Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-01-23
Storms Do Not Originate in United
States and 1t Is Merely Necessary
to Time Them.
CABLE, TELEGRAPHIC OR
WIRELESS NOTICE NEEDED
Tab Kept on Cold Waves From Canada
and Alaska by Means of Canadian
Weather Reports.
LuNIrrp pRrss LEASED WEE. ]

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 read
ing the planets, the stars and the moon.
As matter of fact the forecaster of
the Bureau foretells the coming Of dis
turbances in businesslike way, very
similar to that in which a man who has
ordered shipment Of goods would es'
innate the date of its arrival.
Suppose business man had ordered
a carload of pineapples from the Ha-
waiian Islands. He would know the av-
erage time it would take the steamer to
make the trip to the Pacific port, the
average time for unloading and loading
into refrigerator 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 acci-
dent.
Come from Other Countries.
Storms, like pineapples, as a rule do
not originate in the United States.
They come to us, some from the Philip.
pines, Japan, Siberia, Alaska, Canada
or the Gulf of Mexico The Weather
Bureau gets cable telegraphic or wire
less motto Of O foreign storm. Station
after station, or vessel after vessel re-
ports the storm 5 arrival in its neigh
borhood, so that the general direction
and rate of progress can be determined
very nearly In fact, the arrival Of
some storms can be foretold ten days
in advance.
The foreeasters watch for the region
of low barometer which is the storm
center around which the winds blow,
This whirl or eddy moves bodily for
ward with the general eastward drift
Of about $50 miles day in our lati-
tudes. As the lines of equal pressure
(isobars) around the low center crowd
closer together, the winds attending
the storm increase in force The fore
caster determines the direction Of move
ment Of the storm and its velocity.
Know How Long 1t Takes.
When weather disturbances are re.
ported, tho forecasters know from ex-
perience about how long it takes them
to reach our Pacific Coast, and then
how long after they win reach the At
lantic Coast For example, IL storm
coming from Siberia drifts eastward
around the North Pole and reappears
in Alaska, it should appear in Wash
ington 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
track Just as o refrigerator car may be
thrown off its schedule or bo shipped
by accident on wrong road Some of
these storms depletc themselves by run
ming into regions of high barometer
which are Of greater magnitude and
extont that the storm itself, Some OF
them, however, travel completely around
the world.
TO keep tab on cold waves that CONT
into the United States from Canad'
and Alaska, the Weather Bureau studies
the Canadian Weather reports Eng
land sends reports from Iceland, th'
British Islands and Continental Europe
and daily reports come from 81, Piers
burg on the conditions in Russia ant
Siberia.
Same System Regarding Frosts.
The same businessliko system uso'
IN tracing the track Of a storm Is ap
Piled in determining tho arrival o
frostp.
Flood forecasts are made in much tn
same way Information Ms TO th
amount Of rainfall at the head water
OF streams that cauee floods are coy
cred py telcgraphin reports sent by lc
cal observers As this rain reaches th
main channel, the height Of the waite
IN tho channel is determined by sue
cOasivc gaging stations, Past record
establish how much a height say 2
feet al Dabuque, Iowa, will produce a
Davenport, another station so mile
down tho Mississippi, This plan is fo
lowed all the way down the river an
AZ each point full allowance 10 mad
FOR che effects Of water from tribv
taries, and from additional and loc'
ralnfall, AS result Of these obse
vations IN tho recent flood, the roopl
Of Cairo had warning a week or to
days In advance Tho Pittsbargh dil
trict can be given only IL TO "a hours
notice, because a flood Is upon thel
within % hours after a heavy raj
storm.
Some women have lcmbonpoint o
AZ Al