabulary Of astrology and
medieval superstition upon which modern
| science cannot be too severe.
2. It is absolutely impossible to predict
| storm for moro than a few days in ad-
| vance. The information cannot be too
widely distributed that no one can foreten
even the general character of the coming
season, much less the occurrence of a par
| ticular storm in that season. It it possible
that the advance of our knowledge may at
some time enable rs to predict the weather
for many days in advance, but this is not
possible at the present time. Meteor
| ology is yet in its infancy,
| and no one is yet able
to anticipate the occurrence of meteoro-
logical phenomenon for more than a few
days-a week at the most. If any one will
take the trouble to verify she weather pre-
dictions which in those days are so fire.
quently made by the actual weather ex-
periencsd, he will find that about half of
them are fulfilled and half fail. When a
given prediction is fulfilled it is often made
a matter of marked comment, while the I'M
fulfilment of similar prediction at an
other time is passed over in silence.
There is difficulty in refuting the as
sertions of those who pretend to forstell
the weather since their predictions fire.
4 quently relate to occurrences which are
almost sure to prove in part as foretold.
Thus the prediction of early snow in the
Northwest in August or September is
very safe one to make, if one claims the
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