The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1914-01-31
How Weather Bureau
Forecasts The Storms

Washington. d. c., January 21-Many people have an idea
that there is something mysterious and occult about the work OF
the Weather Bureau in forcasting the coming of storms, frosts and
foods. Not a 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 business like way, very similar to that in which a
man who has ordered a shipment OF goods would estimate the
date of its arrival
Suppose a business man had ordered a 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 av-
erage 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 sub
ject to error because the steamship might be delayed by fog, or the
cars might meet with an accident
Storms, like pineapples, As a rule do not originate in the United
States. They come to u.s., some from the Philippines, Japan, Siberia,
Alaska Canada or the Gulf of Mexico. The Weather Bureau gets
cable, telegraphic or wireless notice of a foreign storm. Station
after station, or vessel after vessel reports the storms in its neigh
borhood, SO that the general direction and rate of progress can be
determined very early. In fact the arrival of some storms can be
foretod 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 about
$50 miles a day in our ATTITUDES. As 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 it's velocity.
When weather disturbances re reported, 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, ifa storm coming from Siberia drifts eastward around
the North Pole and reappears in Alaska, it should appear in Wash
lDgOn ana oregon In W udyS, geG 10 he Oredt 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 a a refrigerator cr may be thrown off its
schedule or be shipped by accident en- a wrong road. Some of these
storms deplete themselves by running into regions of high barome-
ter which are of greater magnitude and extent than the storm itself
Some of them, however, 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 Continental Europe, and daily reports come from St
Petersburg on the conditions in Russia and Siberia.
The same businesslike system used in tracing the tracks of a
storm is applied in determining the arrival of frosts.
. Flood forecasts are made in much the same way. Information
as to the amount of rainfall at the head waters of streams that
cause floods r covered by telegraphic reports sent by local OBJ
servers. As this rain reaches the main channel, the height of the
water in the channel is determined by successive gaging stations.
Past records establish how much a height, say of 20 feet at Du-
buque, Iowa, will produce at Davenport, another station 80 miles
down the Mississippi This plan is followed all the way down the
river, and at each point full allowance is made for the effects of
water from tributaries, and from additional and local rainfall. As
a result of these observations in the recent flood, the people of
Carlo had warning a week or ten days in advance. The Pittsburg
district can be given only IL to "a hours notice, because a food is
upon them within "a hours after a heavy rain storm.