Evening star., 1960-03-04
This Time We Had Wurnino

In view of the fine job which the
Weather Bureau did in warning us of
yesterdays Snow-and-sleet storm, we
hate to remind our readers that it has
not always been so. But this storm was
so much like the sneak blizzard which
spoiled the Taft Inauguration ceremo-
nieS just 81 years ago today that we
could not resist digging back into The
Stars files to the famous Inauguration
forecast that went haywire.
AS a matter of fact, no weather
forecast could have been more wrong
than the special one which Professor
Edward B. Garriott, Weather Bureau
forecaster, issued for publication in The
Star on March 3, 1909. Neatly boxed at
the top Of the first page, it was cap
toned "Fine Weather Tomorrow" and
read: There is every indication that
tomorrow will be fair and little cooler
than today. The temperature will be
about 40 degrees. This will give Splen-
did marching weather. After showers
this afternoon, the storm clouds will
clear away by midnight. &. Especial
forecast made for The Star by Professor
Garriott, official forecaster for the U. S.
Weather Bureau.)"
What followed should not happen
to a forecaSter-and especially one who
was trying to be obliging to President
elect Taft, the military and civilian
units due to parade down Pennsylvania
avenue and the thousands of persons
who wanted to see the ceremonies. AS
The Star commented sadly in its in
augural edition, the splendid marching
weather prediction became "an empty
dream" Instead Of clearing away, the
storm clouds began to lash the city and
surrounding countryside about o'clock
on March with what one outraged
Congressman termed "the worst weather
on the face of the earth" AS the storm
picked up ferocity, blizzardy barrage
Of snow, sleet and high winds besieged
Washington, clogging "the Avenue" with
slushy snow, telling trees, leveling miles
Of telegraph poles across the main line
to Baltimore Of the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad and generally making things
miserable for everybody. Pennsylvania
avenue finally was cleared enough for
greatly reduced parade. Many of
the marching units were Snowbound on
stalled trains.
Nobody was more surprised at the
turn Of events than Professor Garriott
and his boss, Weather Bureau Chief
Willis Moore. They blamed it all on
tickle March weather" Professor Gar
riott said there had been some kind of
bareback" "The utter unreliability
Of March weather was against u.s." he
lamented. The Star, bit red of face,
editorially laid the whole mess at the
door of Congress. 1t said on March 4:
'The responsibility for the atrocious
conditions as to the weather in which
Mr.. Taft was today inaugurated as Pres
ident rests upon Congress" The edito-
rial explained that The Star had long
been campaigning for change in the
date for inaugurationS. Many Senators
and Representatives called for a con-
Stitutional amendment for change of
date-the majority suggesting April 1t
was not until 1888, however, that Con-
gress and the States got around to
making a change-and the new date,
January 20, was selected for political,
not meteorological, reasons.
Ever since March 4, 1909, however,
the Weather Bureau has been leary
about making inaugural forecasts with
out scanning the skies and the weather
charts for any signs of fickleness and
especially of potential fiarebacks. That
one bareback was enough to make the
forecasters eternally wary. And we must
say that, all in all, they have come
through nobly.