Evening star., 1940-08-16
Weatherbureau
Will Start New
Service Tonight
Five-Doy Forecasts
To Include Northern
Half of Globe

Half OF Globe
From lone observers in the wastes
Of Siberia to the highly scientific
laboratories Of the Massachusetts,
Institute Of Technology in Boston
the United States Weather Bureau
Is gathering data for It's new five.
day weather forecasting service,
which will be inaugurated tonight.
Not only will this long-range FORE
cast be made for the actual weather
in the United States, but at the
same time it will include the entire
northern half of the globe, every
bit of land and water north Of the
equator.
Hence, the Weather Bureau In
Washington will become what is be-
lieved to be the first clearing house
OF weather information for the ma
jority Of the habitable portion OF the
globe. 1t will 60 far ahead of the
recently publicized German efforts,
which we're confined to gathering
information in Northern Norway
solely as to weather in the British
Isles.
Complex and Technical.
Officials at the bureau are hesitant
In predicting the degree of success
which may be attained in this ex.
pertinent, but they take pride in
pointing out that the forecasts will
be made 100 per cent on the basis
Of scientific findings.
"The system of reports and
analyses on which these forecasts
are to be based is complex and highly
technical, but 1t is by no means in.
comprehensive" w. F.. Mcdonald,
special assistant to Comdr. F. w.
Reichelderfer, chief of the Weather
Bureau, said There is no crystal
gazing. but a scientific approach
through study of atmospheric con-
ditions on the widest available
scale"
Those persons and groups who will
most benefit by these forecasts are
legion. but 1t is evident that Amer
ica's armed services, merchant ma
rine, farmers and certain industries
will find it of greatest advantage.
Every Wednesday and Saturday
mornings they will receive the fore
casts, prepared the night before, by
radio or press.
LiSteninS poStS
These are some of the listening
posts which gather weather data:
Vilursk and Petropavlosk, Siberia;
Guam Island, Manila, Pekin, China,
and Nagasaki, Japan. From these
and other sources in Asia the in
formation is transmitted to the
naval wireless station at Cavite,
Philippines.
Together with information from
other posts, including those in Cam
ada and Mexico and from ships at
sea the data from Cavite are radioed
to Washington and to Boston, the
two assembly points for the FORE
casts. At these places there is further
added the information which has
been gathered by variety of
meteorological devices, including the
radio balloon.
AS Mr.. Mcdonald said, the meth
ods employed are Complex" but the
basic principle is roughly this-the
atmospheric pressures at the many
observation points are noted and
the mean pressures for intermediate
spots are arrived at by a simple
matter of arithmetic BY studying
pressures, the general weather
trends are for the most part ar
rived at.
Key Forecast Cities.
After the experts here and In
Boston's Weather Bureau and in
M. l. T. have correlated the data
the forecasts are then sent to the
following key cities for distribution:
Chicago, Kansas City, New Orleans,
Denver, Salt Lake City, San Fran
cisco and Albuquerque.
Here is sample forecast:
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. mark
edly below normal beginning of
period. recovering to near normal by
end of period. possibly to above nor
NAL Kentucky and Tennessee
Rainfall slight in northern sections.
but rain indicated at start of pc
riod Tennessee. Southern Kentucky
and Southern Virginia. Subnormal
totals indicated throughout Dis
trict."
Other specific districts are COW
cred and there Is also a general
and more technical forecast for
large regions in the United States.