The record-union., 1896-12-20
Working of the United States Weather
bureau.

Bureau.
There are 1J4 stations in the United
| States. advantageously situated, each
| in charge Of q trained observer. At
these stations, observations are made
twice daily. and teIegraphed to the
central office in Washington At 8
O'Clock a. m, Eastern time. which cor
| responds to Z o clock iii Chicago, .
O'Clock in Denver and 5 o'clock in San
Francisco, each day in the year this
army of trained officials. scattered
| throughout the country from Maine to
California. is engaged in reading the dif-
ferent instruments with which the ofti-
ces are equipped.
The station officials must be experts
in this line of work, for within fifteen
to twenty minutes from the time that
| the observations are begun, the inStru-
ments must be read, the necessary
mathematical deductions made, and the
results enciphered on blanks and filed
in the local telegraph offices. Then, with
the right of way, these messages are
flashed over the wires to their destina-
tions, each station contributing its own
| report and receiving in return, reports
from such other stations as it may need
To large oenters like Washington,
Chicago, New York and other places, all,
or nearly all, of the reports are sent.
AS fast as the observations are received
| at the various stations using them,
| they are translated and entered on
charts. Isobaric lines Qines of equal
pressure) are then drawn to locate the
areas Of High and "Low"-the SIM
pie terms used to indicate the anti
storm and storm centers respectively
and isothermal lines are traced through
places having the same temperature.
The isobars are drawn for each tenth
OF an inch in pressure. and the isotherms
for each ten degrees Of temperature.
Several charts, representing other me-
neurological conditions, are also pre-
pared.
When this work is completed the FORE
caster has before him a synoptic chart
representing the weather conditions
that prevailed only one hour before all
over the United States and parts of
Canada, for the latter Government
maintains about twenty-five obesrva-
ton stations, and exchanges reports
with the United States. BY long expert
ence and empiric skill, the forecaster
is able to deduce from the charts fore
casts and warnings, that, on an aver
age, will be verified eight times out OF
ten
The truck growers of the South and
fruit growers of California would lose
thousands of dollars each year without
notifications OF froStss; while the plains
Of Kansas, Nebraska, Indian Territory
and Texas would be strewn with the
carcasses of hundreds Of cattle were it
not for the forecasts of billiards. and
''northers' sent TO the cattlemen suffi-
ciently IN advance to enable them to
round up their stock in places Of shell
ter.
Again. the immense flood waves that
move down our great rivers would
probably damage the homes Of hum
dreds of families, as well as merchan-
disc and other movable property stored
in cellars and lower floors were it not
for the warnings sent to those whose
interests are affected by foods in the
rivers.
The work of the bureau in connection
with that most Important industry,
farming, is one Of it's most valuable
features. The function OF the bureau
with which the farmers are intimately
concerned and connected is known as
the Climate and Crop Service.
In the rural districts and smaller
towns Of each State the voluntary OBJ
servers besides reading Thermometers
and measuring rainfall each day and
Forwarding the results to the State
eadquarters-always a Weather Bu-
reau Station-send at the end of each
week during the crop growing season,
information as to the condition of the
crops in their vicinfties, together with
statements as to how they compare
with the week previous.
Each State has from 100 to 600 such
reporters making Individual statements
and from these reports the directors at
the State centers prepare kilograms and
send them to the central office at Wash
ington From these different tele-
graphic reports a. general summary of
crop conditions throughout the country
is made and disseminated by bulletin
and by the press to those most inter-
ested. Farmers, dealers, shippers and
Boards of Trade are directly and Pc
cuniarily benefited by the information
thus conveyed Willis L. Moore, Chief
of the United States Weather Bureau
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