The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1903-06-06
THE WEATHER MAN..
How He Knows When It Is Going
to Storm or Clear.
Omctal Map Made, Up from Reports
from Observation Stations In
Cities and Towns of the
Country.

Strictly speaking, our weather bu-
reau is made up of a great many build
ings scattered all over the United
States, and the one at Washinton is the
central station that governs and di-
reefs the smaller ones, and to which
they send in their daily reports; for
it is by getting reports from all the
different sections of the country that
Uncle Sans mathematics are able
to make their predictions. There are
100 towns and cities in the United
States where there are observation
stations, having the same instruments
and apparatus as the Washington bu-
reau. Now, the observers at these
$50 stations do not spend their time
waiting for spiders to crawl out of
their holes or looking at the sky to see
whether it is red or gray in the even
ing. They look at their thermome
tiers, barometers, thermometers, and
SO on, which are far better guides than
all the other signs put together.
At 8 o'clock in the morning and at
o'clock in the evening of every day
weather stations from Maine to Cali
fornia looks at his different instru-
ments, and carefully notes what each
of them marks. Then he takes look
at the sky, to see whether it is fair
or raining or showing, and to see what
sort of clouds may be sailing about.
According to the weather bureau there
are seven different kinds of clouds,
and it is important that the observer
should see what particular kind is how
ering around, for each kind means
some special kind of weather or some
When he has finished his observation
and noted all the indications. he tele-
graphs his report to Washington.
In that way, then, the Washington
station receives an account of the
weather at all parts of the country
at the same time, and, as you may eaz-
lily believe. it keeps the four telegraph
operators busy receiving the messages
that come pouring in soon aft
er eight o'clock. AS each mes
sage is received in the telegraph
room it is carried by messen-
ger across the hall to the forecast
room, or room where predictions are
made, and handed to the translator.
AS the translator reads aloud the
cipher reports from the different sta
tions, other men in the room mark
what he reads upon map of the United
to- no% ~ II
has been translated the map shows
just what the weather is at each one
of the $50 stations. The map is then
turned over to the official who is to
make the predictions. In order to get
his bearings, he traces across the map
the different places throughout the
country where the tempera ture is the
same and the places where the barom-
etor is the same. The one he marks
with red lines and the other with black
lines, and if you will look at the wealth.
er map you will see these red and
black lines wr1ggling and twisting all
over the country.
When the reports from the north
west show great fall in temperature,
he knows that cold wave has started
ona journe through the United States,
and he keeps lookout to see how fast
it reaches the different stations in the
west. Then he calculates how rapidly
it is moving and what kind of weather
it has to encounter, and perhaps, when
he has worked out the problem, he will
telegraph the following bulletin:
"Hoist cold wave flag; thermometer
will fall 30 degrees in next "a hours"
and sure enough, by next day Jack
Frost has got hold of our noses and
toes, and the coldwave flag is almost
tearing itself to pieces with delight.
But som etimes the cold wave Dies not
come as was expected-it is switched
off on sidetrack or it melts on the
way-and then. the cold-wave flag
droops in shame.