40 
KA NSAS CITY REVIEW OP SCIENCE. 
METEOROLOGY REVOLUTIONIZED BY THE WEATHER-MAP. 
ISAAC P. NOYES. 
No department of Science was ever revolutionized to a greater extent, by 
any one step, than was meteorology by the Weather-Map. 
Prior to the discovery of the Western Hemisphere the world knew little 
about the geography of the globe. Till science had advanced and given us the 
telegraph and all the details necessary for the complete Weather-Map we knew 
comparatively little about meteorology. 
At first it may seem strange that such should be the case, yet the intelligent 
world will admit that we cannot know much about any subject until we have full 
and complete facts, and that meteorology is no exception to the rule. 
The Weather-Map opened a new field, replete with facts, which all these 
years were unknown to us. 
In order to have a Weather-Map of any value, we must not only have an 
extended territory, but that territory must be under the jurisdiction of one central 
head. In this respect the United States is particularly fortunate. Three times 
daily, at 7 A. M. and 3 and 11 P. M., the reports are sent in from all parts of 
our extended country to the central office at Washington. From data thus col- 
lected, the daily Weather-Map is created and the "indications," daily, morning 
and evening, telegraphed to the press of our cities and towns. 
Prior to the advent of this Map we were dependent upon the branch of 
science known as "physical geography" for our knowledge of meteorology; now 
the fact is revealed to us that the old system could give us but little practical 
information. We will not however complain of this old system, or its teachings, 
prior, say to 1875, or before the Map had become the perfect thing that it is 
to-day; but from 1875 on, to date, it is surprising that the new system has been 
so much neglected. 
Although the Map, in the United States, was established about 1870, its first 
editions were quite crude and it necessarily took a number of years to arrive at 
the perfect work of to day. Some may think the progress slow, but when we 
come to consider the difficulties in the way, the little moral support this institu- 
tion has received from the public and the general lack of interest whereby gen- 
erous appropriations become practical and available, the wonder is that the sub- 
ject has been advanced even to its present condition. 
In the old system there was necessarily too much dependence upon the 
deductive principle; in the new we have a fine illustration of the inductive prin- METEOROLOGY REVOLUTIONIZED BY THE WEATHER-MAP. 
41 
ciple. In the topography of the country we have the hill and valley. Although 
these combinations form only two factors the diversity of landscape which they 
produce is infinite. 
The atmospheric counterpart of the hill and valley is high and low barom- 
eter-technically called " High" and " Low." These terms the reader should 
bear in mind. "Barometer" is a long word, so in the phraseology of the 
Weather-Bureau it is dropped, and the words " High" and " Low " respectively 
stand for high and low barometer. 
The terrestrial hill and valley are quite permanent-as a mass they may be said 
to be permanent. The mountain chains and hills and the valleys remain about as 
they were when man first inhabited the earth; but not so with the atmospheric 
hill and valley. They are ever changing; never twice alike. They are as varied 
as the clouds, and in their variety they more resemble the kaleidoscope than any. 
thing else. These changes, from hour to hour, day to day, produce what we 
term " the weather. " They are ever on the move, on general lines, from the 
west towards the east. We live on a globe; the heat which sustains life thereon 
comes from the Sun, but this heat alone will not sustain life. The body that 
receives the benefit of this heat must be in condition to appropriate it to a good 
advantage. Satellites have not this power or quality-planets have. Through the 
Weather-Map we aie enabled to understand the important part heat plays in the 
economy of Nature as never before. From the old system weTearned about 
the seasons and their general cause, but before the advent of the Map it was 
impossible to explain these peculiar lines of heat and cold which are independent 
of latitude and of the position of the sun in the ecliptic. We could not explain 
why the isothermal lines at times run from the extreme northeast to the southwest, 
or from the southeast to the northwest. Why it was sometimes as warm in New 
England as in the cotton States. Why cold in New England while it was very 
warm in the region of Dakota and Montana. Why some localities at times suffer 
from drouth while others are abundantly supplied with moisture. 
