The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-03-31
FoRgcAsrlNe THE WEATHER
Stations All over Northern i4emls-
phere Cooperate In the Work.


and forecasts of the weather in the
or on the maps and
cards, which are now to be found in
nearly every place in the country, APP
preciate the vastness of the system
which is continually in operation to
accomplish these results. The i'm
portance of the department is also
not likely to be realized in a section
OF the country like Vermont, but in
many districts it means a savings,
not only of many millions of dollars
but of Ives.
There are at present 200 stations in
the United States similar TO the one
on the Wiliston road in this city, and
in addition to these, stations all over
the northern hemisphere send in
daily reports to Washington. There
are stations in Siberia, the Azores,
Iceland, and all parts of Europe. No
weather news is received from the
southern hemisphere, as conditions
there are not likely to affect the ter
ritory north of the equator.
Although the scientific study of the
sky and its conditions is practically
in its infancy, much has been accom-
plished, in spite of enormous handi-
caps. 1t has been found that the air
acts in similar manner to water, ex-
cept that ii is much more likely to be
disturbed and is therefore much
more difficult to understand To aid
in the study, all of the data which
has to bear on atmosphere conditions
is collected over this country twice
each day at as nearly as possible the
same moment.
The instruments used in collecting
the data at the stations have reached
remarkable stage Of perfection in
the past few years. All Of the out
ward conditions are registered for
each minute of the "a hours in the
weather mans Office, so that glance
| gives all of the days phenomena,
even to the minutes of sunlight
The reports sent into Washington
include the temperature, pressure
precipitation, direction and vicinity OF
wind, lowest and highest temperatur
es since the last observation and the
kind and condition of the clouds, with
the direction of their movement. by
means of a code all of these are tele
grapled in three words, which means
a large saving in expense and time
AS soon as the observation is taken
the work of reporting begins and by
means of the code and a system o.
circuits, the report from every one o
the 200 stations is received by th'
other stations, in space of not mucl
more than an hour AS soon as re
port is received from a station thu
figures are Immediately set down Of
chart and in short time the weatl
er in all parts of the country i
shown at a glance.
1t is rather difficult to forecast 70
Burlington because of the mountain
and other peculiar local conditions
but the whole OF northern New Ems
land is in the pathway OF disturbanC
es which pass from the land out int
the Atlantic ocean. Most of on
storms come from the region OF tn
Great Lakes. which in turn seem I
attract the storms from the west an
southwest A force which sometime
steps in to change the course {
events here is storm or disturbanc
which may come from the region {
Hudson Bay and throw things out {
lines. There are no stations in tina
, region and storms come unheraldet
Another pathway of storms which a
fects New England, but not to a larg
, extent Vermont, is up the Atlantl
coast Burlington is shielded froi
these by the Green Mountains
In the case Of cold wave, such a
struck this city Tuesday, the al
, proach can be seen on the maps fC
a thousand miles or more. and by
computation OF the speed at which
I is travelling, and the distance to /
covered. the time of the arrival
the storm or wave in any locality ca
be approximately determined b
cause OF conditions which cam,
sometimes be foreseen. the disturbal
n ces are often delayed but they seldol
II ever. fail to appear
At present, the forecasts are beir
used In many spheres Most OF a
railroad companies use them in ma
ing their shipments Perishable pr
ducts are protected by warm cars &,
, ice In cases OF extreme cold or hea
@ The forecasts are also useful In shol
. ing localities where goods OF &C
s tain nature are likely TO be in
mand. In the cities the uses al
s more general than Is supposed Wi
- the warning OF an approaching CO
y wave. green houses are closed on
side plumbing is protected. work
concrete is stopped. natural gas COZ
panies force more gas into their pip,
= to provide for more consumption ar
In hundreds OF other ways dsast
and discomfort are forestalled.
:. In the agricultural districts, Il
frost and cold wave warnings are l
y valuable TO the truck farmer at
| fruit grower, especially In Il
spring. when the shoots are tend
| and may be easily protected, II Il
danger is known. In all the fall. ,
so, they are valuable. as many Gro
| may be harvested In time to prove
| their destruction by freezing II h,
! even reached the point where de
> lists In some localities make the
: appointments for bright days al