Evening star., 1942-07-18
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science e Progress
In Laboratory. Field
And Study
Bp Thomas r. Henry.

Temperature and rainfall for entire
seasons over large areas Of the United
States may be predicted-wesy roughly
from harometric pressures months be-
fore and thousands Of miles away.
This has been determined by the
United States Weather Bureau after one
of the most laborious jobs OF mathe-
matical analysis yet attempted, and
made possible only by using WPA work
ers.
Directed by Richard H. Weightman Of
the Weather Bureau staff, a stupendous
number of weather observations made
over the world in the past so years have
been reduced to order, the relationships
between them established, and the most
solid foundation yet available laid down
for long-range forecasting in the future.
The studies, Mr.. Weightman explains.
are preliminary. They take out OF
seasonal weather predictions q good deal
Of the guesswork which has character
lied them in the past, but must be
carried much further before such predic-
tions can be made with assurance.
They are based on the recognized fact
that the whole atmosphere surrounding
the earth acts as a titanic weather
machine, and that weather the world
over is interrelated, but so intricately
that years must be spent in finding even
the more direct relations. With the
present suspension of weather reports
by most governments, further work
probably must await the end of the war.
The following are Mr.. Weightman's
most significant findings:
When barometric pressures over the
East Indies are high during the fall,
chances are better than even that most
of the Northern United States will have
a relatively warm winter.
High pressures over the entire region
of the Pacific extending from Kamchatka
southwark to Australia In June, July
and August tend to cause warmer win
ters in large area of the United States
1Ou6Aiy CdSG VI tllC IkONhlCo alIO llOl III VI
Virginia
High pressures in the three spring
months over the Indian Ocean from
Eastern Africa eastward and northeast
ward over India and Australia tend to
bring higher temperatures the next win
ter for all the United States except the
Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast areas
On the other hand, high pressures in
spring over Northeastern Canada and
Western Greenland tend to bring lowe,
winter temperatures for the United
States west of the Mississippi.
When summer pressure is high over
Alaska and Kamchatka, late, cole
spring is likely over most OF the Eastern
United States. But there is positive
correlation between spring temperatures
over this area and the preceding summer
pressures over Korea and Japan
High winter pressures over Canada, II
was found, seem in some way related
to cold springs east OF. the Mississippi
and west OF the Rockies
Winter pressures over Northern Alaska
apparently tend to cause low tempera.
lures the following fall in most Of the
Eastern United States.
High spring pressures over Alasks
seem related to higher than norma
rainfall the succeeding winter alonf
the Atlantic and Gull Coasts and thu
Mexican border.
The severity Of the Indian monsoon
each fall tends to be correlated with
lower than normal temperatures the fol-
lowing winter and spring over the North.
ern United States, and in some region,
this relationship seems to hold through
the second succeeding winter.