Under the old system they even did not know what a storm was; they had 
no conception of storm centres and where one storm began and another ended. 
If it rained two or three weeks in succession it was thought to be one pro- 
tracted storm, while on the contrary it was the result of a series of storm centres 
passing over the country. Neither could the old system explain the tornado, 
hurricane, or cyclone, call it what we will. It could not satisfactorily explain 
numerous phenomena connected with this department of nature-all for the 
simple reason that the facts which the Weather-Map has revealed to us were then 
inaccessable. If we will heed the teachings of this wonderful instrument, which 
may well be termed "The Geography of the Atmosphere," we will understand 
this department of Nature as never before. 
The Map reveals the fact that the areas of high and low barometer are al 
the while passing over the earth's surface, in belts and on general lines, from the 
west towards the east. From this it must not be understood that they move on 
parallels of latitude, nor even take quite straight courses across the country, for 42 
KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
they do not; on the contrary they move on very irregular lines, and at times take 
a direction of 45° and even 90° to the parallel of latitude. Sometimes taking a 
northeast or a southeast course, zigzag, like the letter W; and they even at times 
travel due west. But whatever their local direction; their general course is the 
while from the west toward the east, or towards the rising Sun. The changes 
are infinite : " Low" being the governing factor, it is necessarily the one about 
which the most may be said. It may be asked,-What is " Low " ? 
There is no branch of science but what leads up to some unknown power or 
cause. In meteorology " Low " is the great unknown. We know that it exists. 
We know how it passes over the country, and know its effects. But why should 
it obey the law it does? At this point I shall submit a theory, the only theory 
about the whole subject. I do not claim for it more than its name implies, " a 
theory," and I have no desire to hold to it if unsupported by reason and fact, 
and am ready at any time to accept a better reason or explanation whenever 
offered. 
" Low " is the concentration of the Sun's rays, and may well be illustrated 
by the double convex lens, commonly called a "Sun-glass," when passed over a 
paper and so held as to focus the rays of the Sun. We will the better under- 
stand the theory by imagining ourselves to be present when the well formed 
earth is started in space. 
The surface of the earth is varied. This feature necessarily causes uneven- 
ness of latent forces when the heat of the Sun is caused to concentrate on 
some one favored point. The heat acting on the water is the while forming 
clouds. The concentration of heat causes rarification of the air at this point- 
Nature's attempt to form a vacuum. The cooler surrounding air rushes in to fill 
the place of the rarified air; a current of air, called wind, towards this point, is 
the result. This brings the clouds that have formed, from all points of the com- 
pass, towards this center. These clouds not only precipitate and thereby help 
cool the surrounding air, but they shut off the heat from the Sun. The heat 
from the Sun then concentrates on another point a thousand or two thousand 
miles distant, and the same result follows-around the world. The next day 
when the Sun reappears in the east the first " Low" is drawn towards the new, 
or last one, which relatively lies to the east-call it No. 12. No. 2 is drawn 
towards No. 1; No. 3 to No. 2, etc. Thus the "Lows" travel till they form 
well established belts around the world. Between the " Lows " are located the 
" Highs." 
If "Low'' is the concentration of heat and thus moves along the earth's 
surface, the question may be asked, why does it not, after mid-day, travel to- 
wards the west? It does at times, and is at all times undoubtedly retarded in its 
course towards the east. Whether this theory is true or not we cannot deny the 
fact that " Low " travels as it does, on general lines, from the west towards the 
east or towards the rising Sun. 
The surface movement of the wind is towards this center. But as the winds 
coming from the four points of the compass react upon each other, their direc- METEOROLOGY REVOLUTIONIZED BY THE WEATHER-MAP. 
43 
tion, as they near the centre, is that of a spiral curve rather than a straight line. 
The heated air at the centre of "Low" ascends in a like manner as boiling 
water. The clouds brought by the winds generally precipitate before they reach 
the centre, but not always. 
