The Weather Bureau 



Z^l 



coming of the rain, 3'et far enough in 

 advance to enable the owners of vine- 

 yards, most of which are connected h\ 

 telephones, to gather and stack their 

 trays, and thus save the drying raisins 

 from destruction. Along the Rocky 

 Mountain plateau and the eastern slope 

 our stations are so numerous and our 

 system of distribution so perfect that 

 the sweep of ever}- cold wave is heralded 

 to every ranch that has telegraphic com- 

 munication. In the cranberr}- marshes 

 of Wisconsin the flood-gates are regu- 

 lated by the frost w^arnings of the Bu- 

 reau, and where formerl}- a profitable 

 crop was secured onh- once in several 

 3'ears, it is now a rare exception that 

 damage occurs. As we go farther south 

 and east into the Gulf and South Atlantic 

 States, our frost w-arnings are made with 

 a greater degree of accuracy- than in any 

 other part of the country. We find the 

 growers of sugar cane in lyouisiana, the 

 truck -growers from Norfolk south to 

 Jacksonville, and the orange-growers of 

 Florida timing their operations by the 

 frost warnings of the Bureau. From 

 the estimates of these people it is indi- 

 cated that the amount annually saved to 

 them is far greater than that expended 

 for the support of the entire Depart- 



ment. 



FLOOD WARNINGS 



No less valuable is the flood-warning 

 service which is in operation along our 

 large river courses. So much advance 

 has been made in forecasting flood 

 stages that it is now possible to foretell 

 three to five da^'s in advance the height 

 of navigable rivers at a given point to 

 within a few inches. The danger line 

 at every cit}^ has been accurately deter- 

 mined and charted, so that w-hen a flood 

 is likely to exceed the danger limit res- 

 idents of low districts and merchants 

 having goods stored in cellars are noti- 

 fied to move their propert}' out of reach 

 of the rising waters. An illustration of 

 .the efficiency of this sj'stem was shown 



during the great flood of i S97 . Through- 

 out nearly the whole area that \\'as sub- 

 merged the warning bulletins preceded 

 the flood by several days, and the sta- 

 tisticians of the Government estimate 

 that $15,000,000 worth of live stock 

 and movable property was removed to 

 high ground as the result of the fore- 

 warnings. These warnings are dis- 

 tributed from fifteen river centers, at 

 each of which a trained forecaster is 

 located who daily is in possession of 

 such measurements of precipitation on 

 w^atersheds and such up-river water 

 stages as are necessary to enable him to 

 make an intelligent prediction for his 

 own district. On account of the recent 

 disasters from floods in the rivers of 

 Texas steps are now being taken to es- 

 tablish a flood-warning service special!}^ 

 for that State. 



Measurements of snowfall in the high 

 mountain ridges of Montana, Wyoming, 

 Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico 

 during the past several years have given 

 us information that now enables us to 

 make a very accurate estimate in the 

 spring as to the supply of water from 

 this source that can be expected during 

 the grooving season. In this w^a}^ the 

 weather service has been brought into 

 close contact with those interested in irri- 

 gation, becoming a valuable aid to them. 



The heavy responsibility that rests 

 upon the Weather Bureau in the mak- 

 ing of storm warnings is gathered from 

 the statement that 5,628 transatlantic 

 steamers and 5,842 transatlantic sailing 

 craft enter and leave ports on the At- 

 lantic seaboard during a single j-ear. 

 The value of their cargoes is more than 

 $1,500,000,000. Our coastwise traffic 

 is also enormous. In one year more 

 than 17,000 sailing vessels and 4,000 

 steamers enter and leave port between 

 Maine and Florida. Their cargoes are 

 estimated to be worth $7 ,000,000. From 

 these facts one can readih' measure the 

 value of the marine propert}^ that the 

 Department of Agriculture, through the 



