Show ilk 6 4 k 41 10 0 e J cil 11 W AX 11 r 1 1 wl m fir i z Pr prepared eliare by y tie the united cited states stales department t of agriculture i men oS I 1 longer arm of destruction estrue tion than the it inight lesi 0 of volcanoes and leaving in its wake a no mans land la nil rivaling wars ars scars across the face of europe the hurricane Is chief among ll 11 nat it ural forces contending for n NJ the title chain champion plon of lie de truc clion tion to tight light the hurricane offensively ovely Is folly for ages mankind has been able to wail wage only a defeli defensive lve war against its terrifying drives drive and these efforts have been until modern time pitifully feeble mans only defense Is to be forewarned that it tins has licen been possible in the IN present generation to reduce death toll of burac hurricanes anes to a minimum Is due to the marvelous service maintained by the united states weather eather bureau the headquarters of tile went weather her bureau located quite to one side of main traveled 11 fales in the national capital are tile the nerve center of this unique organization chih ex tats benl is across tile the continent and moo alco far out to sea since many vessels els co operate with tile the bureau by making dally daily reports to it great storm sighted early in september it a hurricane destined to devastate 1 a wide area bordering the anif ot 31 mexico exico reared its head like fl a grea ater a abou thousand mand miles to the sol so bolst 11 St t of tie the united tea ipa fi states diming s ends of the car labean As aal yal W gane gae it birth not even the brows the forces that propagate all of these there storms are shrouded in mystery tills this particular hurricane was born in remote tropical waters probably about SoP september lember 5 A few hundred miles north of tills this center of disturbance the sea inq ns relatively calm calin and passengers pasq engers on oil ers PI passing ing tills this way had no intimation of the lie terrific force that was generating oft if to tile the south likewise tile the southland sout liland of the lie united states lay placid in part bathed in rim sunshine bitne and in part shaded by far stretching blankets of clouds many of them so fleecy that to the casual capital ob observer cerver they carried no suggestion of the coming storm rut but the hurricane in the tropics gathered strength quickly and flung itself in fury mer the slender chain of islands 1 the florida keys I 1 in the face of every such rising peril the meteorologist upon whom who rests the responsibility for binkin making daily forecasts detandt s like one facing a thief in the dark beyond the mainland coast dand and a few scattered stations in the west indies he lias has no means of fit learning of the changing atmospheric conditions in those seas to the south and east save chance reports from ships ship early reports of alls hurricane were mere meager indeed the first intimation of the coming coining of disaster was received september 8 th the e dally daily forecast for that date stated that a tropical storm had appeared to the southeast of key west wert hut but lis as to its extent or its course tile the chief forecaster fore cater at that time could only conjecture despite ills his long experience in ills it was inevitable that the lie forecaster should be anxious every meteorologist who Is forecasting tit at such ruch alime Is anxious lie he had been on duty in season past when riot not a brigit hurricane appeared nut but in other bears 5 ears between july and october more than one such storm had left a trail of devastation across many I 1 states the forecaster knew that millions of dollars worth of cagnes cac gnes about to sail from the at atlantic ant and gulf ports might be lo lot lost t if tied 1 l D to make a proper forecast anil and issue adequate warnings the fate of whole cities rested on ills his decision is AS he turned from his study of the telegraphic reports rec received elved from the eastern arid and southeastern section of the country lie joked jok ed a little hut but in the manner of one whose joviality was a trifle forced perhaps about ills repeated hard luck at being on duty every time one of these storms hove in sight sl ht there was an unmistakable tenseness in ilk his manner as lie studied the map pointing to the low barometer area that w as moving steadily toward the southern states weather forecast correct the next chapter in the hurricane brief history Is told in the weather report of september 9 the tropical storm was central tuesday night and a little south of key west where the barometer read 2008 08 inches with a wind velocity of GO CO miles on all hour from the northeast the storm Is apparently moving northwestward and will pu pass into the gulf of mexico during tuesday Tue day nig night how speedily and deell decisively vely the forecaster had acted in the lie face of the oncoming peril Is indicated by the next nest sentence warnings to hipping and ami other interests have jeen been regularly ant hent since monday day morning when torm warnings were first displayed on the