Our Heralds of Storm and Flood 



599 



amateur, by watching the clouds scud- 

 ding or drifting miles above, can often 

 make a pretty sure guess of the coming 

 da}'. The pictures accompanying this 

 article illustrate the principal kinds of 

 clouds and their signifi- 

 cance. They are very re- 

 markable cloud photo- 

 graphs, and were taken 

 by Alfred J. Henry, Pro- 

 fessor of Meteorologv of 

 the U. S. \\'eather 'Bu- 

 reau, and one of the most 

 successful forecasters in 

 the government service. 



STUDYING THE SUN 



Not a single storm has 

 swept across the United 

 States or up or down its 

 coastline within many 

 years that has not been 



its present knowledge is too much like 

 that of a man who sees a wild engine 

 tearing down the track and telegraphs 

 ahead for everything to keep out of its 

 way. It desires to know why these great 



From a photograph 



The Jumping Characteristics of a Tornado, Louis- 

 vflle, Kentucky 



The building in the center of the block is shattered, while 

 the adjoining buildings are barely touched 



heralded hours or days in advance by 

 the Weather Bureau. Nor has the service 

 allowed a cold wave or a flood to catch us 

 napping. But the Weather Bureau is am- 

 bitious to do more than this. It feels that 



From, a photograph 



Buildings Burst Open by the 

 Explosive Effect of a Tor- 

 nado, Louisville, Kentucky — 

 the Windows and Walls 

 Flying Outward 



cyclonic storms are conceived 

 and the processes of their 

 conception. But before it can 

 get this knowledge it must ob- 

 tain a better understanding of 

 the sun, which is the initiating 

 cause of all movements of the 

 atmosphere affecting the wea- 

 ther. 



The sun is the prime cause 

 of every change of weather. 

 The sun determines whether 

 the earth shall be hot or cold, 

 just as our hands turns on or 

 off the register. Absence of 

 sun's ravs makes the North 

 continent of ice ; plenty of 

 sun's rays makes the Equator a furnace. 

 The sun's rays, by heating one land 

 more than another, cause winds, hurri- 

 canes, and cvclones. The heat in the 



Pole 



