WEATHER FORECASTS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 648, 27 October 1909, Page 6

WEATHER FORECASTS.

Like most unpleasant things the recent southerly ; storm, which practically left Wellington alone, but which was more sevore in the South Island than was represented in the - telegrams, has a/useful moral. The storm covered western Can- , terbury with snow, flooded the young corn, and cruelly butchered the early summer''verdure. But tho corn /will take little harm, and-the trees will recover from the havoc. The really serious injury worked by. the tempest, was, the destruction of a large number of newlyshorn sheep. In some districts hundreds, turned out of the shearing pens in fine .weather on Thursday, wero scattered corpses on Saturday morning. Oho of pur contemporaries has said that the runholders were fortunate in obtaining early advice of the impending trouble, but this is precisely what they did not obtain. It is true' that Vif they had road the .newspapers they would have, learned a : few ■hours in. advance that, the Meteorological Department had predicted "heavy south- , erly weather," but such advice, oven if it had been roceived in time for adequate preparation, would not have been, and in pointof fact was not, of the slightest use. By considering what kind of advice would havo prevented the widespread destruction of stock in Canterbury, we 'get at the weaknesses of the meteorological, bureaux.,. It is 'obviously necessary, ■that the weather should- bo predicted- as far ahead as , possible, for any very short margin will not allow, the. predictions to bo. .turned ,to practical account. ;But oven if the weather could bo so predicted, it would be of little use to. predict it, in calm, general terms that might mean anything or nothing. "Heavy southerly ycather," for example; is no'sort ofphraEO to use when a \ particularly violent.■ blizzard is-pn the. way.. Some of those who shore their .sheep last Thursday -must have done so with 'full knowledge of, what the Meteorological Department; had pre.dicted. Either they merely 'concluded ' that it was about to rain some where, or; elso.they .treated the/prediction .with an indifference,;born : : 6f/their, 'experience of; ;the general :inutility>of weather .fore-; ..caster--The iMetcotolbg'icalv Department,; /wo havo . Ho doubt, does its vejcy best Mil-. dor the circumstances.' It cannot be ex-, ; pected,' with the. means at its disposal,' to make long forecasts. But if it is "worth 'maintaining—and meteorological research vis-of.', , coursej an urgently. neces-,sary,thing^itotfghli''ttf;be-maintained in .WajV, • a|, make useful.' .ThoSomcjal'swoaine'rs.fo'recastsi.-arc•/ not: j merely, intended, for the people wlio. tfant'. to know whother'they ehpuld tako their umbrellas with •them.;. ;What:.is ; w;aiited, is a system which will assist the farmer and the agriculturist. At present - the cfluntry settler/has little .guarantee that he. will not use the drill just before ia,week" of torrontial :rain, or that he will not hear a roaring galo in, th'o, corn , that ho meant to reap 'the nest morning, or that he will, ''not, shear' his ■sheep the day before the arrival of a blizzard.-' '■ .-;/:'■':■ '; .'