Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-12-16
FORECASTING STORMS
ACCURACY AND TlMELiNEss IN FORE
CASTING WEATHER.

The signal achievement of tho gov
ernment weather bureau In predicting
the disastrous tornadoes In Iowa "a
hours in advance Of their awful vista
iions brought into new prominence the
these days Of advanced science q weather
forecast can DO made.
The prediction OF the Iowa tornado
offers noteworthy example of the value
of the government bureau and illus
trates the perfection of the system IL en-
ploys, but the forecast In point OF accu~i
rncy Is duplicated daily. 1t isn't every /
day that o tornado starts on wild staEa- 1
pcde. but the weather sharps are expected I
to keep the cities and towns OF the coun- |
try posted in advance In regard to the I
weather The daily forecast has become |
an all important element In all calcula-
tions. whether Of pleasure or OF business.
and could no more DO dispensed with |
than the telegraph or any OF tho other /
agencies which have revolutionized |
affairs
Several years ago couple of young
army lieutenants who saw tornadoes In
every cloudcap kept the western farm
ers dodging in and out Of low ground
cellars until they became round shout
dered and neglected their crops, but the
young lieutenants' experience Is now one
of the amusing traditions OF the Office,
II Is told. too. possibly as joke. that
tho colored janitor who had rheumatism
and looked upon his left leg as reli-
able gauge did the prophesyins business
when the iieutenants were invited to
some swell function.
Things arc RIM differently now, as the
reliability of the predictions and the
able administration of the bureau ut
test. 1t Is doubtful, moreover. II any
country on tho globe has n better equip
ped service. This IL duo in some meas
nre to the opportunities Of study offered
by the diverse climatic peculiarities OF
the United States. These peculiarities
make the work OF weather prophesying
here most difficult task, requiring the
employment of men of wide experience
and learning. It Is by no means an I'M
common circumstance for the weather
bureau to chase half dozen different
varieties of storms over the country in q
| day. II may be hailing in North Da-
kota. q tornado may be making sad
havoc In the western farming belt,
windstorm may DO bowling along the
Atlantic coast. impcriling shipping, and
| four or Eve thunderstorms may be
creating alarm in rs many different sec
| tons.
With all these complications. a short,
thiclsset man, with gray eyebrows and
gray mustache. calml5 KS over tho
maps which are made on the reports OF
every one Of the government observers
throughout the country and figures ont
inst the kind OF weather that may be
expected in every late and section.
This short. thickset man. with gray
eyebrows and gray mustache, Ia the
official who, on examining the maps on
the night of July 6. paused for q mo-
ment. and then, to the surprise OF his
assistants. murmured. "This looks like
/ q tornado"
/ Major DunwoodY was the officer who
read the signs Alright. Tho government
observers ut Sioux City. Des Moines.
Keokulr and Omaha had all reported
threatening atmospheric conditions. and
| their reports when. reduced to tracings
ON tho maps showed that the center OF
the atmospheric disturbances was at
Cheyenne. with the winds racing from
oil four points OF tho compass toward
tho Wyoming capital. Major Dun
4 woody has had m intimate acquaint.
anco with storms for years. and this
tornado didn't fool him by pretending to
rendezvous at Cheyenne. Tho major Is
an old army officer. who understands all
about flank movements. end he began to
figure ont where tho main attack NIGH,
be expected.
He was sitting on q high stool In the
forecasting room ct tho weather bureau
calculating on tho tornado's probable
evolution. Tho major read the report oil
the storm sentineis OF Sioux City and
Des Moines over again and then drew Q
circle. with the center ut Cheyenne and
the circumference toward the east
touching Davenport. Tho majors ex
periencs taught him that the mos
trouble might DO expected in the south
east segment of tho circle. ind before
o'clock that night all tho observers wht
furnished the alarming reports were in
, structed by wirc to send ont warnings Il
cities and towns on the respective acc
tons. and orders were also given to en-
ploy every means to inform the countr,
districts of the impending peril.
J. Hours before tho storm broke with it
terrible fury express trains runnin;
through tho isolated communities hat
carried the bureaus intelligence. ant
/, those who lived far from the railroad
station were warned by whistles which
were blown according to nm establishe,
: and well understood code.
How quickly NIL this was accomplished
illustrates the efficiency of the govern
nent system as directed BY Chief liar
rington. AtSoclcck on the night of sh
9Th the observations were made. and ~
hour later Major Dunwoody. with quicl
Judgment based on long experience. ha,
located the storm and had sent out
forecast to the threatened community
telli.gof the dangera to DO feared. How
J much greater might have been the dam
! age to property and how much create
/ the loss of life but for the warningsl
II The weather bureau did not announc
, that o tornado might be expected. a
tornado predictions went out Of fayo
with the young army ieutenants. TIL
, warning. "a sent ont. was TO the effec
that severe local thnnderstorms wer
threatened. and the farmers knew full
well what was meant. As interpreiel
by them 1t signified that a ground celia
u a