The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-09-10
WAR DOES NOT AFFECT WEATHER.
Battles in Europe Do Not Modify Rain.
fall Either Locally or Elsewhere.

fall Either Locally or Elsewhere.
There Is nothing in it." says the
United States weather bureau to repeat
ed inquiries as to whether the war af-
fects rainfall or any other weather con
ditions. There is popular fallacy that
conclusion, explosions, and the liberia
tion of gases in the European conflict,
Is having an effect on the weather. not
only over the battlefields, but elsewhere
on the globe; but it is only fallacy,
say the weather specialists Of the Unit
ed States department of agriculture,
even though it has existed almost since
the beginning of historic times. Before
gun powder was used, the ancients had
an idea that battles produced rainfall,
which was caused by the clash of swords
and the sweat of the fighters.
Later, the same theory was trans
ferred to the noise produced by musket-
ny and artillery; later still, to dust par
ticles and smoke from burning powder,
upon which the moisture in the air was
supposed to be condensed and to fall as
rain, and now TO the gases freed by ex-
plosions, and liberated in the new chem
ical warfare.
These theories are not combated mere
ly by other theories, but by actual OBJ
servations made officially by several of
the belligerent governments, and the net
result of these careful observations is
to refute the idea Of any effect of war
on weather.
While the notion of this effect has
been repeatedly exposed in scientific
journals, the general press has from
time to time printed articles in which
the idea of connection between battle
and rainfall has been brought forward
For this reason the weather officials
feel that the following facts may be
timely and interesting;
Real Cause of Rainfall.
The real cause of rainfall is the cool
ing Of the air by the vertical rising of
heated air currents, and the incoming
of cooler currents to take their places
All weather conditions depend ultimately
for their origin on the heating and cool
ing of the atmosphere. All the pow.
der that could be reasonably expended
in any battle, even by millions of men
engaged, would not be enough TO pro-
duce any appreciable change in tempers-
ture throughout any considerable sec
ton of the atmosphere over the battle
area.
Some have thought that the Earring
effect of conclusion jogles together the
moisture particles in the air, just as
sira m ION mn a ,vipInu-,nara ,pfft ntau+
descent of larger drops from many small
ones made by mist of drizzle. A sharp
downpour Of rain following Immediately
after a heavy crash of thunder is sup
posed to be an example of the same
cause and effect. This theory was part
" back of the rain making attempts
formerly tried in Kansas, Texas, and
elsewhere to break droughts by a BON
bardment of the skies.
The weather specialists point out that
in all such cases, even when rain has
followed such bombardments, the mois-
ture was there and was due to fall any.
how without mans intervention and that
In the few cases where rain has fallen
it has been mere coincidence, the rain
being due TO natural causes, and the
drought was broken because it was time
that it would have been broken i'm the
natural course of events. In short. mois-
ture would fall when it was present. if
it were not present all the conclusions
that could be devised by man could not
make rain.
Result Of Actual Observations.
Actual observations by French. Brit.
ish and American observers have failed
to establish any relationship between
storming the enemy and storm from the
skies. Careful studies show that rainfall
and battles do not coincide enough to
give the basis for theory of cause and
effect The great battles in France in
the spring Of 1917 failed to interrupt
the long spell Of fair weather that ac-
companied them Furthermore, an OK.
animation recently made OF the records
Of local distribution of rainfall over Eng
land during the first twenty two months
of the war made by the British meteor
illogical Office resulted in strengthening
the evidence against the theory.
Old Theories Die Hard.
The director of the French meteorolog-
ical bureau, NJ. Ango, practically says
that the wish is father to the thought,
and that an idea that is deprecated and
Of long duration dies hard. The sur
vival Of the fallacy is due to the sugges-
ton constantly given by an instructive
belief. Possessed of such belief, one
is inclined to note only the favorable
condolences, he says, ignoring the many
circumstances that do not bear out the
theory, and thus to become more and
more confirmed in the opinion.
It has been maintained that recent
severe droughts in the western part of
this country have been due to exces
sive rainfalls over European battlefields.
The idea was advanced that so much rain
has fallen in France that there was not
enough to go round, so the folks in other
quarters of the globe had to do without.
The weather bureau says that all such
theories are in the same patepnrv and