Why the Weather?

C. F. Brooks

Description

Originally published in the early 1900s, this book is - 'primarily for the general reader who likes to know more about that much talked about, but little understood, topic - the weather'. Rather than being a dry text book, covering the entire field of meteorology, this includes general interest that the reader can use as a reference for the varying weather experienced every day. Contents Include: GENERAL NOTES AND SPRING WEATHER: Observe the Weather Early Spring Moisture in the Air Clouds Wind and Weather rain May Weather Some Weather Proverbs Summer Weather Mountain Weather Thunderstorms Thunderstorms and the Vacationist West Indian and Other Hurricanes Autumn Foreshadows Winter Autumn Winds and Storms Weather Periods and Major Air Streams Autumn Weather Proverbs Our Atmosphere WINTER: Winter Storms Snow Winter Resorts and Sports Winter Sunshine Winter Cold Winter in the Home

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 16 octobre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528761277
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

F IG . 1. D ISTANT T HUNDERSTORMS, THE D ARK C ENTRAL M ASSES, WITH A NVIL T OPS . (A. J. Weed, Mt. Weather, Va.) (This is the first picture of 32 on the Weather Bureau s new cloud chart. The other cloud pictures reproduced in this book are selections from the same chart.) See p. 152.
WHY THE WEATHER?
BY
CHARLES FRANKLIN BROOKS, Ph.D. (Harvard)
Associate Professor of Meteorology and Climatology, Clark University, Secretary, American Meteorological Society; Formerly Meteorologist, U. S. Weather Bureau
WITH THE COLLABORATION OF
JOHN NELSON AND OTHERS
ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
PREFACE
W HY THE W EATHER ? is the outgrowth of daily explanations of the weather to classes in meteorology at Clark University. Mr. John Nelson reported these explanations of current weather for his newspaper. The apparent local interest in these weather notes led, at the instance of Mr. Nelson, to the preparation of similar but more generalized short notes, which were syndicated by Science Service , and have been appearing in various United States and Canadian newspapers. Mr. Nelson s experienced collaboration, of which the author is duly appreciative, extended through the first nine months of the series. Since February, 1924, Eleanor Stabler Brooks has been the only collaborator: hence she is responsible for the form of a number of the spring and late winter notes. Mrs. Brooks, in addition, wrote a few of the hot weather notes, and criticized and edited the whole series as it was being prepared. The author acknowledges heartily the unceasing interest shown by Mr. Watson Davis, of Science Service , beginning with his origination of the title for the series.
In this series no effort was spared to avoid inaccuracies, the bane of popularized science. Every note before publication was scrutinized by competent authority in the U. S. Weather Bureau, and changed in accordance with any comments received. The author is particularly indebted to Dr. W. J. Humphreys for his critical reading of the entire series.
Most of the photographs appearing in this book were either supplied or collected by the United States Weather Bureau. This service is gratefully acknowledged.
These notes were originally written, and are presented here in book form, primarily for the general reader who likes to know more about that much talked about, but little understood, topic-the weather. Unlike a text-book, this series can not claim to cover adequately the entire field of meteorology. It attempts, however, to include topics of general interest which serve to illustrate many phases of weather science and to emphasize fundamentals. That the reader may find this book serviceable for reference as different sorts of weather are experienced from day to day a very complete index has been provided.
C HARLES F. B ROOKS .
W ORCESTER , M ASS .,
June 10, 1924.
CONTENTS
PART I. GENERAL NOTES AND SPRING WEATHER
I O BSERVE THE W EATHER
Observe the Weather
Beware the Barometer ( See Figs. 2 - 4 , p. 6 )
Smoke as Wind Indicator
Gaging Speed of Wind
The Pressure of Wind
Measuring Humidity ( See Figs. 5 - 6 )
Differences Between Thermometers
How to Take the Temperature of the Air ( See Fig. 7 , p. 18 )
How to Measure Snow
II E ARLY S PRING
Water in Snow Accumulations
Snow Blanket Allows Ground to Thaw
Spring Sunshine in Late Winter
Blackened Snow Melts Fast
Evaporation of Snow
Rain Melts Little Snow
Heating of Land Surfaces
The Heat Budget of the Ground
The Lion and the Lamb
III M OISTURE IN THE A IR
Dry Air is Thirsty Air
Plants as Outdoor Humidifiers
Sidewalks Dry in Drizzle
There is Water in the Air
Air Dries by Heating
Dew Never Falls ( See Figs. 8 - 10 , p. 19 )
