The evening times., 1899-03-09
EXPANSION OF THE
WEATHER BUREAU
New Signal Stations in the
Arid Regions.
West Indies Service to BE Per-
feeted.
STRENGTHENING the Storm Warnin;
System of the Gulf and south
Atlantic Coasts.

When the proposed extension OF the
Weather Bureau Signal Service shall have
been set in operation, il will say the Off
cials. be next TO impossible for storm of
any importance to escape the notice OF OBJ
servers
The plan of extension comprehends the
establishment of additional observation
stations in the arid and sub-arid regions
of the West. 1t is stated by Willis l.
Moore, chief of the Weather Bureau. that
the places OF observation in the arid and
sub-arid districts of the country have been
so widely separated hitherto. that it has
not been possible 10 secure a perfect sur
vey of the distribution OF temperature and
pressure. the conditions so essential TO
making accurate forecasts, not onl, for
those regions, but for the extensive area
further TO the eastward.
Provisions have been made for the in
staliation and equipment OF stations at
Kalispell Mont; Boise City. Idaho; Mount
TamaIpais Cal; Flagstaff AriZ- and
Fort Worth. Texas. Arrangements have
also been made for the establishment Of
additional stations in the South and Cen
/ tral Valleys as follows. Meridian. Miss.
7
Va, and Evansville. Ind
1t is claimed that the establishment o:
these stations will not only assist in the
development of agricultural and industrial
interests in the respective States in which
they are located but will also be of ma
terial benefit in improving the warnings
and forecasts. especially for the regions
west of the Rocky Mountains
During last year il became apparent to
ha officials Cf he Weather Rurp4n that
the methods employed in gathering infor
nation of the approach of West Indian
hurricanes. which served well when only
warnings for the Gulf and Atlantic coasts
were issued. were wholly inadequate for a
service that should cover the waters Of
the West Indies. in which practically all
the ships OF the American Navy we're Op
Grating.
The presence of this large feet in the
hurricane region made it imperative that
precautionary measures looking 10 it's safe
~ in time of severe atmospheric disturb
ances be adopted at once. \ bill was in
troduced in Congress on June To- 1898. aU-
! thorizing the Weather Bureau 10 astab-
lish and operate observation stations
throughout the West Indies and along the
shores OF the Caribbean Sea. The pTOviS-
ions of this measure We're Incorporated IN
the General Deficiency bill which did not
become law until after the close OF he
fiscal year
AT that time says Chief Willis l.
Moore. arrangements had been made 10
establish stations for making meteoTolOgi-
cal observation and displaying hurricane
signals at the following points Kingston,
Santiago de Cuba. Santo Domingo. 81.
Thomas Barbados. Port OF Spain. Cura-
Gao. and Barranquilla. Al the above named
places observations will be made twice
daily and cabled TO Kingston and Washing
II l. Cd bar pf. will
be also made twice daily and Cabled from
Martinique through the cooperation of
the French meteorological service in hat
island.
The Weather Bureau viii recsiye. VIXEN
the West Indian service IS fully estab ish-
ed twice daily telegraph reports. no. only
from the stations above named, but also
from Havana Nassau. Vera Cruz, Tam
pico CGatzacoalcos and Merida through
international comfy. and the voluntary
cooperation OF private persons. Daily re-.
ports from Havana will be sent by Prof
Louis c. Carbonell: from Nassau. by His
Excellency Sir Ambrose Shea. Governor
of the Bahamas. from Vera Cruz. Tam
pico. and CoatzaCoalcos. by the Mexican
Telegraph Company; from Merida. by
private observer Senor Felix Gomez Men
dicUti. c. E.
Although the protection of our naval
forces was the primary object in the ex-
tension of the storm-warning system to
! the West Indies other considerations of
scarcely less importance made the step
( wise and benefCent one. First and fore
most OF these was the very material
Strengthening of the storm warning sys-
TEN of the Gulf and South Atlantic coasts
. that would result from an extension OF OBJ
! serving stations to the northern coast CT
! South America: second, the improvement
1 in the existing service that would foloE
: the substitution OF skilled observes for
! special agents in the West Indies; and, IL
naliy the need of an efficient storm warn
/ ing service for the benefit of commercial
/ interests throughout the West Indies and
! = II