Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/456

* WEATHER. 382 WEATHEB, BUREAU. or the monsoon area, was compiled at Calcutta during the years 1893-99, and by agreement be- tween the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, daily weather maps of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have been compiled by the United States Hydrographic Otiiee since 1888. (See Pase, iHStriictions 1o Voluntary Observers of the Hydrographic Office, Washington, 1901.) .Similar maps for the North Atlantic for 1881-82 were published by the London ^Meteorological Office. Weather Fokecasts are based on the general study of types of -weather, comliined with the study of tiie series of the daily weather maps for a few days immediately preceding the period for which predictions are to be made. No fore- east of weather is made for a period in advance longer than is warranted by the rapidity with ■which atmospheric changes happen to be going on at that time. The forecast usually covers all questions bearing on destructive winds, excessive heat or cold, injurious frosts, local thunder- storms, rain or snow, and river floods. Special forecasts of the weather for 'any given locality or time are usually made whenever requested. See JMeteoeology ; Weather Bureau; Climate, etc. WEATHER BUREAU. A governmental or- ganization for the purpose of maintaining regu- lar meteorological observations, compiling sta- tistics of the climate, predicting weather and storms, river (loods, frosts, rain, and such other atmospheric phenomena as affect the welfare of mankind. Among early meteorological services of importance were those of the Surgeon-Cieneral of the United States Army (1818): Russia (1837) : Austria(lS48) ; Prussia( 1848) ; Smith- sonian Institution (1849) ; Netherlands (1849) ; England (1800) ; and France ( 18(!3). At the pres- ent time every civilized nation has its weather bureau or meteorological office, and many have also marine or hydrographic offices. The United States Weather Bureau was reorganized under the Department of Agriculture, .Tuly 1, 1891, by the transfer of the meteorological records and duties of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, hence its history goes back to February 0, 1870.' But in fact the system of observation by voluntary and unpaid observers, which forms so large a part of the work of the bureau, goes back to the year 1849, when the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution began to organize this corps of observers; indeed, one may go back to the year 1817, when .Tosialx Meigs issued his meteorological instructions to the registrars of the United States Land Office, and 1818, when Dr. Lovell, Surgeon-Oener.al United States Army, issued similar instructions to his officials. In 1838 Professor .fames P. Kspy secured the appoint- ment of a joint committee on meteondogy, rep- resenting various scienlific interests in Pliiladel- phia. This committee liegan tlic collecfion of daily observations and the preparation of daily weather maps. In 1842 Espy was apjininted meteorologist to the Oovernment, and assigned to duty in the War Department, where he con- tinued to compile and study daily weather maps. In IS."?) he was ordered to continue his work under Professor Henry as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; in 18.54 the latter be- gan the preparation for the daily display of weather maps based on telesrnms from all parts of the country, and from 18o0 to 1801 such a map was daily exhibited and studied, and frequently made the basis of weather prediction. This work was discontinued on account of the irregularities in the telegraph service incident to the Civil War, and was taken up again jointly by the observatory of the Astronomical Society and the Chamber of Commerce in Cincinnati in 1868. In February, 1870, an act of Congress ordered the Secretary of War to provide for the observation and prediction of storms, to which subsequently were added floods and weather. The work that was then being carried on at Cincinnati was therefore transferred to Washington. In 1891 these duties were transferred to the Weather Bureau, which was reorganized under the De- partment of Agriculture. As at present organized, the Weather Bureau comes under the rules governing the civil ser- vice of the country. Its first chief was Professor !Mark W. Harrington (q.v.), to whom Profes- .sor Willis L. Sloore (q.v.) succeeded July 4, 1895. The Weather Bureau employs the whole time of about six hundred paid employees, lo- cated at about 180 stations, distributed through- out this country and the West Indies. It also receives reports of temperature or rain or rivers from several hundred special observers and from 2.300 voluntary observers of local climatological matters; also about 20.000 special reports on the condition of the growing crops from a meteoro- logical point of view. The bureau receives daily two regular sets of weather telegrams at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on which are based the morning and evening weather charts and the forecasts for the ne.xt thirty-six hours. These forecasts are immediately tele- graphed to all concerned throughout the coun- try and to vessels about to sail in any direction over the adjacent oceans; they are pidilished in local newspapers, on special telegraph forms, on special po.stal cards, by flag signals, and by other methods of communication, so that within an hour's time after the foreca.sts leave Washington they can be obtained by any one who lives within sight of a telegraph or telephone ofllce. Those who can be reached only by mail receive the forecasts a few hours later. The forecasts of heavy storms, cold waves, and injurious frosts and specially hot weather are verified almost without exception : the forecasts of rain are the least successful of any. (See Storm akd We.tiier Signals.) Special elTorts are being made to develop a system of so-called wireless telegraphy so that the forecasts can be communi- cated to vessels passing by, off the coast, with- out altering their courses, thus saving the delay which they now frequently incur by coming within signaling distance to inquire about the presence of storms. The condition of the rivers, csjiecially in times of flood, is telegraphed to all those interested; predictions of the rise and fall of the water were formerly made from the cen- tral office and oftentimes with remarkable suc- cess, but at present it is considered sufficient to leave these to the judgment of the local river men. In the special interest of the crops and agriculture, a weather crop bulletin began to be ptfldished in 1887, and is now continued by the Climate and Crop Division; this is a weekly bulletin during the summer season, giving full details of the temperature, and rainfall as com- pared with normal conditions, and showing the