The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-03-12
Newly Discovered Central Law
Of Weather Will Save Millions
Meteorologst Predicts Time Soon Will Come When Fore
casts Can Be Made Nearly Year in Advance
Pulsatons Are Key to Storm Waves.

These masses crowd each other because
OF the converging OF the meridians of
longitude. have their northward move
ment checked, and settle down to the
earth in the form OF cool or cold waves
In the middle ATTITUDES or near the Arctic
circle.
Follow Well Defined Routes,
They move along certain fairly well
defined routes in accordance with the
general hemispherical circulation of the
atmosphere, settling over continents in
winter and over oceans in summer, be-
cause the plane on which they slide is
sleeper over land in winter and over
oceans In summer. AS they come down
they rotate in an anti-cyclonic manner,
cause ascending cyclonic storms to form
on both their eastern and western sides,
and thus indirectly produce rain and
snow fall by the warm moist air that
they force upward.
They, themselves. are dry, because
they have been chilled and had their
moisture squeezed out by the cold of
elevation before they started on their
northward circuit from the equator.
We know to the fraction Of a day the
time required for these air masses from
the equator to complete their overhead
journey and come to the earth on our
western border.
Having located a heat rift on the sun,
or several of them, We may look with
certainty for its return at the end OF
twenty-five days and for the cool weather
conditions that in each case will follow
in due time. With experience and i'm
proved methods of observations the fore
casts made by this system will certainly
yield far higher accuracy than any
previously known and for a much longer
period, and must therefore result in great
benefit to mankind and a wonderful con-
servation of human energy. Much pre-
liminary work had been done by myself
and others, but Carothers, with his in
genuity, furnished the key to unlock the
door.
Are Many Charlatnns.
There have been so many charlatans
making long-range weather forecasts,
and persons making similar predictions
whose work showed that they were igno-
rant OF the most elementary knowledge
OF science, that I have not given my
Endorsement to this project until I be-
came convinced that it would stand the
test of scientific inquiry.
The meteorologists Of the world are
practically agreed that systems of long
range weather forecasting that depend
upon planetary meteorology have no
proper basis neither have those that are
predicated upon the phases, cycles or
movements of the moon; upon stellar in
fluences or star divinations; upon the
actions Of animals or plants: nor upon
days, months, seasons and years. The
moon and perhaps the planets exert some
influence upon atmospheric tides, but
these effects are too slight to have any
appreciable influence in storm formation.
Now that we are for the first time able
to refer our weather directly back to the
sun and begin to trace some definite laws
where for so long only chaos seemed to
reign, 1t is reasonable to expect that
with the continuation of the extremely
valuable work of Abbot and the inter
pretations Of Carothers and other meteor
ologists. we shall soon be able to fore
see the general character of the seasons
year in advance. In this connection
may quote from my annual report of
1903. with some feelings of satisfaction,
showing that 1 had anticipated the re-
suit now accomplished. 1t is as follows:
Discovery Predicted.
THE science Of meteorology is not to
be confined to the atmosphere OF the
earth, because the changes in the action
of the atmosphere of the sun precede
the variations of the earth's air, which
hudhy typo OF
season. Thus, wet and dry seasons,
warm and cold summers and winters, and
all the other climatic differences, first
depend upon the persistence of certain
high and low areas of pressure in one
locality or another. and these may be
due to the solar radiation, which itself
changes with the output Of energy from
the interior OF the SUM-
Thus, meteorology is really a closely
allied but difficult branch of solar
physics, and 1t ought to be studied with
the aid Of a fully equipped observatory
devoted especially to such research. The
study Of the records of all the various
forms Of solar activity indicate that the
sun in fact is a great variable star, and
| that terrestrial weather may change in
synchronism with II.
Tn short, the entire field of cosmicaI
processes forms a complex problem which
especially concerns the meteorologist,
and by him should be studied out for the
benefit of mankind, whose life and hap
piness depend so largely upon the
weather. I am so far convinced of the
Importance OF finding out the laws of this
cosmical physics, by which alone the
problem can be solved, that It has been
I thought proper to found e research OBJ
servatory at Mount Weather, Va, and
equip It suitably for these investiga-
tons"
1t Is a significant commentary at this
time to say that Mount Weather now is
abandoned.
han hauo hoo, 1,xah,.oa -. A.. .-