Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-01


depend more upon the meteorologist than
upon the constructing engineer l fore
cast the future when / say that the time
may come when many OF the 200 stations
of the United States weather bureau and
those of other weather services will be
equipped with aviators and flying ma
chimes.
Kite May Carry instruments.
1.-THE kite on windy days and the aero
plane on quiet days will carry instru-
ments aloft and bring back the pressure.
temperature and direction and force OF
the wind. which, when telegraphed to the
central Office. will enable the forecaster
to construct q weather map on. say. the
two-mile level-wtll enable him to plot the
horizontal distribution OF pressure and
temperature gradients up In the free air
where the energy OF the storm must be
the most intense, and, what IS Of the
greatest Importance to the pilots OF air
craft. to determine the regions Of un-
stable equilibrium, where gradients quick
ly reverse and swirls are frequent; and
of the high level with the one of sea level,
to map out the vertical gradients OF pres
sure and temperature.
Then the central meteorological Office
may issue more danger warnings to air
craft than to water craft. 1t is no wild
fight Of fancy to assume that In the
near future the weather forecaster will
daily lay out the routes of the ship, of
the air. when. for instance. there shall
fly from the roof of every weather sta
ton a fair way signal, one that advises
caution, or one that peremptorily orders
all craft to come down and be tied up;
when, for instance, the forecasts for the
United States shall say that the way Is
clear for all craft from the south and
east bound for Chicago, but that every
thing from the Mississippi westward will
be wrecked il it flies, and should await
further advices.
Explorations in High Air.
Mans future most interesting. hazardous
and fruitful regions Of exploration and
research will be the high air and the deep
earth. These fields present enhancing
possibilities.
1.-THE placing Of passengers in aluminium
cases. carrying them upward on aero
planes to the. eastward drift above the
storm stratum and shooting them from
America over to Europe between break
fast and afternoon tea, Is not SO wonder.
full a performance as the sending of an
aerogram across the English channel,
the transmitting OF the human voice over
a metallic circuit, or the reproduction of
words that were uttered by lips since
closed In death. Cold and the lightness
Of the air will not be insurmountable OBJ
stacles. as passengers may be inclosed:
buoyancy increases as the square Of the
velocity, and the latter is almost UNI
limited. We live in an age of science and
invention, rather than in one of literature
and art; no one can forecast the outcome
of an hour. The impossible Of yesterday
Is the commonplace of today.
Here we are within an arms 1ength-,a
mile at most-of a region free of dust
and dirt and disease. and always so cool
~, Sy,x,, tty,rx El.nl
it? Surely the meteorologst will go to
great heights and make his observations
SO systematically and so long continued
that he will not only forecast the sailing
conditions OF the air. but ultimately chart
the climatology of its various levels
Work Of Meteorologist.
These are some of the important things
that tho meteoroligst OF the future must
do If he is to perform his part I'm the
economic development of the nations
that he serves. He must not only strive
to add to the science that is back Of his
art, but he must make use of many
of the discoveries in physics and me-
chanics in applying what Is known Of the
science of meteorology to the industries
of the world. Today we forecast the
weather for two days in advance with an
accuracy approaching 30 per cent. Ii is
doubtful IL this degree of precision will
be increased without further discoveries,
or until money and appliances are pro-
vided for the construction of the high
level chart hereinbefore described
st has long been the dream of the
that some day we might
forecast the character Of the coming
What wonderful conserva-
ton Of human energy would result il it
were possible to foretell the amount of
over the great cereal plains
of the world and the fruit-growing val
leys, and the degree of heat and cold
Seed and labor might be saved In UNI
profitable years, and greater energy put
forth when nature was bountfful.
In the United States we have reached
the period when it is possible to success
fully forecast the character Of the wealth
er for the coming week"
International Weather Chart.
Prof. Moore then described the interna-
tional weather chart, the data for which |
are collected each morning in Washing |
ton from the entire northern hemisphere, |
and said: |
This Is the only place where a chart |
Of a similar character is made; 1t illus |
trates the weather around the entire hem |
lsphere This Is the first time that daily |
charts of the northern
hemisphere have been exhibited for public |
inspection. The movements of storms. |
their relation the one TO the other and |
the great panoramic picture of the wealth |
err around the world are graphically por- |
trayed. The variation in intensity and in
the shifting of the geographic position |
Of certain great fundamental storm areas
dominate and control the weather for pro-
tracted periods"
Prof Moore showed the fundamental
basis for the weekly forecasts now being
made in the United States, and predicted |
that by the further study of the distribu-
ton OF air pressure around the world II
might be possible within the next decade
TO foresee with reasonable degree OF
accuracy the character of the weather
for a month in advance