The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1902-01-07
THE MOON AND THE WEATHER.
The Supposed Influence or the One on tho
Other Not Well EstablIshed


Other Not Well EstabIIs he'd.
In view Of the popular notion that
there is some relation between the
moons changes and the weather. the
United States Monthly Weather Re
view republishes an extract from Il
'ecent French treatise on weather. by
Alfred Angot The writer says that
he most distinctly recognized effect
:hus far is n slight atmospheric tide.
which affects the reading OF the bar
Dmeter about 1920 of an inch. This.
Of course. is so small that IL cannot
;ensibly alter the wind direction and
'orce or the humidity OF the air.
When other weather phenomena are
examined. in comparison with the
phases of the moon. the results are
either indecisiye or else contradict one
another. For instance, some one has
shown that at Paris for certain
period of years the maximum number
)f rainy days In a month occurred be-
tween the first quarter and full moon,
and the minimum between the third
quarter and new moon. And the pro-
portion was put at 1.21. But. unfor-
for the south Of France. In one part
of that country there seemed to be
more rain in the third week than in
the other. while still in another the
maximum fell in the fourth week.
Now, if figures disagree like this.
what must one think? Does not the
moon influence southern and northern
France alike? Ought it not to operate
similarly in Europe and America -?
But, IL so, in which of these three diff
ferent weeks ought we to look for the
most rain? If there is any rule about
the moon. ought it not to be universal?
Careful study has thus far failed to
reveal one which works for the whole
world alike. Hence there is good
reason for doubling that there is any
rule at all. The fact that there should
seem to be n preponderance of one
kind of weather at n certain stage of
the moon. either in France or any
other country. may possibly be eX.
planned in some such way as this: 1t
is well known that rain gauges differ
greatly among themselves in their
tales, owing to improper placing
Again, the rainfall from any given
storm is never uniform over the whole
region visited, and the track of storms
varies a good deal from time to time.
Consequently, when one tabulates the
rainfall Of one place for comparison
with another, or for one part Of the
month with another at the same place
there will always be inequalities IL the
period be short. The longer the term
of years the less will be these inequali
ties; and it is quite possible that If the
observations extended through a cen
tury, and were accurately made, the
seeming excess of precipitation at any
one part of the month would entirely
disappear.
There is, however. still another pos
sibility to be considered. Those who
have studied the weather maps sys.
tematically know that there is an APP
parently irregular shifting around of
certain areas of high barometric pres
sure, and that one sort of weather pre-.
walls on one side and another on the
other side. If it could be shown that
this shifting was regular and rhyth-
mical, and related to the moons
phases, then it would be easy to I'M
derstand why the second week of the
month would have a tendency to be
wet in one place and dry in another.
This matter, indeed. has already been
the subject of good deal Of research,
and NJ. Angot says: 'These studies
are. however of too recent date and
still too undeveloped to have already
given results that may be considered
as sufficiently conclusive and general.
1t is, however. interesting to mention
them here, since by continuing to
work in the same lines we may, per-
haps, succeed in discovering the true
relations between the moon and the
phenomena of the weather, since the
earlier researches have not brought
about any positive conclusion. On the
whole, in the present state Of our
knowledge, it cannot be affirmed that
the moon does exert any influence up.
on the weather, but at the same time
it should not be denied that this in.
fuence may possibly exist"