Evening star., 1952-11-10
Weather Forecasts
Even Tell Bakers
Where 10 Send Bread
By jock Jonas

The engineers were puzzled. Sol
were the Weather Bureau experts.
They had no theories to ad-
vance and approached 1t with an
open mind. They made surveys.
They checked the lines.
And then they found the
answer:
When the Thunderstorm struck
the residents Of Chicago arose
dutifully to close their windows.
While they were up they got q
drink of water or used their bath
rooms. This drain on the water
system caused the pressure, to
drop. 2
This was q problem among
many that regularly confront
w. r. Reichelderfer, chief Of the
United States Weather Bureau,
and I. r. Tannehill, chief Of
synoptic reports and forecasts. as
they serve weather information to
industry.
Bakers Watchful.
Mr.. Tannehill recalled the case
of the bakers in New York.
They rely heavily on weather
forecasts. If it's going to be a.
dull, rainy day stack the bread
and cake high in the city stores.
III the forecast is for sunny and
bright, most Of the bakery prod
Iucts go into the suburban stores.
The reason: On nice days, sub
urban housewives go to the stores
to shop. On bad days, they pick
up the telephone and call their
husbands at work in the city to
ask them to stop at store there
to get a cake or loaf OF bread.
Weather forecasts have become
so important to industry that
many of the large companies have
their own meteorologists. TheI
major airlines have followed this
practice for years.
"There. are so many companiesl
that we can't deal personally with
all of them" Mr.. Tannehill said.
IF we have an unusual weather
situation coming up. obviously we
couldn't telephone everybody. So
we just put out general notice"
The railroads, utility companies
and trucking firms keep o sharp
eye on the weather.
So do pigeon fanciers and rab-
bit rasierS.
Those who use carrier pigeons
for messages need to know about
favorable winds and weather.
Vital for Rabbits.
The rabbit raisers, when the
weather gets hot. have to scurry
around making ready to keep thei
rabbits cool. When the forecastt
is for more than 80 degrees, they
check their sprinkling systems,
ready hand sprinklers and take
the baby rabbits out Of fur-lined
boxes.
Everybody can't have his own
meteorologist. But Mr.. Tannehill
thinks it would be wise for more
of the large industries to hire
their own men. It would save
the companies money, he said.
Private meteorologists helped
solve a perplexing problem in
Davenport, Iowa, by erecting al
building around building.
Miniature lightning flashes atI
an electric power plant on the
Mississippi River there were
wreaking havoc with substation.
This happened when there wasn't
IA thunderstorm within miles.
But weather turned out to be-
responsible. When the winds we're
from the right direction. on
drizzly or foggy days. dust par
ticles drifted over the plant,
mingled with the dampness and
created a conductor for electri-
city. Flashes of high-voltage
electricity arced through the air
and knocked out the substation,
cutting power for a wide area.
Problem Solved.
Engineers studying the prob
lem built, an insulating building
around the substation and ad-
vised locating future plants in
spots where weather conditions
are more favorable.
The Weather Bureaus list of
those who use weather informa-
ton ranges from alfalfa growers
to biologists.
\ In between come auctioneers-
whose outdoor sale dates depend
on good weather-and employ
ment Offices, which need to know
when to offer extra help for snow
removal or harvesting.
The buttermilk people have to
know if the third day ahead is
going to be hot enough to induce
customers to buy buttermilk. In
Its manufacture, the culture is
added the first day, it is bottled
/ the second and marketed the
third.
Hospitals watch out for fore
casts Of hurricane. storm or icy
weather So they can prepare to
treat accident victims. Hotels look
to the same thing for another
reason-they get ready for extra
guests who may be unable to con-
tinue a trip because Of bad
weather.
Candy Makers Must Know.
The candy makers keep their
sweets at home if the mercury is
to go about 87-the heat melts
the confections in transit.
The experience of coal dealers
is that, on cold days. the orders
for coal pour in. So when cold
days are forecast, the companies
order freight cars laden with coal.
then lead their trucks directly
49, aore k~o