The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-01-10
U. S. WEATHER BUREAU.
Some Interesting aud Instructive Obs err
yations About the Objects it Seeks
and the Work il Does
By CLARENCE ]. NORTON.
PART V.

The most important adance in the
evolution of meteOrOlOgy as science,
was the discovery of the law of
stOrms,-the fact that they are the
orderly and the natural expressions
of law, that they assume somewhat
regular forms, and that their general
pathway is so we'll defined that time
ly warnings may be given of their
approach.
Before this, we had no scientific
grounds upon which to controvert the
superstitiOns of the ignorant, but in
these days we have a reasonable as
! surance that these manifestations of
the power of the elements are as nat
ural and essential as the flow of the
oceanic tides.
! By the term "storm" we do not
mean a rain or snow, but local and
temporary disturbances of the atmos-
pheric equilibrium, causing an accel-
brated and sometimes violent motion
of the air. which may, or may not be
accompanied by rain and electrical
display.
Their most characteristic features
are a gyratory or inward spiral move
ments of the air near the earth, feed
ing an upright draught at the center
and an outflow above; also progress
i've movement of the whole mass of
disturbed atmosphere, following the
eastward trend of the upper currents.
So you see storm is a decided i'll
crease of the velocity of the air above
its normal movement, and in this
great valley we often have storms of
great energy that bring very slight
precipitation in their pathway.
The L. S. weather map, printed
from dispatches dated exactly at s a.
m., on the Goth of Dec, showed a
storm center at Calgary, British AM
erica with the barometer OF 29.7, no
wind, and temperature at %. All
around to the south and west the
wind blew from s to 10 miles per hour
and just east of this storm center the
temperature was 20 below zero. The
map of a. M, on the 9th showed no
change in the center, but fall of the
barometer pressure to 90, which is
unprecedented, the temperature had
risen to 81 degrees, but there was
still calm, but south and west the
wind had reached 80 miles per hour.
At a. IN. on the 2Sth we see that the
storm center has moyed to Port Ar
thur, distance of about 900 miles and
the low pressure of the barometer ex-
tended clear to, A biline, Texas.
We now see that the calm at Gal
gary has changed to 80 miles per
hour blowing straight for Bismark n.
D., where it is Sc miles then into the
storm center Instead of 20 below at
Qu-Appelle it has raised to % above
zero. AT Santa Fee n. NJ. there is a
slight wind blowing toward ElPaso,
where it reaches 20 miles, then to A b.
lime where the hills reduce it to u,
then to Kansas City at q, then to
Chicago where it is 26 miles an hour.
At Dodge City gentle breeze goes to
Cencordia where it makes s miles;
then to Omaha at IA; then to Des
Moines at Is; then to st. Paul at 20
miles. describe this storm so that
my readers may see what storm is
without precipitation. One would at
once conclude that this warm moist
wind from ElPaso and Abiline, Tex.
rushing into a northern country, IN
creasing in force as it went would
cause great precipitation, as 1 have
already said that when a warm moist
wind blew into a cooler region, rain
or snow always follows.
Now let us see how this can be rec
onciled: Because the wind blows
from Texas to British America, is no
reason it is colder in the latter place |
than in the former. AS a matter of
fact the temperature at a. NJ, at the
latter line described raised gradually |
from u in Texas to "a in the north
and from 26 at Dodge City to Sc at
the storm center, and 16 at Calgary, /
British America to Sc at storm center. |
Our editor has seen fit, out of the
goodness of his heart, to highly COM
pliment me on these letters, which is
truly characteristic of him and high
ly appreciated by me. Before l close
these papers, L hope to make them
quite practical to every reader, but
they must of necessity treat on me-
teOrology in order to be thoroughly
and every reader
of the REGISTER who will profit by
the hints that are to be given, will |
surely receive his subscription back
one hundred fold. This sounds big,
but will leave it to the readers to