The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-11-12

there. Til" same Is done here at Mount
Weather.
Now these men have been studying
this business all their lives, and, know
ing what the weather is in other
places. they eau determine what that
OF their own locality will probably be
1t is the same with the specialists ut
washington, where all the reports arc
handled in division known as the
forecast division. AT the Washington
bureau tho work is divided so that one
clerk makes II chart of the country.
showing the changes OF the baromcters
the various regions during the past
iwcnty-four hours. He makes broad
red lines to separate the colder from
the warner regions and narrow req
lines about those areas in which the
changes of temperature are more than
ton degrees.
How storms Come.
Another clerk constructs chart
showing the changes OF the Iiarometre
during The past twenty-four hours. He
separates the regions OF rising anu
falling by broad lines OF red and uses
| narrow red lines to enclose tho areas
where the changes have been more than
onc-tenth of an inch. He has another
set OF lines for those of two -tenths ana
the result is that one can tell in just
what parts of the country the baromc-
ter is raising or falling. This Is to say,
just where 1t is cooling and contract
Ing. and thus allowing the warm winds
from other sections to flow in The
barometre charts give some idea of the
storm centres, and show you how the
storms are forming.
There is II third clerk who deals on
~ with the water in the air and with
the clouds. He makes two charts
one of these gives the humidity or Wa
ter in The air at various places. The
other shows where the clouds are and
which way they arc going.
The last or fourth clerk makes what
is called general weather chart, com
| bining much of the information record
ed BY the others. This gives the air
temperature and pressure at each sta
! ton, the velocity and direction of the
Winds the amount of cloudiness. anu
the rain or snowfall since the last re-
port. The clerk then draws isobars Or
lines over the mayS through the places
which have the same baronletric pres
sure. writing tho word high in the CEN
ana tiic word low in tho region OF inc
least pressure. Air, like all other
things. moves by gravity, and 1t flows
from regions of greater pressure to
those of less. 1t is by means of these
figures that one can tell just whcre
! tho winds vii go and whether they will
make rain or not. Indeed, the work is
beyond description interesting. 1t is
also fairly correct. ] have asked Dr.
Moore what percentage of his weather
predictions turn out TO be true. lie re-
piled:
I'VE have figured that out 10 per-
centaEc, and we now know that we are
right in about eighty eight times out of
n hundred. This has been the average
for the last ten years, and L think VIC
are growing better time goes on.
The people appreciate us. We have
many demands for new weather sta
lions, and, If we had the money, we
could extend the service with profit.
AS il is now the bureau has become SO
valuable to tho manufacturing. agricul-
tural and other interests that they
would be glad to have 1t more widely
spread. This is appreciated By the
authorities here at Washington, and
Congress promises to DO even more
liberal in its appropriations of the
future.
Copyright. 1911, by Frank G. Carpcn-
tcr.)