WEATHER TELEGRAMS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2008, 5 June 1885, Page 2

WEATHER TELEGRAMS.

Althouqii weather telegrams are very frequently made the subject of merriment, there is Ho doubt they are useful to the farmer as well as to the mariner, if the person who controls them knows what he is about. The science of meteorology has made rapid strides of late, and with the cable between New Zealand and Australia, it is generally possible to foretell what.the weather is likely to be from 36 to 48 hours hence. Blow this is done would take too much space to explain fully; but we may say that the storm circles move from west to east, and that a low pressure experienced in Australia is' therefore pretty sure to strike New Zealand. With such means at command, the observers in Wellington obtain a good general idea, They, however, appear to neglect making,, allowance for local influences, In the case of the Wairarapa, telegrams to expect bad weather and a low barometer within a certain time, are often sent only to prove incorrect. The cause of the failure is very simple. Bad weather almost invariably approaches from.the westward, where there is a range of hills about five thousand feet his>h, Tumbling clouds on this range are a sure indication that rain is falling on the West Coast, but it generally takes about twenty-four hours before it can cross the mountains. In the meantime a southerly wind frequently sets in, and there being nothing to obstruct it, it passes quickly over the valley, When these simple facts, which have been gathered liy careful observation, are taken into account, the predictions forwarded by the Meteorological Department 'will be of great value to the settlers in .the Wairarapa Valley.