The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1914-02-13
How the Weather Bureau Forecasts
Storms, FrOsts and Floods.


Washington, u. o., Jan 22.-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 foods. Not few
think that the observers must neces-
sarily 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 dis
turbances in businesslike way, very
similar to that i'm which man who
has ordered a shipment OF goods
would estimate the date OF Its ar
rival.
Suppose business man had order
ed carload of pineapples from the
Hawaiian Islands. He would know
the average time it would take the
steamer to make the trip to the
Pacific port, the average time for I'M
loading and loading into refrigera-
tor cars, and the average number Of
days to be allowed these cars for
their trip across the continent to
New York. His estimate, however,
would be subject to error because the
steamship might be delayed by fog,
or the cars might meet with an ac-
cident
Storms, like pineapples, as a rule
do not originate in the United States.
They come to us, some from the
Philippines, Japan, Siberia, Alaska,
Canada or the Gulf Of Mexico. The
Weather Bureau gets cable, telegraph
ic or wireless notice OF "a foreign
storm Situation after situation, Or
vessel after vessel reports the storms
arrival in its neighborhood, so that
the general direction 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 Of eddy moves
bodily forward with the general east
ward drift Of about $50 miles day
in our ATTITUDES. A. the lines Of
\ equal pressure (isobars) around the
| low center crowd closer together, the
winds attending the storm increase
| in force. The forecaster determines
| the direction of movement of the
storm and its velocity.
When weather disturbances are re-
ported, the forecasters know from
experience about how long it takes
them to reach our Pacific Coast, and
then how long after they will reach
the Atlantic Coast For example, If
storm coming from Siberia drifts
eastward around the North Pole and
re-appears in Alaska, it should APP
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 delay
storms or divert them from the
straight tract just as a refrigerator
car may be thrown off it, schedule
or be shipped by accident 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, now
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 the Canadian Weather
reports England sends reports from
Iceland, the British Islands and Con
tinental Europe, and daily reports
come from st. Petersburg on the ;on-
ditions in Russia and Siberia.
The same businesslike system used
in tracing the track of a storm is ap-
piled in determining the arrival of
frosts. Flood forecasts are made in
much the same way.