Dust is All Important
IV C LOUDS
Watch the Clouds ( See Fig. 11 , p. 34 )
Mare s-tails are Cirrus Clouds ( See Figs. 12 - 13 , pp. 35 and 50 )
Clouds as Wind Indicators ( See Fig. 14 , p. 51 )
Airplane Betters Cloud Record
Velo Clouds
The Lids of the Air
Wind Clouds ( See Fig. 15 , p. 66 )
Billow Clouds
The Heights of Clouds
Air Cooled by Ascending
Expanding Air Forms Clouds ( See Fig. 16 , p. 66 )
How the Cumulus Cloud Stays Up
Clouds Do Not Float
The Ragged Fracto-Cumulus
V W IND AND W EATHER
What Wind Is
Eclipse Weather
Our Winds Turn to the Right
The Procession of the Weather
A Useful Barometer Law
Forecasting
Factors in Forecasting
How to Use a Weather Map
Making the Weather Map ( See Fig. 17 , p. 67 )
The Forecaster s Vernacular
Unsettled Weather
Storm Signals
VI R AIN
Raindrop Forms on Dust
Rainclouds and Rain
Rain Forms Where It Falls
Intensity of Rainfall
Torrential Rains on the Front of a Mountain of Cold Air
Protracted Rainy Spells
Weight of Rainfall
America is Rainier Than Europe
Spring Showers are Different ( See Fig. 18 , p. 82 )
The Rainbow
Rainbow, Cone of Colors
Height of the Rainbow
VII M AY W EATHER
Lake Fogs Come in Spring
Beware Late Spring Frosts ( See Figs. 19 - 20 , p. 83 )
May Cold Spells
Winds Aloft
Balloon Racing and the Weather
Dry Northeasters
Summer, 1921, Affected Summer, 1923
Cool Waves Made Drought
Drought and Nature s Water Supply
PART II. SUMMER
VIII S OME W EATHER P ROVERBS
Truthful Weather Doggerel
Wet and Dry Moon Fallacy
Weather Uninfluenced by Moon
Old Moon in New Moon s Arms
When Scalps are Wet
Sun Does Not Draw Water
Evening Red and Morning Gray
Rainbow in the Morning
St. Swithin s Day
Why Stars Twinkle
Smoke Makes Copper Sun
Heat and the Cricket s Beat
Dog Days
IX S UMMER W EATHER
Forecasting in June
The Summer Northeaster
Summer Southeaster
The Summer Solstice
Why July is Hottest
North Pole Sometimes Gets More Heat Than Equator
Eastern Hot Spells From Northwest Winds
Eighteen-Hundred-and-Froze-to-Death
The Hot Wave
Keep Cool
The Asphalt Mirage
Dust Devils
Cool Spots on Hot Night
The Mugginess of Lake Shores
Last Day of a Hot Spell
The Sea Breeze
Where Mercury Never Changes
Summer Ice Caves
Sweating Cellars
X M OUNTAIN W EATHER
Mountain Top Weather
Heat on Mountain Slopes
Mountain Clouds
The Brocken Specter
High Altitude, Low Pressure
Altitude and the Boiling Point
XI T HUNDERSTORMS
Thunderstorms
Typical Thunderstorm
Artificial Thunderstorms
The Two Kinds of Thunderstorms
Lightning ( See Fig. 21 , p. 98 )
Four Kinds of Lightning
Air Expansion Makes Thunder
Thunderstorm s Squallcloud
The Destructive Thundersquall
Hail is Hot Weather s Ice ( See Fig. 22 , p. 99 )
Icy Wind Makes Summer Hail
The Terrible Tornado ( See Figs. 25 - 27 , pp. 162 - 163 )
Thunderstorms Do Not Return
The Parting Bolt of Lightning
Coast Thunderstorms
Distribution of Thunderstorms
XII T HUNDERSTORMS AND THE V ACATIONIST
Fourth of July Weather
Rain Insurance
How to Test for Thunderstorms
Distance of Lightning
Finding Thunderstorm s Course
Timing Thunderstorm s Arrival
Timing Distant Thunderstorms ( See Frontispiece)
Lightning Measures Storm Speed
Safety in a Thunderstorm
The Motor in a Thunderstorm
Lightning Rods
Thunder Does Not Sour Milk
XIII W EST I NDIAN AND O THER H URRICANES
Hurricane Season ( See Fig. 28 , p. 178 )
Earthquakes and Storms
Cirrus Spokes
Equinoctial Storms
Waterspouts
Hurricane Rainfalls
Hurricane Protracted a Drought
A Trio of Tropical Cyclones
PART III. AUTUMN
XIV A UTUMN F ORESHADOWS W INTER
Autumn Frosts ( See Figs. 29 - 32 , p. 179 )
Autumn Dews are Heavy
The Fogs of Autumn
Lake Waters Getting Cold
Late Autumns on Lake Shores
Winter s First Snow, the Snow Squall
Beginning of Pacific Rainy Season
XV A UTUMN W INDS AND S TORMS
Travels of Smoke
Early Autumn Storms
Northeasters Come from Southwest
Storms That Go Astray
October Snows in the East
Autumn Gales on the Great Lakes
Windshift Line is Stormy
Cold Weather Thunderstorms
The Ice Storm
Cause of the Ice Storm
The Great New England Ice Storm ( See Figs. 34 - 35 , p. 226 )
Cold Weather Winds are Strongest
XVI W EATHER P ERIODS AND M AJOR A IR S TREAMS
The Weather s Habit
A Warm Autumn in Alaska
Volcanic Eruptions Produce Cold
Great Exchange of Air With Tropics
Northers and Where They Go
Flood Rains in Mexico and Panama
XVII A UTUMN W EATHER P ROVERBS
When Geese Fly South
Fur and Feather Fallacies
Indian Summer
The Naming of Indian Summer
Autumn Haze
When the Peacock Loudly Bawls
Moon s Ring Heralds Storms
The Corona
When Stars Begin to Huddle
Rain Before Seven, Shine Before Eleven
Threatening Mornings
XVIII O UR A TMOSPHERE
Properties of Air
The Gases We Live In
Dust in the Air
Sun Seen Below Horizon
Twilight
Visibility
The Airman s Holes and Bumps
Winds for Gliding
Kites and Sounding Ba