Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-11-17
VOL. XVI.
FORECASTlNG The WEATHER.
some Facts About This Interesting Department OF she
sss8 u Government Service. $500


some Facts About This In
e. Governmel
TO those who are familiar with the
application OF meteorological science to
weather f~orecasting, and with the ma
terial benefits accruing to the commerce
and industry Of the United States from
timely warnings OF marine storms,
frosts and cold waves, 1t will be Inter-
ing to note that, at the time OF the
founding OF the first OF the thirteen COLI
onies, at jamestown, Va, in 1901, practt-
Ically nothing was known of the proper
ties OF the air or Of methods for meas
uring its phenomena. Today, at about
200 stations in the United States, elec-
notwithstanding automatic meteoro-
logical Instruments mcasur n trans
cribe for each moment OF time the tenn
perature. the air pressure, the velocity
and direction Of h wind, the beginning
and ending OF rainfall, the amount of
precipitation, and the sunshine or
cloud.
That we live in an age Of great In
tellectual acumen, and that he is indeed
a wise prophet who can outline. even
dimly, the possibilities Of the next cen-
fury. 10 effectively shown by the de-
velopment OF meteorological science
within the recollection Of the present
generation; altho must admit that
In the making OF weather forecasts
valuable as these In general are-we
have not advanced much beyondtheem-
pirlcal stage. Nor have we any pros
pect that we shall ever attain the ac-
E /, 49, - @ IN
predicting the date OF an eclipse or the
occurrence Of celestial events.
It was not until 1913. twenty-three
years after the landing Of the Pilgrims
on Plymouth Rock, that TorrIcelli dis
covered the principle Of the barometer,
and rendered 1t possible to measure the
weight OF the superintendent air at
any spot where the wonderful, yet Sim
Pile, little instrument might be placed.
Torricelli's great teacher, Calico, died
without knowing why nature, under
certain conditions. abhors a vacuum:
but he had discovered the principle of
the thermometer. The data from the
readings OF these two instruments form
the foundation OF all meteorological
science. The inventors Is little appre-
ciated the value of their discoveries as
they dreamed OF the great Western
Empire which should first use their in
struments to measure the inception and
development OF storms.
As early as 1898 DIR. John Lining, of
Charleston, s. c.. kept a record OF the
daily temperature in this country. The
accurate thermometers Of Fahrenheit
had then been in use but a few years;
and, compared with the fine instru-
ments now used for measuring temper
ature, the error due to imperfect me-
chanlcal construction was probably con-
7 siderable. About one hundred years at.
ter the invention Of the barometer, viz.
In 1747. Benjamin Franklin, patriot.
statesman, diplomat and scientist, di-
vined that certain storms had a rotary
motion and that they progressed in a
~northeasterly direction. Twas prophet-
Ac that these ideas should have come to
him long before nyone had seen charts
showing observations simultaneously
taken at many stations. But, althO his
ideas in this respect were more impor-
tant than his act Of drawing the light
ming from the clouds and Identifying 1t
with the electricity of the laboratory.
yet HIS contemporaries thought little Of
his philosophy Of storms. and 1t was
soon forgotten. 1t will be interesting
to learn how he reached his conclusion
MS to the 5cyclonic or eddy-like construc-
tion OF storms.
franklin had arranged with q CO.
worker at Boston to take observations
OF q lunar eclipse at the same time that
he himself was taking readings Of 1t at
Philadelphia. Early on the evening OF
the eclipse an unusually severe north
east wind and rainstorm set in at Phil
~ ~
secure any observations. He reasoned
that, az the wind blew fiercely from the
northeast, the storm was of ours
coming from that direction. and that
Boston must have experienced its raw
ages before Philadelphia. Reports in
dlcated that the storm was Widespread.
What was the surprise OF Franklin
when, after the slow passage of the
mail by coach. he heard from his friend
In Boston that the night OF the eclipse
had been clear and favorable for OBJ
%Bsrvations, but that q terrific northeast
wind and rainstorm began early the
following morning. He then sent u
inquiries to the surrounding stage sta
lions and found that5at all places south
west Of Philadelphia the storm had be-
CUR earlier. and that the greater the
distance the earlier the beginning. as
compared with its advent In Philadel-.
phia. Northeast OF Philadelphia the
time of the beginning of the storm had
been later than at that city. the storm
not reaching Boston until twelve hours
after its commencement at Philadel-
phia.
In considering these facts a line OF In.
ductive reasoning brought Franklin to
the conclusion that the wind always
blows toward the center OF the storm;
that the northeast hurricane which
Boston and Philadelphia had expert
enced was caused by the suction exer-
cised by an advancing storm-eddy from
the southwest. which drew the air rap
Idly from Boston toward Philadelphia,
while the source OF the attraction-the
center of the storm-eddy-was yet a
Thousand miles to the southwest Of the
latter place. that the velocity OF the
northeast win increased as the center
OF the storm-eddy advanced nearer and
nearer from the southwest, until the
wind reached the conditions OF a hurri.
cane; that the wind between Boston
and Philadelphia shifted, and came
from the southwest after the center Of
the storm-eddy had passed over that
region: and that the force Of the wind
gradually decreased as the center5of at
traction passed farther and farther
AWAY TO the nOrtheaa fs