The National tribune., 1892-05-19

A Few Words to the Methods of Predict
ing Atmospheric Changes.
Copyrighted 1892 by W. 7. Foster, st. Joseph Mol
ST. JOSEPH, Mo.
Ny last bulletin gave forecasts of the storm
to cross the continent from the 14th to the 18th.
The next will be due to reach the Pacific Coasb
about the 18th, cross the Western mounta by
the close of the 20tb, the great central valleys
from 21st TO 22d, and Eastern States about the
gath.
This will be a very dangerous storm. can
not say where it will develop its greatest force,
but probabilities point to the country between
the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains
ON the 2lst or 22d.
The cool wave viii cross the Western mount
aims about the 22d, the great central valleys
about the 9th, and the Eastern States about
the 26th. Light frosts may De expected in the
Northern States accompsE ying this cool va7A
Much unsettled and stormy weather may be
ex pected in the Northern States during the
last half of May.
For the purpose Of my weather forecastA
divide the United States into six divisions
running north and south and averaging about
I62 in width. The storm waves do not move
around the geographical but around the
magnetic North Pole, which ia near 20 north
latitude and 81 west longitude, or northwest Of
Batfn's Bay. The magnetic North Pole being
about 200 south of the earth's geographic
North Pole, it will be readily seen that the
magnetic meridians and parallels are not thu
same az the geographic, therefore when uss
the word meridian in reference to storm waves
have reference to the magnetic meridianS
The centers of my weather divisions run
nearly north and south. not far from the fol-
lowing points, beginning in the west and pro-
ceeding eastward As the storm wave m0Tesg
First division. Olympia. Wash, and Fort AS
sineb0ine in British America; second dfgis-
ro1 Rofco Nv doh
third division, Santa Fe, Black Hills and Qa-
Appelle; fourth division Galveston, Kansas
City and Winnipeg; fifth division, Tampa,
Fla, Cincinnati, and Mauistse, Mich; sixth
division, New York City and the south end Of
Hudson's Bay.
Each of these divisions represent the average
movement eastward of the storm-wayes for one
day. and the range of the continental storm
waves lies between 25o and 60o north latitude.
The ATTITUDES of the storm centerS and their
running mates, the high barometers, are gov
erned by the positions OF the tropical storms
and the sun, moon, and planets.
The storm-wave, consisting OF pair OF high
and low baroneters, tied together at their tops
and bottoms by an electric cord constituting
their energy aud motive power. is the key 70
all weather changes, and 1t matters not where
the storm centers cross these magnetic meridr
ians whether at Galveston or Minneapolis, they
cause the periodical weather changes from
warm to cool and back to warm again atoas
every six days, which every observant person
must have noticed. There are other Storm
wave periods. however interlocked with tsese
six-day storm-waves that greatly compliease
the weather problem.
Taking the Government daily weather-maps
rs standard authority as 10 past weather event4
I find that out of my I,532 published local fore-
casts for April ,232 were verified and 800 were
not.
These weather events being predicted feR
sunset of the dates given, the forecasts are
verified if the weather event occurs between
the sunset of the day before and the day after,
and | find that of the whole number of fore
casts made for April about one-half were verb
fled on the day predicted and ons-half the day
following.