The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1901-04-24

pressure areas, which constitute the
American cold waves, drift into this
country from the Canadian northwest
provinces and are studied under rapid
ly changing conditions during 5000
miles of their course. The high-press-
ure eddy, with all the conventional
principles of the cyclone reversed,
may be said not to depend upon the
land of its birth for the cold it brings,
for strong vertical and anti-cyclonic
motion at the centre is continually
bringing down the cold air from above.
In other words, our cold waves are
not, as was once supposed, masses OF
heavy air chilled by flowing over the
snow and ice fields of the Attic ocean
and transported to our7central valleys
with such rapidity of transition as to
retain much of their original friGidity.
In 1870 and for some years thereat-
ter our forecasts and storm warnings
were looked upon by the press and the
people more as experiments than as
serious statements The newspapers
especially we're prone to comment
facetiously on the forecasts, and many
were clamorous for the abolition OF
the service during the first years of It's
existence, There was some ground
for the criticisms. We knew nearly |
as much about the mechanics OfstOrms
at that time as we do today; bat we had [
notify daily watching of the lncep-
ton, the development, and the pro-
erosion OF stOrms-tSained corps OF /
expert forecas.ers such as now form a
part of the staff of the weather bureau,
and from which he himself was gradu-
ated. After time mariners began to
note that danger signals were, IN the
great majority of cases, followed by
winds and they reasoned that DO were
better to take precautiOn againss fore
east storms that never come than to be
for those which did come.
Mariners now universally heed the
storm warnings, horticNlturallsbs and
truck gardeners make ample prOyis-
ion against frost, and shippers OF per-
fshable produce give fun credeace to
the cold wave predictions. uf the
many West Indian hurricanes which
have swept our Atlantic seabOard
fl ON Florida 10 Maine during recent
years not one has reached single sea-
port without danger signals having
been sent we'll in advance Of the
storm. and no unnecessary warming
has been issued. The result is that
no disaster of consequence has occurr |
ed. Large owners of marine proper
tv estimate that one of the severe
storms traversing our Atlantic coast 4
in the absence of danger signals would I
leave not less than S3,000.O0O worth of
wreckage. On two occasions census
was taken Immediately after the pas
sage of severe hurricanes to determine
the value of property held in port by
the danger warnings sent out in adj
vance of the storms. In one case the
figure was placed at $34 900, 900; in the
other at $3S, 900, 900. OF course this
does not represent value of property
placed in the positions of safety as
result of the danger signals and warn
ing messages to The masters. On Jan
uarv l. 1898, an extensive cold wave
swept from the Rocky mountains east
ward to the sea board. Estimates Sc
cured from shippers in one hundred
of the principal cities indicated that
property valued at So, 100, 900 was saved
as a result of the predictions sent
out"