The indicator., 1904-11-26

O"soo 'oeitouCss oStchucu Nv WdfmcI, !,
cloudy or stormy weather on the front
or eastern side of the storm area,
and their passage is followed by cool
er, clearing weather. There are no
reasonable grounds, known to the
scientific world, to sustain the claim
that the origin of the storms, or the
time of their appearance, is in any
way determined by planetary or luna
influence, while the eastward drift
and the changes in the meteorological
elements that mark the approach and
passage of storms, are thoroughly
understood and are known to be in
dependent of such influence.
No one is surprised at the occur
renee of tornado in the central val
leys of the United States during the
spring or early summer, or at the oc.
currence of heavy rains and attendant
floods in many sections of our country
during the spring months, or at the
occurrence of winds dangerous to
navigation on the Atlantic or Pacific
coast, or at the appearance Of West
Indian hurricane off the Florida coast
during July or August. These things
have occurred frequently during the
past and will occur frequently in the
future. 1t is of no practical value to
tell us that they may occur some
where during the season most favor
able for their occurrence.
"The farmers of the country cannot
afford to delay the cutting of hay
fields for several days because, during
this period, in some section of the
country. heavy rains may fall; the
shipping interests cannot be tied up
for four or five days, awaiting the
subsidence of dangerous winds that
may appear somewhere on the Allan
tic, Pacific, or Gulf coast; nor can the
great transportation companies af-
ford the expense and delay of pro-
tecting perisbable products against
the low temperatures of the cold wave
that may, or may not sweep over a
portion of the country.
"To be of value, predictions of ab-
normal and destructive weather con-
dtions must be reasonably definite,
both as to the time of occurrence and
the locality.
"Defniteness is, however, religious
ly avoided by the long-range fore
crster, and with good reason, for if
his predictions were exact as to time
and place of occurrence, he could no
longer impose upon the credulity of
small portion of the public by claim.
ing vindication of his methods and
a verifcstion of his predictions when
ever, in any section of the country, a
storm occurred on or close to the
dates he has designated as periods of
storm activity.
while it is clearly impossible to
foretell the weather for month or a
season, it is practicable to forecast
the probable weather changes a day
or so in advance of their occurrence,
and ret ognizing the commercial value
of such knowledge. the civilized na-
tions of the world maintain weather
services for the purpose Of supplying |
such information that industrial in
terests may be protected, as far as
possible, against adverse weather con-
ditions.
''That the services Of all the ma
tions are conducted along similar
lines, and that the same we'll estab-
lished physical principles are relied
upon in making predictions, are evi-
dences of the soundness of the meth
DDS employed.
"Synchronous observations of the
conditions of a whole conti-
nent are collected, by means of the
within the space of an
hour or two, at central points; the
data thus obtained are charted upon
outline maps, showing graphically the
storm and fair weather areas, the
cold waves and the warm waves.
''The official forecaster bases bis
predictions, not upon mythical prin |
ciple, known only to himself, but upon
conditions known to actually exist;
and applying to these conditions the
laws governing the development and
of storms that have been
by the recognized authori-
ties on Meteorology, he predicts for
each separate locality during the en-
suing twenty-four to forty-eight hours,
the weather, temperature and winds
that have in the past most frequently |
from, or followed conditions
similar to those that appear on the
charts before him.
Storms do not move in regular
maths. the area covered and the de- |