Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
GILBERT
WEATHER BUREAU
(METEOROLOGY)
FOR BOYS
BY
ALFRED C. GILBERT
Yale University, 1909
Published by
THE A. C. GILBERT COMPANY
NEW HAVEN, CONN.
New York Chicago San Francisco Toronto London
Copyright, 1920, by
A. C. GILBERT
New Haven, Conn.
WEATHER INDICATIONS
A Study of the Weather
In the minds of most people a very silly notion prevails about the weather and the weather man. They have a general impression that the weather knows no laws—that it is lawless and reckless, fickle and changeable; that the weather man is a sort of conjurer, and by some mysterious gift he is able to prophesy things that most people know nothing about. Nothing could be further from the truth.
After you have carried out the simple experiments described, and have read this text, whether you have a scientific trend of mind or not, you will at least learn that the weather is a science, like electricity, chemistry, or medicine; that its laws are uniform, constant, and unchanging, and there is really nothing mysterious about it. The weather man is a scientist and by means of instruments, which indicate certain things, he comes to definite conclusions. He is not a prophet; he does not prophesy; he forecasts.
If you are interested in having a Weather Bureau station of your own, you will find it one of the most interesting things you ever acquired in your life. You will soon gain a knowledge of a subject that most people are quite ignorant of, and if you desire to stand for leadership among your boy friends, it may be achieved by knowing about those things that to most boys, and in fact to adults, assume a mysterious and magical aspect.
A Weather Bureau station at your home will give you a source of pleasure, fun, and insight into a science that is intensely interesting, easy to understand, fascinating and worth while knowing. The importance of the subject cannot be overestimated. It has an influence on the whole world; it affects our health; it affects our comfort; it means success or failure in farming; it has an immense influence upon transportation. When ready to move perishable goods, the transporter must have indications of what the weather is going to be.
The weather observer is the guardian angel of the ships at sea; some men have doubts as to whether medicine itself has saved more human lives than the study of the weather and the practice of weather observing. It is not unusual for those who live along the coast to see ships hovering into cover long before a storm approaches, for the wonderful weather bureau system operated by the United States Government gives warnings and danger signals all over the country. Statistics show that losses have been reduced seventy-five to eighty per cent through this system. The marine warnings are so perfect, so prompt, and so efficient that for a great many years no long or hard storms have ever reached any part of the United States without advance warnings and danger signals being shown beforehand.
When a storm is brewing, the Government’s wonderful Weather Bureau organization watches every atmospheric change with the greatest care and concern, and takes observations every few hours, and telegraphs the indications to all places where a warning should be given. Thereby perishable goods that need protection can be looked after. When extra hazardous storms and weather changes of a severe character are indicated, hundreds of thousands of telegrams are sent out in a comparatively short time, to all parts of the country, so that interested parties may prepare for such conditions. One can readily see the great service rendered and the satisfaction it must be to the shipper and the farmer to know that his property, which might be destroyed by a bad storm or low temperature, is being constantly and carefully guarded against danger. Not only storms and great cold waves have been forecasted, but floods have been anticipated and warnings given.
This brings us to a study of the subject “Weather,” and the best way to learn about the weather is to first learn about the air.