The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-10-29


cast and gloomy. with ne appearance Is
rain CT snow al any moment. vet
measurable amount Ct precipitation is
not anJicf-ated
"a forecast Of rain or snow NAY be
oppressed in various was. N the late
fall. early spring and the winter season
it is most commonly indicated by the
single word rain or snow IS the case
may be. thus Rain tonight and When
used in this form Ii is expected taat
the rain VIII continue for. several hours.
In other seasons Of tha year any cEe
Of The following terms. viz, local rain
showers and thunderstorans' may be
used. LEGAL rain and showers are al
most fndeutcal IN meaning The word
thunderstorm Of course. carries its
own significance
Precipitation
Any enc Of these terms indicates that
the rain viii not be general over the
whole State or district. The most mark
ed feature Of the esfpisauon in the
warm season. as compared with the cold.
is IT'S unequal distribution over rei1-
lively small areas. a shower cloud may
form and PISS over several counties
or il may disslpate within five miles
OF its oeisin. Indeed. I may say that
it is only IN exceptional cases that
general and continuous rains occur ia
some pert OF q State every day Of the
month. But the science Of meteroIogy
is not yet lar enough advanced 10 de-
limit the path Of q local shower and the
exact time for its occurrence
Forecasts of local rains, showers
OF thundsrstorms indicate that the con
ditous are favorable for the occur
renee OF precipitation in the district
and for The given pc i0d-
Clearing Is word frequently used
which carries q broader meaning than
the word itself signifies. viz. the &C.
+ curreuce of precipitation in the early
part of the period Thus. Clearing to
night you'll indicate that rain or snow.
whichever might be falling at the be-
ginning OF the period would cease short
Is thereafter and that the weather would
be clear during the greater part Of the
time
Failing Weather"
Clouds are formed from the moisture
that Is always in the air in varying
quantities. even over the desert Like
The air itself. the moisture that is with
in il is invisible so long as il remains in
the form of gas When a mass CT air Is
cooled by. any means whatsoever . por-
ton OF its water vaDor is condensed
and becomes .visibIe-a mist or cloud is
formed. i familiar illustration OF cloud
! formation in nature is afforded when q
current Of warm. moist air strikes q
cold mountain The colder surface Of
the mountain conde1ses some o. the
moisture that is IN the air forming q
cloud which frequently closures the top
/ OF the mountain and floats away in the
prevailing winds
This simple phenomena indicates 10
an observer on the IeEwaTd side Of the
mountain that a warm. moist current OF
air with probably rain or snow IS ap-
. preaching In some parts Of the world
the formation OF q cloud cap on noun
! tain top is not an Indication CT q Precip-
/ itariCn. yel IN a majority OF casts IL is
+ believed TO be q reliable pIcEnCsti- OF
( falling weather IN general the fGrma-
ton of clouds after q clear spell is the
+ first sign of coming rain. Unfortunately
there is no definite interval between the
+ time for the first appearance Of clouds
and the occurrence OF rain Rain my
not fall for several days after the first
appearance Of clouds, and on the other
hand. II may begin within two or three
hours sitter the first cloud makes its ap-
+ pearauce-
An increase in the amount Of Znois-
ture in the air is indicated in various
ways Il is especially noticeable 20 the
I senses when coupled with high rCmpera-
rure- Man does not need a thermometer
10 tell him that the air IS oppTessiEeIy
warm. nor a hygrcmeter to tell him
/ that there is an unusual amount o. In0is-
/ ture present
fAn increase in the amount of mois-
ture in the air is q sign OF q change from
/ fair 10 foul weather both winter and
/ summer. In the colder months al in
( crease in the temperature Of the air
above the average for the season.
coupled with an Increase in nGoisr ure. =
q sign Of rain or snow within twenty
/ four or f0rty-eigat hours. In til sum
! mer An increase of temperature alone is
not always an indication ri rain
But these are not infailiHie rules.
/ The old proverb, All signs fail Ia dry
weather is as true today as When first
. formulated"