At times when a storm-centre is near us, yet not as near but what the clouds 
are a little broken, if we will look heavenward we will see other lighter clouds 
travelling in an opposite direction from those near the surface. These upper 
currents are caused by the ascending currents at "Low," rushing outward to 
fill the space on the upper part of the column of air in the regions of " High." 
So we have " Low" moving in great horizontal circles along the earth's surface, 
and in combination therewith the atmosphere moving in great perpendicular- 
hoop-like-circles towards the track of these horizontal circles. 
The air from the bottom of " High" is being drawn from to supply " Low," 
when it ascends and travels back to supply the top of the column "High," from 
whence it was drawn. Thus the round of motion of the atmosphere, and thus 
Nature's plan to keep the air we breath in healthy activity. Man in his small 
way can never hope to equal this grand plan of Nature. 
If we were unacquainted with the peculiarities of Nature we would be apt 
to think that the nearer we were to the equator the warmer it would always be. 
It is generally warmer, that is, the general heat of the tropics is greater than 
that of the temperate zones, and yet we know that it is oftentimes hotter from 
450 to 50° N. Latitude than at or near the Equator. Before we had the per- 
fected Weather-Map this phenomenon could not have been explained, but now 
we not only can readily explain it but we can the better understand the infinite 
wisdom in having it so. 
The Earth is far more productive in consequence of the laws that govern the 
concentration of the heat of the Sun, causing "Low" to frequently travel on 
very high lines of latitude, whereby the necessary heat for the propagation of 
plants, vegetables and fruits, essential for the existence of high animal life is ex- 
tended so far from the Equator. 
There are portions of our earth's surface which never receive any benefits 
from " Low," and these are desert places where there is no water present. There 
is no heat in the earth, at least along its surface ; all the heat we have we derive 
from the Sun. Desert places during the day are heated more readily and to a 
greater degree than where there is an abundance of water present, but they 
become very cold during the night. Between sunset and sunrise they lose the 
greater portion of the heat they have received during the day. Wherever there 
is water sufficient to generate clouds a more even temperature will be maintained 
than where there is no water. " Low" will not stop over night where there is no 
moisture. The clouds, including all moisture in the air, act as a canopy, or an 
agent to retain the heat, so in order to convert a desert into a fruitful country, 
one that will be visited by "Low," we must introduce water in some way, suffi- 
cient at least to grow hardy trees and shrubs. 
The Map proves that the winds blow in general lines towards the " Low." 44 
EA NS AS CITY REVIEW OE SCIENCE, 
This being the case it necessarily follows that if " Low " is on a high line of lati- 
tude, say 450 to 50° N., we will have south winds, which are warm. If 
" Low" is on a low line, say in the Cotton States, to the north thereof we will 
have cold north winds. " High " representing the atmospheric hill, there is no 
movement of air towards it; so no warm air, or more than relatively warm, can 
be present in the area of " High" and the atmosphere there must necessarily be 
relatively cool. 
It will be seen that what '' the wind," and the movement of " Low," 
which produces the winds, are quite different forces; yet it is often asked if the 
speed of " Low " is caused by the power of wind. The wind is dependent upon 
" Low " and not " Low " upon the wind. 
Although " High" follows and surrounds "Low" it does not do so in any 
regular manner. Nature in this department is very irregular, and the Weather- 
Map which is, as it were, a photograph of these changes of the atmosphere from 
hour to hour, plainly reveals this, and shows that "High" follows and moves 
with "Low" over the country; entering generally at the west, locally from the 
south to the extreme northwest, and that the two pass over the country in all 
conceivable shapes and on all sorts of lines. 
We may imagine the whole of the atmosphere as a great sea of " High " 
witji the valley " Low " moving through it. Sometimes alternate areas of " Low " 
and " High" pass from the west towards the east; sometimes the " High" will 
be in the north, the " Low " in the south ; the " High " in the south and " Low " 
in the north, or additional variety be given by combinations of these factors. 
