The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-12-18
TO WEATHER man
Many Special Calls Received by
Local Bureau.
Large Number Call by Phone
From All Over County.
NO LOCAL FORECAST MADE
All Weather Predictions Come
From Chicago.
distribution Is Complicated and
Complex Matter.

From the mother who wants 10
know whether it Will be nice enough
to take baby oHt for a ride in the car
a week from next Wednesday, when
Daddy is going to neighboring town
on business, to the stockman in the
western half of the state who has
thousand head of cattle on the range,
apt to drift for a hundred miles or
more before a blizzard. they all take
their troubles to the weather man.
Many Special Calls.
1--WE get so many calls for special
information that we never keep any
record Of them" S. ID. Flora and b. r,
I.askOwski. federal meteorologist for
Kansas, agreed They couldn't re-
member all the freak requests for
weather information which they had
received and which have become
regular thing with them.
The greater number of the applica-
tions for special information come over
the phone. and from Shawnee county
and Topeka. Of course, but a recent
long distance call from Liberal. which
is in the western part of the state.
The local or state weather man
gets credit for the forecasts. whereas
he doesn't make them at all" Flora
said. He explained that all the fore
casts are made by a specialist IN Chi
cago. a man who has spent years do
ing nothing but forecasting weather
and about that job alone, than any
OF the other. members of the weather
bureau staff.
Forecasts From Chicago.
1.-THE forecaster in Chicago takes
the reports which are sent in to him.
and knows more about the weather
ahead for Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska,
the Dakotas, Wisconsin. Minnesota,
Iowa and Illinois, than the men in
those states can possibly know" says
Flora. we get the credit or the
blame for the forecast, but the man in
Chicago does the prophesyiDg."
The routine distribution of weather
forecasts IS a highly complicated and
complex matter. even for the state
of Kansas. The reports are gathered
and tabulLted for the state and sent
TO Chicago, and the Chicago forecast
comes back to the Topeka office.
From Topeka it is distributed to
every town of importance in the state
in one of three ways-by telegraph,
telephone. or by mail To more than
rs towns the forecast is wired,
and is mailed from there to smaller
towns which can be reached within
twelve hours by the mail service.
Reach 900 Post Offices.
More than 900 post offices in the
state are reached in this manner, and
the forecast posted in each one OF
them, as we'll as in business houses
which apply for the service.
The forecast is furnished to 1874
telephone exchanges in the state, and
thru them is made available to 1885,
799 telephone subscribers.
There are fifteen points in the state,
most of them livestock centers, which
are furnished special warnings of cold
waves. billiards. and snow storms
There are some fifty addresses IN the
office of the weather bureau in Topeka
to which special warnings are to be
sent in case of a sudden drop in tenn
perature and the list includes the ad-
dresses of coal dealers. fruit and pro-
duce shippers, florists, and others VINO
stand to lose money if there is sud
den and Unforeseen cold snap. Con
tractors who are doing cement ano
concrete work are among the patrons
OF, the service.
Last winter there was being erected
in Emporia a new building for the
NcCord- Kistler Mercantile company
and concrete was being poured. The
contractor asked the weather bureau
n-Topeka to tip him off if there wa:
a Severe freeze coming. The reques
came in on the morning Of wha'
looked like a fine day, but the same
day he received his warning, stopped
work. covered his concrete that wa.
already poured. and was saved severa
thousand dollars when the cold snal
came a few hours later.
He came to the office and
thought he was going to kiss me OF
both checks a Ia French general sait
Flora.
The weather bureau has saved {
good many thousands of dollars for al
falfa growers in the state, who hay
been advised by the bureau whethe
or not to cut their alfalfa with plent.
= time to let 1t cure. or whether the,
: ere apt to be caught in the rain will
numerous tons of the hay down, an,
ready to be ruined.
Contractors and builders who ar
putting in bridges and false work owe
creeks and rivers, consider it a form
pf-insurance to put in an application
for early warning of floods and higl
water.
From the high function of -savin