Today, most people have at least two weather apps on their phones and can access the doppler radar as quickly as the local television meteorologists. But one hundred years ago, most folks predicted the weather by simply poking their heads outside to see what the sky looked like.
Full-length colorized portrait of an unidentified woman standing at a chalkboard and writing with a piece of chalk in a room at Municipal Airport, now Midway Airport, Chicago, Illinois, 1929. Grids are visible on the chalkboard.
In the 1920s, weather forecasting took a few steps away from educated guesses with the introduction of a few key pieces of technology. For the first time, meteorologists had some tools to use to better predict the weather and they had a way to broadcast their reports to a wide audience … radio.
How’s the Weather?
Weather-related calculations were done by hand in the 1920s. (philadelphiaencyclopedia.org)
For a long time, the United States was a farming nation. It was very important for farmers to know what the weather would be and how it would impact their crops. For the first half of the U.S.’s existence, however, scientists lacked the tools to predict the weather with any sort of accuracy. They used rain gauges to measure and record rainfall and thermometers to indicate the temperature. This information was kept year after year and scientists used the data to come up with averages that masked as forecasted.
The Barometer and More
A colorized portrait of Lewis Fry Richardson. (frontiers.com)
The barometer, a tool used to measure atmospheric pressure, had been in existence since the 1600s but its use as a predictor of future weather was not widespread nor highly accurate. It did, however, provide scientists with hard data from which to work. In the early 1900s, a new idea emerged called numerical weather forecasting. It was theorized that a person could use the numbers gleaned from various sources – temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, humidity, and more – to mathematically forecast the weather. In 1922, one scientist published a report of his attempt to do just that. His name was Lewis Fry Richardson. Working by hand using a complex mathematical formula, Richardson produced a weather report for a six-hour period for a location in Europe. Unfortunately, it took Richardson about six weeks to do the calculations and, even then, he had some of the numbers wrong. Numerical weather forecasting was a concept that needed to wait until computers were invented and could do the calculations in minutes.
Weather Balloons
A colorized photo of a weather balloon being launched in the 1920s. (community.windy.com)
The 1920s saw the invention of the radiosonde, which greatly improved weather forecasting. The radiosonde is a small box containing weather measuring instruments as well as a radio transmitter. Using weather balloons, a radiosonde was launched into the atmosphere about 18 miles up in the air. At that point, the balloon would burst and the radiosonde would plummet back to earth. As it did, it would radio data to a nearby weather station. Air pressure, temperature, wind speed, and moisture recordings were all used to help meteorologists construct weather maps and weather models for their forecasts.
Reporting the Weather
A radio broadcaster in the 1920s. (arstechnica)
Very quickly, people realized that speedy communication could be an asset to weather forecasting. When the telegraph, and then the telephone, were invented, they both proved to be invaluable at spreading weather-related information. In the 1920s, a new form of mass communication soared in popularity … radio. Weather officials understood that radio could be helpful in disseminating weather forecasts.
The First Weather Broadcast
The weather broadcast at KDKA Radio. (britannica)
A Pittsburgh radio station, KDKA Radio, became the first station in the United States to include weather forecasts as part of its regular programming, starting on November 2, 1920. The weather reports were aimed at average citizens just as much as they were intended for farmers. The weather reports were a hit with the station’s listeners. Within months, other radio stations across the country added weather reporting to their schedules. Radio helped to demystify weather science and show people the value of preparing for inclement weather.