Then this variety is still increased by their size, shape and speed as they pass 
across the country. 
When we have made ourselves familiar with these forces and their move- 
ments we will be prepared to understand the peculiar features of the weather- 
why it is hot at the north while cool at the south-why one season is cool, wet 
or dry, another hot and dry, or even wet; no matter what the weather may be, 
the Map satisfactorily explains it all. 
" High " and " Low " travel in irregular belts. At times we will have 
"Low" in the north; "High" central, and another belt of "Low" to the 
south. This neutralizes the effects of heat and cold. Take away the north 
" Low" and it will be very cold in the south, and in winter, the Gulf States be 
apt to have a snow-storm; take away the south " Low " and it will be very warm 
throughout the country. During the winter and spring we generally have more 
south "Lows," and " Lows" which travel from the southwest to the northeast, 
than in the summer. But there is no regularity about it. A so-called " north- 
east storm" is the result of a southwest "Low," or an area of low barometer 
advancing from the southwest. 
When a storm-centre is to the west of a locality that locality will have an 
easterly wind, and when the centre has passed to the east a westerly wind will 
follow in its track, west, southwest, or northwest, depending on the line on 
which the " Low " is travelling. METEOROLOGY REVOLUTIONIZED BY THE WEATHER-MAP. 
45 
Whether the storm produces rain or snow depends somewhat on the season, 
but more especially on the latitude of " Low." 
Local storms comes from the confines, or outer lines of the passing " Low," 
and mostly occur during the warmer month when "Low" is on a high line of 
latitude, or when there is not any very well-defined centre. A tornado is a 
severe local storm which occurs in the track of "Low" and generally when 
" Low" is on a high line, or passing to a high line. 
It would require too much space to enumerate all the changes. A close 
observation of the Weather-Map for a season will explain all. When we have 
become familiar with this map we will readily see the absurdity of the statements 
made by the so-called /'weather-prophets." They often say " it will be pleas- 
ant or stormy." "When?*'" is the pertinent question, for we see that it all de- 
pends upon the location and relation of these two factors " High " and " Low." 
It may be very stormy weather in one section and not in the other. Until the 
" weather-prophet" can locate his storms and give us the positions of " High" 
and "Low" he had better remain silent; and if he remains silent till then, he 
will be forever a silent man. 
At present the territory from Nebraska to the Atlantic Coast is well supplied 
with stations, but from there to the Pacific we have very few, and these far 
apart. As most of our storms come from the west it would be a great advant- 
age to us to have more stations in this locality; not only due west but well to 
the southwest and to the northwest, from Lower California to the British Pos- 
sessions. 
A few storms come from the south. We should, therefore, be prepared to 
have ample warning in regard to them, and have stations through Mexico and 
one or two sea-stations in the Gulf of Mexico, and a few more on the West India 
Islands. We need protection from the west generally; that is, give the most 
generous interpretation to the term west, for these storm-centres as they pass 
around the world are liable to travel, as we often see them in the United States 
for a distance of 1,000 or 1,500 miles due north. We should be prepared against 
these erratic or occasional ones as well as against those of a more regular course 
which enter our territory by the regular west-gate. 
Most of the " Lows " that pass over the United States pass to the northeast, 
either through the St. Lawrence Valley, or somewhere between there and Cape 
Hatteras; hence the prevalence of fog and stormy weather off this northeast 
coast. 
More interest should be centered on this subject. When this is done it will 
not be difficult to obtain more stations in the localities where they are so much 
needed. 
There is a bright day ahead for this despised branch of science, and when it 
arrives our Weather Bureau will become one of the most influential branches of 
government, and one we will support in the most effectual manner, because of 
the practical benefits we will derive from its more perfect state. The Map will 
open to us new avenues of pleasure and interest; and when its beauties and prac- 46 
KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
tical value are fully understood we will begin to realize the revolution it has 
wrought. 
Washington, D. C., April 2, 1884.