NORFOLK-HATTERAS (VA.-N. C.) SECTION.

[Telegraph.]

The 172 miles of land line, including several short cables totaling about 4 miles, worked unusually well and is in excellent condition. New insulators were installed from Norfolk to Coast Guard station No. 165, a distance of about 35 miles, materially increasing efficiency. Of the four conductors in the new Manteo-Nags Head cable, one became useless in February from the effects of lightning; since then one of the two reserve conductors has been used in lieu thereof. Repair by the Coast Guard Service is expected in the near future. Between Cape Henry and Coast Guard station No. 163, a distance of 10 miles, 10 pin cross arms were installed by the War Department in place of 4 pin arms in a first-class manner in order to provide for stringing several extra wires for the use of that department.

Because of the encroachment of the sea at Nags Head, necessitating removal of numerous cottages to a safe distance from the beach, the poles were moved back about 100 yards for a distance of 1 mile.

During April the pole line across Rudy Inlet was changed to the right of way of the Norfolk & Southern Railway Co., thus removing the line from private property.

This Norfolk-Hatteras line is of great value to the various governmental services using it and to the public generally by reason of the large amount and character of information collected and disseminated through this instrumentality.

The Coast Guard Service has cooperated most efficiently in the maintenance and improvement of the line, practically all of the repair work having been accomplished by them.

KEY WEST-SAND KEY (FLA.) SECTION.

The cable connecting this point is owned by the Navy Department, having been laid by that department in January, 1919. No land line is operated.

ALPENA-THUNDER BAY-MIDDLE ISLAND (MICH.) SECTION.

[Telephone.]

Land lines, 22 miles; cable, 51 miles.

The total time of interruption during the year was three days on the Thunder Bay line due to necessity of repairs on the 12 miles of

land line.

The lines are in fair condition except that the number of poles breaking off at the ground, due to rot, is increasing. Seventeen poles fell during the year owing to the effect of storms. One thousand dollars should be made available for sawing off and resetting those now in good condition and for replacing about 25 others. This would add approximately 10 years to the life of the line.

The naval communication service contemplates the erection of a radio-compass station on Thunder Bay Island or North Point this fiscal year if possible. The communication between the compass station and the Alpena radio station is to be maintained by two metallic circuits. One of these circuits could be made available to

both the Weather Bureau and the radio service for telephonic communication to and from the island.

This offers an opportunity for cooperation by the radio service in the matter of reconstruction and maintenance of the Thunder Bay Island telephone line.

WHITEFISH POINT-GRAND MARAIS (MICH.) SECTION.

[Telephone.]

No interruption of moment occurred on this line. The twice-daily reports received from Whitefish Point during navigation are of decided importance to shipping interests. The reports are addressed "Observer, Sault Ste. Marie," transmitted through to Grand Marais Coast Guard station, including the 10 miles of Weather Bureau line to Vermillion Point, thence by a private telephone line to Seney, where they are transferred to a Western Union Telegraph wire.

The country through which the private telephone wire line runs is sparsely settled. Information has been received that the line is deteriorating and that it is only a question of time when it will be abandoned.

It is understood that the Navy Department is considering placing a radio station at Whitefish Point, which will afford communication with Sault Ste. Marie, provided a 3-mile land line can be built between Detour and Detour Point. If established, this channel can be used for transmission of Weather Bureau reports to and from Whitefish Point.

NORTH AND SOUTH MANITOU ISLANDS-SLEEPING BEAR POINT (MICH.) SECTION AND BEAVER ISLAND-CHARLEVOIX (MICH.) SECTION.

[Telephone.]

These two worked satisfactorily throughout the year.

SAN FRANCISCO-POINT REYES-MOUNT TAMALPAIS (CALIF.) SECTION.

[Telephone.]

Extensive use is made of this line by the Coast Guard Service, which cooperated with the Weather Bureau in the preceding year in a reorganization plan as set forth in the report for June 30, 1919.

About 5 miles of new wire was strung by that service between Point Reyes and Fairfax, replacing faulty wire placed in the course of reconstruction of the line during the previous year.

A plan for the maintenance of the line jointly by the Weather Bureau and the Coast Guard Service was entered into April 1, 1920, which designates certain sections for which the Weather Bureau and Coast Guard will be responsible, separately. This has been of material advantage to the Weather Bureau.

A total of 1,518 messages were transmitted during the year, mostly observational reports and requests for information. No commercial business is handled.

The three test stations installed in May, 1919, and mentioned in the report for last year have further demonstrated their usefulness in locating trouble. The portion of the line between Mount Tamalpais and Mill Valley (4 miles) worked generally well throughout

the year except from July 17 to 25, during which period an interruption of six days occurred. About 1,000 messages were transmitted to and from Mount Tamalpais. The weather reports from this point are of great benefit to the service.

NORTH HEAD-PORTLAND (OREG.) SECTION.

[Telegraph.]

No extensive changes or repairs were made during the year, the cost for ordinary repairs being but $9.

As detailed in the last report the Weather Bureau is permitted by the War Department the use of a conductor in the military cable between Fort Canby and Fort Stevens, the cable formerly owned and operated by the Weather Bureau between these points having been abandoned because of further unserviceability. During June the War Department laid a new section of cable for a part of the distance between Fort Canby and Fort Columbia. Much improvement in transmission has been noted. Use of the military cable is subject to recall at any time. Permanency of continuance of communication by wire between Portland and North Head, vital to Weather Bureau interests in that section, can be secured only by the laying of a new cable either by the Weather Bureau or by another agency which would assure preservation of Weather Bureau interests.

A new cable and necessary land lines would cost approximately $25,000 to $30,000 at this time.

