Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-02
YV7HAT would be the state of mind of
w the average business man If. in

YV7HAT would be the state of mind of
w the average business man il, in
the course of his days mall, he
received a telegram reading as follows:
Omaha meadow medical imps turnover
Perhaps he might think he had stumbled
upon some secret code, the solving OF
which would reveal state secret. Pos
sibly he might consider it a practical joke.
Again he might think-but of what use to
conjecture?-the fact remains that just
such a telegram has been received in
Washington and proved useful. not In the
solving of an International plot, but in
the work of weather forecasting for the
United States.
Daily from stations in all parts of the
country reports Of the local weather con-
ditions are sent to the central office of
the weather bureau here in this city.
These reports are enciphered in code not
to attain secrecy, but as practical saw
ing of dollars and cents. AS In the case
of the example given, the first word OF
the message indicates from what portion
of the country the report has been sent.
The code in itself is an easy one and has
been quickly mastered by the hundreds
of men connected with the weather bu-
reau.
II
TT is quite an improvement on the code
We used some few years ago.. said II.
C. Frankenfield, professor of meteorology
and head of the river and food division
of the United States weather bureau.
Formerly we used code comprised or
hundreds of words the meanings Of which
each man had to learn and also the pos
sible effect that the various positions of
,:rvl,A
upon their Specifications. This proved UNI
satisfactory, and the present code was
adopted and has become wonderful re-
Queer of the more or less heavy bill rem
dered by the telegraph companies"
In the comparison Of the telegram men-
toned above and its translation proof of
Prof. Frankenfield's statement is evident
Meadow" the first word OF the actual
message conveyed by the telegram. when
translated resolves itself into the follow
ing: 1864 barometer, temperature %.
Medical in this code states that the
wind is from the south, the weather Is
cloudy and the lowest temperature is g.
"Imps," the third word of the report.
conveys the following message: Winds
velocity six miles. with a trace. of snow
fall. turnover" which when translated
means river stage 6S feet, falling, COM
pletes this apparently meaningless tumble
Of words.
A number of reports written in just this
style come in daily to the weather bureau
at Washington. At am. and pm,
seventy-ffth meridian time. observations
Of the local weather conditions are taken
at the some two hundred regular observ-
ing stations scattered throughout the
United States and the West Indies. The
results are Immediately telegraphed to the
central Office, where they are charted for
study and Interpretation by experts train
ed to forecast the weather conditions that
may be expected to prevail during the
following thirty-six to forty-eight hours
With this material in hand the fore
caster. by comparison with preceding re-
ports. is able to trace the paths of storm
areas from the time of their appearance
to the moment Of observation. and ap-
proximately determine and forecast their
subsequent courses and the occurrence OF
other weather conditions. From the days
report he can determine the points where
the atmosphere pressure is lowest and
highest. knowing this and following the
more or less fixed rule that storm trav-
els in the direction of least resistance. he
can predict the future course OF the hur-
ricane or whatever variety of storm it
While washington is the seat of the
central Office Of the weather bureau. 1t is
not the only forecasting station in the
country. Chicago is the forecast center
for the upper Mississippi valley and the
northwest. Four states. Louisiana, Texas,
Arkansas and Oklahoma. comprise the
district that has New Orleans for its
forecast center. At Denver weather pre-
dictions are made for Utah, Colorado New
Mexico and Arizona. California and Ne
vada are included in the San Francisco
district, and Portland is the forecast GEN.
ter for Washington, Oregon and Idaho.