Wind and Weather 



141 



thousands of years past have been interested in weather and have 

 made observations about it. Many of these have come down 

 to us in the form of sayings and proverbs, known as weather 

 lore. The following are a few examples : 



"If hoar frost comes on mornings twain, 



The third day surely will have rain." 

 "If the sun goes pale to bed, 



'Twill rain tomorrow, it is said." 

 "Evening red and morning gray 



Will help the traveler on his way." 



Some people, not scientists, try to foretell the weather by 

 observations of the sky and the clouds. For example, a rain- 

 bow in the afternoon means fair weather. If the sun before 

 setting is a brilliant white, it foretells a storm. A red sky in the 

 morning means rain. There 

 are many other such obser- 

 vations. This method, however, 

 is not that of the weather 

 science man. He bases his pre- 

 dictions on more scientific 

 observations. 



The Weather Bureau. 

 The United States Department 

 of Agriculture maintains a 

 Weather Bureau that predicts 

 in a scientific way the coming 

 weather. All over the country 

 there are stations for the ob- 

 servation of weather conditions. 

 Here men observe daily the 

 temperature, the air pressure, 

 the direction of the wind and 

 the amount of moisture in the 

 They telegraph the re- 



air. 



STORM- WARNING TOWER 



Flags by day and lanterns by night foretell 



suits of their observations to the weather. 



Washington, D. C, where the reports from all the sections are 

 studied and predictions made accordingly. These predictions are 