TATOOSH ISLAND-PORT ANGELES (WASH.) SECTION.

[Telegraph.]

Length, about 90 miles. Extensive logging operations along a considerable portion of this line continued throughout the year as for several years previous, causing numerous interruptions by breaks and groundings. The number was augmented by results of road building, storms, and falling timber. Communication was thus interrupted for a total of 17 days, 88 breaks having occurred.

The span wire between Tatoosh Island and the mainland parted on July 10, resulting in an interruption of three days and four hours. A new span wire will be strung this autumn, because of faulty character of present span due to rust.

Seven hundred and fifty dollars was expended during the year for ordinary and general repairs. Much of this amount was expended for labor, the cost of which has about doubled in the last few years. About 15,000 commercial messages were handled, resulting in Government tolls of about $2,400. In addition over 3,000 free Government messages were transmitted and about 1,500 long-distance telephone calls passed over the line.

Various alterations were made in the route of the line made necessary by town improvements, by removal from swamps, menacing forest conditions, and changing of county roadbed. Similar changes are contemplated during this year in order to improve general conditions. The line continues to be of substantial benefit to logging companies and the shipping, fishing, and commercial interests.

Regular tri-daily and special vessel reports are a special feature of the work of the stations along the line and are highly regarded by the interests served.

AEROLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS.

KITE STATIONS.

Free-air observations by means of kites have been continued throughout the year at Broken Arrow, Okla.; Drexel, Nebr.; Ellendale, N. Dak.; Groesbeck, Tex.; Leesburg, Ga.; and Royal Center, Ind. These observations include daily kite flights and, whenever possible, continuous series of flights covering periods of 24 to 36 hours. Records of air pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind direction and speed are thus obtained. Brief summaries are telegraphed daily to the central office and other district forecast centers.

PILOT BALLOON STATIONS.

Observations by means of pilot balloons were continued at five of the kite stations (all except Drexel, Nebr.), and at Ithaca, N. Y.; Lansing, Mich.; Madison, Wis., and Washington, D. C. Early in the fiscal year this work was organized also at Burlington, Vt., and Denver, Colo. These observations are made twice daily, and the indicated wind conditions at various heights are telegraphed to the central office and other district forecast centers for use in furnishing advices to the military, naval, and postal aviation services. For the most part the balloons are assumed to have a constant rate of ascent and are followed with one theodolite only. In order to check the accuracy of the ascensional rate formula, however, observations are made with two theodolites, whenever opportunity offers, at the five kite stations.

WEST INDIAN HURRICANE SERVICE.

In order to add to our knowledge of the origin, direction, and speed of movement of hurricanes, plans were made late in the fiscal year to organize an aerological service in the West Indies for the period July to November, 1920, inclusive. Owing to the limited funds available, observations were undertaken by the Weather Bureau at two new stations only, viz, at Key West, Fla., and San Juan, P. R. These, however, together with similar stations organized by the Navy at Coco Solo, Canal Zone, and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and several already in operation in the Gulf States, form a network of stations which, it is believed, will furnish information of much aid in the study of these destructive storms and in forecasting their direction and rate of movement. It is to be hoped that this service may be greatly extended during the next two or three years.

COOPERATION.

Throughout the year cooperation with the Army and Navy meteorological services has not only been maintained but has been rendered considerably more effective than heretofore. In addition to the two balloon stations established by the Navy in the West Indies, already referred to, about a dozen similar stations are operated by these two services in various parts of the United States. These stations are so distributed with respect to those of the Weather Bureau that the country east of the one hundredth meridian is well.

covered. Observations are made and telegraphed in the same manner as are those at the Weather Bureau aerological stations.

Special observations were made during the year in connection with the trans-Atlantic flight of the British dirigible R-34, the Army and Navy race from St. Louis, and the recruiting trip of the NC-4.

CENTRAL OFFICE.

All observations made at kite and balloon stations, Weather Bureau, Army, and Navy, are forwarded to the central office of the Weather Bureau for final reduction and study. Data based upon these observations are furnished in answer to numerous inquiries not only from other Government departments but from commercial aviation concerns as well. A summary of aerological investigations at Drexel, Nebr., was published and widely distributed. Similar summaries for the other kite stations are in preparation. Several papers, containing discussions of aerological data and their application, were published, and work was begun on an aerological survey of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains based upon all kite and balloon observations thus far obtained.

CLIMATOLOGY.

The work in climatology during the fiscal year just closed was carried forward mainly along the lines pursued in previous years. The somewhat deranged conditions of the observing force at numerous stations, due to frequent changes, tended to less accurate work and thereby added to the work of the checking and verification. Frequent changes in the clerical force and a lessened efficiency, due to the general lowering of the morale, have hindered progress and added materially to the labors of the more responsible supervising employees.

On the whole, however, the station forms work has been nearer the standard required than might have been expected and much credit is due to officials in charge of the several stations for the diligence shown in securing good work under the frequently continued handicap of untrained assistants.

A considerable increase in work to meet the needs of aviation has been entailed by the call for wind movement and duration from the different direction points, but it is thought the data finally summarized from all sources are believed to be of the high standard usually maintained.

No change has been made in the manner of presenting the climatic statistics gathered by the Bureau, save in the case of Form 1030, Monthly Meteorological Summary, issued at the close of each month from practically all stations. This form has been revised to include much additional material pertaining to the hourly temperature and moisture values, as well as additional comparative data, and is now being issued at practically all stations provided with proper printing facilities. Also the policy of encouraging the press to print in their daily issues more data on moisture, inaugurated last year, has continued, and this is now being accomplished satisfactorily at the majority of stations.