The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1914-01-29
HOW STORMS
ARE FORECASTED
The Weather Bureaus Method Of
Calculating the Time Of Their
Arrival.
FROST, FLOODS AND WINDS
Are Figured Out in Much the Same
Way and Their Coming
Foretold.

Many people have an idea that
there is something mysterious
and occult about the work of the
weather bureau in forecasting
the coming of storms, frosts and
floods. Not few think that the
observers must necessarily get
their data by reading the planets,
the stars and the moon. AS a
matter of fact the forecaster of
the bureau foretells the coming of
disturbances in a businesslike
way, very similar to that in which
a man who ordered shipment of
goods would estimate the date Of
its arrival.
Suppose a business man had
ordered carload of pineapples
from the Hawaiian Islands. He
would know the average time that
it would take the steamer to make
the trip to the Pacific port, the
average time for unloading the
refrigerator cars, and the aver
age number Of days to be allowed
these cars for their trip across
the continent to New York. His
estimate, however, would be sub
ject to error because the steam
ship might be delayed by fog, or
the cars might meet with an ac-
cident.
Storms, like pineapplcs, as a
rule do not originate in the Uni
ted States. They come to us,
some from the Philippines, ia
pan, Siberia. Alaska, Canada or
the Gulf Of Mexico. The weather
bureau gets cable, telegraphic or
wireless notice of foreign
storm. Station after station, or
vessel after vessel, reports the
storms arrival in its neighbor-
hood, so that the general direc-
tion and rate of progress can be
determined very early. In fact,
the arrival of some storms can
be foretold ten days in advance.
The forecasters watch for the
region of low barometer which is
the storm center around which
the winds blow. This whirl or
eddy moves bodily forward with
the general eastward drift of a
bout $50 miles a day in our lati-
tudes. AS the lines of equal pres
sure (isobars) around the low
center crowd closer together, the
winds attending the storm in
crease in force. The forecaster
determines the direction of move
ment of the storm and it's We
locity.
When weather disturbances
are reported, the forecasters know
from experience about how long
it takes them to reach our Paci-
fic coast, and then how long af-
ter they will reach the Atlantic
coast. For example, if storm
coming from Siberia starts east
ward around the North Pole and
reappears in Alaska, it should ap-
pear in Washington and Oregon
in about two days; should get to
the Great Lakes in six days and
to the Atlantic coast in seven or
eight days.
Unexpected conditions may de-
lay storms or divert them from
the straight track just as refrig-
orator car may be thrown off its
schedule or be shipped by acci-
dent on a wrong road. Some of
these storms deplete themselves
by running into regions of high
barometer which are of greater
magnitude and extent than the
storm itself. Some of them, how
ever, travel completely around
the world.
To keep tab on cold waves that
come into the United States from
Canada and Alaska, the weather
bureau studies Canadian weather
reports. England sends reports
from Iceland, the British Islands
and Continental Europe. and daily
reports come from st. Peters,
burg on the conditions in Russia
and Siberia.
The same businesslike system
used in tracing the track of q
storm is applied in determining
the arrival Of frosts.
Flood forecasts were made in
much the same way. Information