The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-04-10
NEW WEATHER FORECAST sYs.
TEN IS "BUNK"

washington, April 3.-The chief OF
1.-THE United States Weather Bureau
stated today that in the opinion of the
bureau a new system OF long-range
weather forecasting, which has been
widely discussed recently, was quite
fallacious. The new system is said
ito be based on the spottedness of the
sun and riffs and shafts of solar ra-
diation. In the opinion of the Weather
Bureau is belongs in the same class
with other methods of long-range wea-
Their forecasting based on lunar, plan
etary, magnetic and astrological con-
siderations. None of these systems, it
was said, has any scientific value.
During the past few years the
Weather Bureau has received full spe.
cifications concerning all the essen
tial details of this particular system.
The alleged discovery is, therefore
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and has been carefully studied and ex-
amined by its scientific staff More
over, other scientists of international
reputation now connected with the
strongest institutions of the world
engaged in astronomical research, and
conducting Investigations into solar
and terrestrial physics, have also
passed upon these new theories. The
authorities are in accord that the de-
auctions and conclusions drawn from
the solar conditions on which the
new system is based are unYar-
ranted.
When the disk of the sun is minute
ly examined with powerful telescopes.
or when it is photographed with the
aid of the modern spectroheliograph
the surface presents a characteristic
spotted appearance which undergoes
slight changes from day to day, and
greater changes with longer intervals
of time, depending upon the we'll
known rotation of the sun upon its
axis and the periodic recurrence OF
the sunspot maxima and minima.
These and certain well known related
phenoma are now put forward as the
basis of new science which will make
possible forecasts of the weather far
in advance. That these features of
solar activity, however, actually
should control and determine the daily
conditions in any definite or direct
and consequential manner, is regard
ed by the government scientists as
quite possible Solar phenomena of
the kind described do not have any
direct influence upon the weather AT
any particular time and place, and
can not be made the basis of any fore
casts whatsoever.
The alleged discovery is regarded
as only one of a number of similar
schemes which are continually being
put forward. In some cases the adj
vocates of these schemes assert that
they can forecast the weather for
weeks and months in advance, and in
others they state that they have found
means of producing rain artifcially,
of preventing hail and in other ways
of interfering with an controlling at
mospheric phenomena. These pre-
tensions meet with a certain credence
because there are a number 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 planetary and astrolo-
gical combinations. In consequence
the Weather Bureau has been called
upon from time to time to caution the
general public against putting faith in
these so-called discoveries
The United States Weather Bureau
itself is the authorized agency of the
government to collect meteorological
observations and make and issue wea-
Their forecasts and warnings. Every
important nation of the world has a
similar organization and all use es-
sentially the same methods. All of
these organizations condemn and dis
prove the methods and theories OF
those who assert that they are able to
predict the weather for any consider
able period in advance.