Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-07-21
FoRETELLlNG THE WEATHER.
Governments System Daily Growing
More Elaborate and Accurate.

the weather. Few on tdhlllS up tlleh
morning papers who do not first
glance at the forecast to note the pre-
dictions for the day. These have now
come to be so consistently accurate
that there is no longer any surprise
in the diurnal discovery that the
weather bureau is right about the
weather. Which should make inter-
esting the following dissertation on
on the quiet, unostentatious but GER
tain way in which this bureau does
it's work-a work far more important
and far-reaching than would be I'M
agined by any one not conversant
with the subject.
The establishment of the bureau
was entirely gratuitous activity on
the part of the general government.
1t was entirely beyond the contem-
plation of the founders of the consti-
tuition. Begun in 1870, in conse-
quence of the growing interest in
matters relating to meteorology and
for the purpose of giving storm
warnings to vessels, it was at first un-
der the direction of the army. This
anomaly between ships and soldiers
may be explained by the fact that
upon the signal corps in those days
devolved the duty Of maintaining tel
egraphic service to complete gaps in
private lines-this to the end that the
government might have communica-
ton throughout all the states and ter
ritories.
Although originally designed for
the benefit of navigation alone, an
ever-broadening recognition of the
practical utility of such service has
necessitated its continued extension in
the interest Of both agriculture and
commerce. During the first twenty
years of it's development the work
was conducted by the signal corps of
the army, under the direction and
control Of the war department, but
the demand for a strictly scientific
bureau, unhampered by regulations
of a military character. resulted in
reorganization of the service in 1891
and the establishment of the present
weather bureau as a branch Of the
United States department of agricul-
ture.
To the general public the weather
bureau is probably best known
through the medium of its daily
forecasts and weather maps. These
forecasts are based upon simultane-
Gus observations of local weather con-
ditions taken daily at a. m. and at
8 p. m, seventy-fifth meridian time,
at about 200 regular observing sta
tions scattered throughout the United
States and the West Indies. Each Of
these stations is operated by one or
more trained observers, and is equip
ped with mercurial barometers, ther-
mometers, wind vanes, rain and snow
gauges, and anemometers. and many
of them with sunshine recorders,
paragraphs, thermographs and other
devices which register automatically
continuous record Of the local wea-
ther conditions and changes as they
occur.
The results of the twice daily OBJ
servations are Immediately telegraph
ed to the central office at Washing
ton, D. c., where they are charted
for study and Interpretation by ex-
perts trained to forecast the weather
conditions which may be expected to-
prevail during the following thirty
six to forty-eight hours.
A complete telegraphic report in
cludes the following data:
Temperature pressure, precipita-
ton, direction of wind, state of wea-
ther, current wind velocity. maximum
or minimum temperature since last
observation, and kind and amount of
clouds, with the direction Of their
movement. From these data, the
forecaster, by comparison with pre-
ceding reports. is able to trace the
paths of storm areas from the time
Of their appearance to the moment Of
observation, and approximately de-
termine and forecast their subsequent
courses and the occurrence Of other
weather conditions.
Weather services similar to that of
the United States are maintained by
the Canadian and Mexican govern
ments, and by a system Of inter-
change daily reports are received
from a number Of stations in these
countries. Daily observations are
also received from Honolulu, the
British isles, Germany. France. Por-
tugal and the Azores. so that the
extends over the greater portion of
the North American continent having
telegraphic communication, the north
Atlantic ocean and the west coast of
Europe.
The system for the collection and
distribution of telegraphic reports of
observations is so arranged that all
Of the principal stations in the United
States receive 8 a. m. reports from a
sufficient number of other stations to
represent the general weather condi-
tions over a considerable portion of
the country.
Within two hours after the morn
ing observations have been taken, the
forecasts are telegraphed from the
forecast centers to more than 2,100
principal distributing points. whence
they are further disseminated by tel
egraph, telephone. and mail. The
forecasts reach nearly 100000 ad-
dresses daily by mail. the greater part
being delivered early in the day, and
none later. as a rule than 6 p. m. of
the day of issue, and more than a
million telephone subscribers, mainly
in the rural districts. receive the fore
casts by telephone within an hour Of
the time the prediction is made.
This system of forecast distribu-
ton is wholly under the supervision
and at the expense of the govern
ment and is in addition effected
through the press associations and
the daily newspapers. The rural free
mail delivery system and rural tele-
nf hrin Gin o.