Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-09-05
WAR DOES NOT
AFFECT THE WEATHER
CONDITIONS HERE
Battles In Europe Do Not Mod
fly Rainfall Either Locally
Or Elsewhere
THE RESULT OF
ACTUAL OBSERVATION
Old Theories Die Hard. Weather
Specialists Point Out Cases.
Real Cause Of Rainfall

There is nothing in it." says the
United States Weather Bureau TO re-
peated inquiries as TO whether the
war affects rainfall or any other
weather conditions. There is a pop
ular fallacy that conclusions. explo-
sions, and the liberation of gases in
the European conflicts is having an
effect on the weather. not only over
the battlefields, but elsewhere on the
globe; but it is only a fallacy, say the
weather specialists of the United
States Department of Agriculture.
even though it has existed almost
since the beginning of historic times.
Before gunpowder was used, the an
clients had an idea that battles pro-
duced 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 mus
kerry and artillery; later still. to dust
particles 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 explosions, and liber-
ated in the new chemical warfare.
These theories are not combated
merely by other theories, but by act
ual observations made officially by sew
eral of the belligerent governments,
and the net result of these careful OBJ
servations 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 bat
tie and rainfall has been brought for
ward. For this reason the weather
officials feel that the following facts
may be timely and interesting.
The real cause of rainfall is the
cooling of the air by the vertical ris-
ing of heated air currents, and the in
coming of cooler currents to take their
places. All weather conditions de-
pend ultimately for their origin on
the heating and cooling of the atmos-
phere. All the powder that could be
reasonably expended in any battle,
even by millions of men engaged,
would not be enough to produce any
appreciate change in temperature
throughout any considerable section of
the atmosphere over the battle area.
Some have thought that the EARRING
effect of conclusions joggles together
the moisture particles in the air, just
as a sharp tap on a windowpane will
start descent of larger drops from
many small ones made by a mist or
drizzle. A sharp downpour of rain
following Immediately after a heavy
crash of thunder is supposed to be an
example of the same cause and eff
feet This theory was partly back of
the raing-making" attempts former
ly tried in Kansas, Texas and else
where to break droughts by "bom-
bardment of the skies"
The weather specialists point out
that in all such cases, even when rain
has followed such bombardments, the
moisture was there and was due to
fall anyhow without mans interven-
ton and that in the few cases where
rain has fallen it has been a mere
coincidence, the rain being due to
natural causes, and the drought was
broken because it was time that it
would have been broken in the natural