Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-04-14
WARNING AGAINST WEATHER
FORECASTING PALACES

Throughout its history the Wealth
er Bureau has been called upon from
time to time to caution the general
public against the too credulous be-
lief in alleged new systems for fore
casting the weather for weeks or
months in advance, or in schemes for
the artificial production of rain, the
prevention of hail, and other pro
posals to control or modify atmos-
pheric phenomena or to forecast them
long time in advance. Pretensions
of this character meet with a certain
credence because there are a num-
ber of people who still cling to the
ancient belief in the influence of the
moon on the growth and development
of crops, and to the idea. that the
weather conditions depend upon plane
tary and astrological combinations.
AS rule the general public is only
partly familiar with modern scientific
facts and seems overready to accept
| confidently at face value almost any
announcement of alleged new dis
| coveries. especially when their ex-
ploitation is clothed in skillful allusion
to items of the latest scientific in
formation and is accompanied by
clever representations of the bene-
| fits that are to result.
The latest misrepresentation of
| this character now being presented
to the people of the country in the
columns of the daily, press is an al
legged new system of long-range
weather forecasting said to be based
on the riffs and spottedness of the
sun and it's shafts of solar radiation.
When the disk of the sun is minute
ly examined with powerful telescopes,
or when photographed with the aid
of the modern spectroheliograph the
surface presents characteristic
spotted appearance which under
goes slight changes from day to day,
and greater changes with longer in
tervals Of time, depending upon the
well-known rotation of the sun upon
its axis and the periodic recurrence
OF the SunSpot maXima and minima
These and certain well-known related
phenomena are represented to be the
basis of the, so-called discovery.
During the past several years the
Weather Bureau has received, in form
of letters, circulars, diagrams, anc
blue prints, full specifications concern
ing all essential details of this alleg
ed new system Of forecasting. TIL,
so-called discovery is fully known tt
the Weather Bureau and has receiv
ed fair and impartial study and ex
animation by its scientific staff. More
over, other scientists of internationa
reputation now connected with thu
strongest institutions in the worlC
engaged in astronomical research anC
conducting Investigations in sola.
and terrestrial physics have ais,
passed upon these new theories
These authorities are in accord tha
the deductions and conclusions draw
from the solar conditions on whicl
the new system is based are unwar
ranted. Solar phenomena of tn,
kind described do not have any direc
influence upon the weather at an,
particular time and place, and there
fore can not be made the basis o
weather forecasting.
Specious references to the moon, t.
the planets, and to the spottedness o
the sun and it's shafts of radiation al
legged to dominate terrestrial weathe
are but picturesque framework upo
which to display weather forecast
for sale.
The United States Weather Burea