south florida Ilor lda coast the following 48 hours were laden alien with grave responsibility for tile the start staff of 0 the weather bureau it was wag theirs to decide at the earliest possible moment in n c consistent 0 risi stent with accuracy in what di direction n ta n the storm now moving with increasing power an and rapidity would travel us as it came nearer the mainland on wednesday september 10 the report rend read the tropical storm passed key west fla about midnight tuesday night with the barometer reading 2881 inches anil and estimated wind velocity of miles nn an hour from the die here was evidence that one of the most violent storms of recent years was about to strike at some I 1 point on the gulf cult const tills this report revealed the meagerness roea cerness of available information tit at this late date regarding hie file pro eress gres of the hurricane tonight the die storm Is protin bly central in the gulf of mexico not far from latitude 26 longitude SS still till moving loving north northwest wet and nor northeast theat storm warnings are ordered on the suit cuff coast from carrabelle fla to new orleans where the lie winds will probably be strong on thursday night dent advice has also been issued to tills this section to prepare for very dangerous N minds by bv friday defensive war starts and 0 PO o mans defensive war agni nit the be mighty force of nature was on with fill all its scientific data regarding regard lne the course of previous out storms etoris instant 1 ly IY accessible accas ible and with mith reports from all available points of ob observation cration tabulated anil and recorded on the weather xe ather nap map tile the weather bureau foretold ninny many hours in advance the peril that threatened the lie gulf coast thus the it people nerea ere forea forenamed amed it will be recalled that lint storm warnings warning mere dl displayed played regularly on the auth florida coat coast since monday rooming morning now how accurate curate nc the weather bureaus forecasts had been Is iq shown by the press dispatches di patches dated date wednesday night september 10 lower florida was paralyzed today as a result of the violent hurricane that cd over that section last night not a house in till thip city key west escaped damage frame buildings practically were razed two chu church ach edifices wrecked and five retail stores overturned the damage 9 estimated at more than shipping off the coast met with disaster several small vessels were sunk and others were driven to the reefs by this time the weather bureau in its fight to keep de and death deat it at the minimum was able to net with more even though mere was no adequate means of ascertaining atmospheric conditi conditions emp in the conter center area of the gulf of mexico the report of september 11 fla lashed hed over the wires from washington read the tropical storm Is apparently central tonight in the gulf of masico with latitude 27 deg degrees and longitude 88 degrees absence of reports forbid the definite location of the lie storm center arid it Is iq therefore impossible at tills time to state tile the portion of the mainland that it will first reach although it is iq fairly probable tant it will be west of the mississippi river storm warnings are displayed 11 played from the louisiana c o eastward to central florida and on the northwest coat of texas while the hurricane Mirrl cane was moving 0 on n its northwestward course additional news brief but vivid filtered in from points in its wake september 11 the lie associated pres iress representative wired nine members of the ward line ste stem niner iier corydon crew of 30 men wort brought to this port tills this afternoon by the schooner island home they had been adrift on an upturned lifeboat without food and water for ra r three days one of the lie crew according to their heir story had become crazed from suffering and privation wednesday night and sprang overboard in these hours the ts of the chief forecaster instinctively turned to galleton Gal in the past had suffered terribly from similar storms dispatches Dis from that lint city indicated that the tide was rising rapidly water was flooding the low place on the island land find people were ere fleeing tile lie elt city A SO io nille mlle northeast was blowing nt but for the weather bureaus timely warnings which had reached galveston before the gale struck the city million of tons of cargo and scores of ships would have put to sea and would haie been lost wt in the next 24 hour bour the borni inform lor ni burst upon the tow coat in full fury while the papers papi ra the next few days were tilled filled with mth account of like lie damage and death caused by the hurricane the fact of prent ct t significance and which the llie public lins lifis come to take almost as n matter of course only par 4 daily the skill and responsibility ability involved was that tile weather bureau had and been able to anticipate till storm long enough in advance to prevent a loss los that probably would have totaled thou thousands of lives and millions of dollars in shipping |