Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-05
WEATHER EXPERTS
CLEAR EAST WIND
Forecasters Find Infamous
Breeze Not Such Bad
Fellow After All.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

The east wind. hailed into court on
q charge of general perversity, was on
trial before the American Meteorological
Society yesterday afternoon, but went
free for lack of evidence.
The weather experts couldn't prove
any specific crime and could testify only
to his mean reputation among all sorts
Of people in all sorts Of places. The
general conclusion was that he has
been the scapegoat Of amateur
meteorology.
It used to be SO bad IN Boston,
according to @. A. Loveland, Massa-
chusetts forecaster, that statesmen
wouldn't interview prospects when the
east wind was blowing.
Caused Bad Humor.
They claimed that there was some
thing in the atmosphere that put folk
in a bad humor Farmers in Missis-
sippi, another forecaster reported claim
that east winds at certain times ruin
their cotton crop. and Appalachian
orchardiSts insist that II such a wind
comes when their trees are in bud
they will have no crop.
Apparently this distrust for the east
wind is an old one. for Prof. William j.
Humphreys of the Weather Bureau
quoted an ancient proverb: Wait until
the wind is IN the west before doing
business with a man.
Boston Adds Details.
Mr.. Loveland presented a detailed
statistical study Of the east wind at
Boston, where 1t Is generally blamed for
the raw Winter climate. Whenever
there is a disagreeable day. he reported,
the BoStonian curses the east wind
without bothering to look at the weather
vane. He just unconsciously assumes
that II he feels uncomfortable the wind
must be responsible.
Loyeland examined the records for
many years and found in Winter, when
the complaints are most frequent, the
wind over Boston very seldom comes
from the east. The prevailing wind Is
east, ne found, only in the pleasant
months Of May and June and, to a less
extent, during the Summer. when 1t
brings cold air from over the sea TO
break the heat waves that grip the city.
1t almost never comes at night, but
blows up in the middle Of the day.
Holds Back Spring.
Prevalence OF the east wind in May,
he reported, tends TO keep the weather
of Spring. Otherwise he could flnd no
basis for the Boston complaint. Equally
contradictory was the evidence against
the east wind for crimes alleged in
other parts OF the country.
Statistical evidence OF long wet and
dry swings was presented by DR.. Q. l..
FasSig OF the Weather Bureau, based
in part on such evidence as has been
available OF rainfall in the District OF
Columbia for the past 40 years. These
indicate, he said, that the unprecedent-
ed 1880 drought. which caught farmers
by surprise, really had been gathering
momentum for the past 20 years. All
the time there has been dimun1tion
Of rainfall, so slow and irregular tnat II
has escaped notice.
Rainfall curves indicate, he pointed
out, that there will be two or three
decades Of very wet weather followed
by two or three decades when precipita-
ton remains at low level.
Island Studies Told.
The same picture was obtained from
the plentiful records Of the Island OF
large number OF rain gauges are con-
| centrated in q limited area.
DR.. j. F. Patterson, director OF the
| Canadian Weather Service, described
his recent invention of a visibility metel
10 measure the distance one can see al
night. BY this device the Canadian
meteorologists can tell an aviator from
| how great q distance he can expect L
see the lights Of an airport. A stand
ard airport light is observed through Z
wedge of glass, one end Of which Il
| almost perfectly transparent. The glass
| becomes denser and denser until thu
| point il reached where no light comes
through. The point where the ligh
becomes invisible through the instru
ment can be related mathA matically v