The San Francisco call., 1896-01-22
HABITS OF THE WEATHER.
Mr.. Harmon Gives Some Inside
Facts About Storm Centers
and Rains.
The Storm Swoops Across the State in
aFlying Wedge Until Tackled
by the Sierras.

part of the storm has escaped" said
Mr.. Harmon, the weather prophet,
yesterday.
"After cavorting around the State a
while, it started East, but smashed up
against the Sierras and was caught like a
wet sponge on high stone wall. Then it
backed up somewhat and struck out over
a new trail to the northwest, and a good
deal of it has got away from u.s."
Mr.. Hammond said all this in other
words, the more strictly scientific phraseo-
logy taking up fifteen minutes of Govern
ment time.
The storms go East from here, always,
and they never know any better than to
pitch head first into the mountains. This
and other like habits have long been
studied by the weather observers, and
from the time the first indication of rain is
noted the general route of the storm can
be mapped in advance as artIstically as
the Federal appropriations will permit.
Meteorological phenomena, as the ap-
prentice in the Weather Bureau usually
remarks, are much more reliable along this
coast than anywhere else in the country.
Therefore, it is possible, when once on the
trail of a storm, to form fairly accurate
predictions. The only trouble is that the
observations cannot be extended west of
Ine CoaSt, anu travelling ueluge Is apt TO
sweep IN from the ocean Just when the
whole State has been placarded with:
"Falr weather tomorrow; followed by
more the next day."
If there were some islands out in the
Pacific Ocean from 100 to 800 miles from
here, and if England didn't own them, the
United States could establish Observations
stations that would enable Mr.. Harmon
to tell all about the prospects and assur-
ances OF rain. AS it is, however, each
storm swoops in on the coast unannounced
and 1T is as uncertain thing as flying
squadron in Bantry Bay.
why do the transforms always come
from the north, though the wind blows
from the west? asked a CALL reporter
yesterday.
They don't" said Mr. Harmon.
Ihls man up on the Mills buildino o.
knows all about the weather, and he vol7
unteered to turn his "high pressure area,
OF information in the direction of the in
quirer's "low'' VIC IL
north" he said, "when in reality the storm
Is moving west. The storm area moves
something like the flying wedge in a foot
pali game. When the apex of the wedoe
strikes the coast and continues across the
country the sides of the wedge extend
ialther ana arther north and south. So
TO the people south of the storm center the
ram seems to come from the north. but to
those north OF the center it apparently
comes from the south.
ana II Is true that the storm centers
are almost invariably north of San Fran
cisco. :
another point in answer to the query
Is tnat the wind does not blow from the
west when it is going to rain-not as
RUE. The wind in this vicinity is usually
rom the southeast before storm. That
10 because the storm comes from the west
or northwest, and the winds blow from
every direction toward the storm center.
Yes, strong southeast wind in the
winter IS good San Francisco indication
Mr.. Harmon told many things. Why
the wind blows from the west on summer
nights attracted by the heated land; how
tne storms in the summer skirmish awav
up to the north of British Columbia and