The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-11-26

more gray clouds. sheets Of rain pouring
down Into swollen cutters; leailess
trees swaying their damp boushs az
the VIII Of the scurrying wind; ssiff-rsmmed
hat plotting very profane man down a
muddy street; humanity witn wat feet con-
etantiy blowing It's nose-any number of
other dismal. dreary things SO familiar 10
all
What would he think of storm that
looked Ike the accompanying map? A
storm OF lines and figures and symbols:
paper storm wfoss performances, always
20 inexplcabis To the everyday citizen.
were entirely according to schedule. To
the weather observer storms are simply
types The different forms assumed by
lines depicting condition OF storm nat
uraliy group themselves as such. and dur
ing long winter the diagrams OF many
clustering days are strikingiy similar In
the typical winter storm low pressure"
appears OF the coast In latitude Il 70 so
degrees and moves eastward toward ,ha
boundary. Invariably III such cases the
thigh pressure In over the Rocky inoun-
tain and plateau region.
The words high and 'lows' designate
areas where the air pressure is respectively
above and below that OF surrounding re-
0ions. Highs arc usually accompanied by
fair weather. aud lows preceded ard ac-
oompanied by aaowery weather. Weather
conditions as rule. move easteriy with
the general easteriy drift OF the Amos
phere In these ATTITUDES high central
on the Pacific coast Is usually accompanied
By fair weather In the southern and show
cry weather In the northern portion. IL
the high moves northward 10 Vancouver
Island and thence eastward. three or four
days or fair. warm weather are probable
throughout the Pacific slope. If the high
moves eastward into Nevada and Utah.
showery weather usually follows along tho
coast from Cape Mendoc.no northward
In winter lows usually first appear OF shs
Washington coast and move eastward near
the Canadian border These are accom-
panied by rain and high southeasterly
winds shifting to southwezterly. The siu-
ration OF the storm and the extent of the
rain area are determined by the path OF the
low; the farther south the lew moves the
longer tho duration and the greater this
rain area. The movement OF even a slsght
barometrie depression from Idaho south
ward toward Arizona Is followed by a
marked fall in temperature.
THE velocity of wind storm IL de-
j terfnined by what Is known as tho
contrast. or gradient" hetween the
high and low pressure There are diff
ferences Of tsnth5 ar hundreafhs bare
metric pre- ssstre, tn a nautical s:liie Fer
instance a difference og s-foe Inches bar
onletric pressure ia fifteen nautical miles
causes wind velocity Of Twenty-Five
miles an hour. Thfs calculation apnltea
however. only 10 the velocity OF the Wind
over Inland or ohssructod areas. the ve-
locity being much greater for the sams
difference OF harometrsc pressure cut on
the ocean. This explains why the wind
of November rs blew th,rty-two miles
an hour over Seattle. while NJ Fort Can
by II attained a velocity Of seventy-two
miles. though the gradien. was prasst-
eaily the same. about lilo * an Inch I'm
forsy-tive nautical milos The gradient "a
rarely greater than k-tea inches In "a nau-
teal mile
The maps are based on reports received
twice daily At e. m. and S n m. from
various points 90 observation on tina
Sound ard Coast These observations are
taken simultaneously. and give the hatgh,
Of barometer. reading ~ THERMOMETERS.
direction ard velocity II wind. state ~
weather as Ia Tia being clear cloudy or
rainy maximum ana minimum fernrera-
ture. the change nf barometer during the
last two hours preceding telagraphtnr.
the kind and amount ~ clouds the max
tnusn wind velocity. ard the amount Of
rainfall nv tnea0s ~ q special cipher
code all this information Is transmitted
In 8 telegram &c stv ia eight words
TIE hsrouetFtc pressures reported mr.,
entered Ia the central Office on charts
and when lines are drawn connecting
places having the same pressure. th@
storm diagram Is found tn divide ifsels
naturally into awe atese. high and law
Speaking Of weather ferecasflnr eua
day last week. Local Observer Salisbury
said.
'There ar@ times when the PREDICTION
Of weather IS Cct1atssTasively easy ln this
locality. and tines when The fe~ecaster
can he certain. There ars ether ttsn~s
however. when Faptily varying candt-
items. incanstant weather types ana e.
ratio storm paths mako surceasfsi eresai.s~
t.ana exceedingly af.Senle. or sometimes
impossible. and tie forecasfefS duty be
GENES a thaakiess task. The weather