The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1902-02-25
WEATHER MEN IN Iva.
How Franklin ana Jefferson Cooperate
In Tnlslng Observations.


How Franklin ana Jefferson Co-opeTatei
In Taking Observations.
About 100 years after the invention
or the barometer. viz in 1774. Beuja
min Franklin. patriot. statesman. diplo
mat and scientist. OWNED that certain
storms had a rotary motion. and that
they progressed i'm northeasterly iii.
rection. 1t was prophetic that these
ideas should have come 10 him long
before any one had ever seen charts
showing observations simultaneously
taken at many stations. But. although
his ideas i'm this respect were more
important than his act Of drawing
the lightning from the clouds and iden.
tifying it with the electricity of the
laboratory, yet his contemporaries
thought little of his philosophy of
storms. and it was soon forgotten. 1t
will he interesting to learn how he
reached his conclusion as to the cy-
clOnic or eddylike structure of storms
Franklin had arranged with n co.
worker at Boston to take observations
of a lunar eclipse at the same time
that he himself was taking readings
of it at Philadelphia. Early on the
evening of the eclipse an unusually
severe northeast wind and rain storm
set in at Philadelphia, and Franklin
was unable to secure any observations
He reasoned that as the wind blew
tiercely from the northeast the storm
was, of course, coming from that di-
rectiOn, and that Boston must have
experienced it's ravages before Phil
adelphia. Reports indicated 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 observations, but
that terrific northeast wind and rain
storm began early the following morn
ing. He then sent out inquiries to
surrounding stage stations, and found
that at all places southwest of Phila-
delphia the storm had begun earlier,
and that the greater the distance the
earlier the beginning. as compared
with its advent in Philadelphia.
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 n line of
inductive reasoning brought Franklin
TO the conclusion that the wind always
blows towards the centre of the storm;
that the northeast hurricane which
Boston and Philadelphia had expert
enced was caused by the suction eX-
from the southwest, which drew the
air rapidly from Boston toward Phila-
delphia, while the source of the at
traction-the centre of the storm eddy
was yet 1000 miles to the southwest
of the latter place; that the velocity
of the northeast wind increased as
the centre of the storm eddy advanced
nearer and nearer from the southwest,
until the wind reached the conditions
of a hurricane; that the wind between
Boston and Philadelphia shifted and
came from the southwest after the
centre of the storm eddy had passed
over this region, and that the force
of the wind gradually decreased as the
centre OF attraction passed further
and further away to the northeast.
-AhOAAAtA man WllOSG uulut Is uedI 10
the heart of every patriotic American
conducted, in conjunction with his
friend, James Madison (afterward
Bishop. n series of weather observa-
lions, which were begun in 1771, and
continued during the stirring times of
the Revolution. This was the sage of
Monticello. Thomas Jefferson. Madl-
son was near the sea, at the colonial
capital, Williamsburg, Va; Jefferson
was at Monticello. 100 miles west They
took simultaneous observations for
several years. until the British ran
sacked Madison's house and carried
off his barometer.
Had the telegraph been in existence.
Jefferson and Madison would doubt
less have conceived the idea of n
National weather service.-The Forum.