Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-29
Equinoctial Storms.

Late reports from the territory swept by
the great southern storm verify the worst
fears felt when Geographic communication
with New Orleans and lower Mississippi
valley points was interrupted.
Is there any relation between this storm
and the crossing Of the equator by the
sun? Is there any foundation for the very
general belief that storms more fire.
quent ana more severe at the time of the
vernal and autumnal equinoxes than at any
other periods of the year? Like most be-
liefs. set of facts may be marshaled in
it's support, but there is great conflict Of
testimony.
When in the equlnOxes the sun. through
the earth's rotation on it's axis, appears to
describe the circle of the celestial equator
and the days and nights are of equal length
The spring equinox occurs on March 81. and
the autumn equinox on September22. Night
in the north polar regions is falling and day
in the south polar region is dawning.
In a recent work on meteorology 1t is
said:
"One of the most widespread beliefs in,
at least, the British Isles, Is that there oc-
ours an unusual frequency Of gales and
autumn equinoxes. This belief is however,
unsupported by the records of carefully
conducted observations. Thus at Gordon
Castle, in Strathspey, upward of fifty
years observations show. on the contrary,
fewer storms on the five days from the
Dist to the 18th days of March and Sep
TENDER than on the five days preceding
and following these dates. Long continued
observations at other places are equally
decisive against the popular belief
The objection to these observations might
be that the observers confined the equinoc-
,.-;,
crossing of the sun. Persons who believe
in equinoctial storms should have more
latitude than five days.
1t is true that students OF meteoroogy
refuse to accept the equinoctial storm
theory. 1t is also true that some scientists
know a great deal, and that some do not
know so very much. When an ordinary
man believes something which the scientist
declines to believe he usually brushes the
Iayman by calling him superstitious This
is extremely humiliating.
Meteorology Is still an infant science
But 1t is growing. An immense volume of
data has been collected, and is being
conned and studied by host of skllful
men under adroit leadership. The field of
observation is being steadily widened. Sta
tons are being extended to far distant
change of observations is coming into USE
so that probably all countries having a
weather service will cooperate In this in
quiry into weather phenomena. The TWEEN
ty-four-hour forecast has been brought to a
reasonable certainty. and the siX-day fore
cast and finally the thirty day forecast are
coming.
Nevertheless, a number of gentlemen
who do not know and do not care anything
about isotherms and isobars, or highs or
lows" continue to prognosticate six and
| twelve months ahead of the scientific fore
caster, merely by making observations on
| the goose bone, the squirrels fur, bird
songs, the hardness of nutshells, the shadow
| of the ground hog and the mit of other
| hogs.
Coming back to the matter of equlnoctial
storms, it may be cited that the Hongkong
hurricane was on and around September 1S
| the Galveston cyclone and tidal wave was
| September 8, 1900, and the great storm In
| Samoa was March 10, 1880
Without meaning to question the attain
| ments of scientific gentlemen, 1t might be
| just to observe that there may be relations
| between the sun and the earth which even
| they have not yet mastered.