WORK OF THE UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU
Great saving of property has been effected by the United States Weather Bureau. The work of this Bureau is wonderful, but it is not mysterious. Just as the movements of a ship or of a railroad train may be reported day by day, and hour by hour, by telegraph, so the appearance and movement of a storm center or of a cold wave or of a flood are reported from a multitude of observing stations. There are central weather-forecasting stations at Chicago, New Orleans, Denver, San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C. Weather forecasts are made up at these points from observations telegraphed in from observing stations, and within two hours are telegraphed to about 1600 distributing stations, from which they are further distributed to about 90,000 mail addresses daily, to all newspapers, and are made available to 5,500,00 x3 telephone subscribers. A farmer may call central by telephone and learn with remarkable certainty what the weather for twenty-four hours will be, except in the case of local thunder showers which may drench his fields while passing by those of his neighbor.
"It may be said without exaggeration that the San Francisco office of the Weather Bureau has saved to the citrus fruit growers of California more money within the last five years than the annual appropriation for the entire Bureau during a period of twenty years." "In the citrus fruit districts of California it is reported that fruit to the value of $14,000,000 was saved… during one cold wave." "The value of the orange bloom, vegetables, and strawberries protected and saved on a single night in a limited district in Florida…was reported at over $100,000." "The warnings issued for a single cold wave… resulted in saving over $3,500,000 through the protection of property." "Signals displayed for a single hurricane are known to have detained in port on our Atlantic coast vessels valued with their cargoes at over $30,000,000." Flood warnings are sent in from about 60 centers along our rivers, enabling farmers to remove their cattle from bottom lands, to save their crops when they are ready for cutting, and otherwise to determine their farming operations. They are also of the greatest service to railroads, business men, and home owners, in cities. These are but a few illustrations of the services performed by the Weather Bureau.
Investigate and report on:
The building of levees in your state. Where, by whom, their value.
The amount of money spent in your state for river improvement (or harbor improvement).
How the Weather Bureau forecasts the weather, storms, floods.
How to read a weather map.
Experiences of individual farmers of their locality with regard to benefits derived from the Weather Bureau.
How a merchant in your town may be benefited by the Weather
Bureau.