130 
HAROLD’S DISCUSSIONS. 
]^ow we shall be able to see how it is that an 
observer, who knows barometric pressure and the 
condition of the sky at a great many points, can 
figure out the location of a storm, and if he 
knows how rapidly a storm is moving, he can pre¬ 
dict the time it will take to reach certain localities. 
The greater the number of stations where observa¬ 
tions are taken the more certain may the predic¬ 
tions be made. Many things must be taken into 
consideration, and it is not strange that predictions 
should sometimes fail to come true. But as our 
experience and information increase, we may be¬ 
come more and more confident. Even now, the 
Weather Bureau by predicting storms is doing a 
work of inestimable value for shippers and ship¬ 
owners, and is, besides, saving many lives. 
“ I am Storm—the King! 
My troops are the wind, and the hail, and the rain; 
My foes are the woods and the feathery grain. 
The mail-clad oak that gnarls his front to my charge 
and stroke.” 
THE PATH OF THE STORM CENTER. 
In our region I noticed that during storms there 
are three series of changes (Fig. 66) in the direction 
of the wind. During five storms out of twenty the 
wind was from the south, or nearly so, just before the 
rain, and as it passed the wind changed to the north. 
In connection with six, the wind changed from the 
southeast to the east, and then to the northeast. In 
