The Tempest Prognosticator Used Leeches To Predict Stormy Weather
Today was the birthday in 1794 of George Merryweather, the inventor of his era’s most fascinating leech-based weather predicting contraption: the tempest prognosticator.
Snowflake Bentley Showed The World Just How Amazing Snow Can Be
Today in 1865, the birthday of Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, who gave the world a close-up view of the beauty and variety in snowflakes.
Tilly Smith Saved 100 People From A Tsunami Because She’d Listened In Class
Today in 2004, a 10 year old managed to save a lot of people from a massive tsunami because she remembered a lesson she’d learned in school about what happens right before a tsunami hits. Good thing she was listening.
“Mr. Tornado” Ted Fujita Was The Original Severe Weather Detective
Today in 1920, the birthday of Ted Fujita, a pioneer in meteorology who was so revered by colleagues he became known as “Mr. Tornado.”
Hector, The Thunderstorm That Arrives Like Clockwork Over Australia’s Tiwi Islands
Around this time of year, the Tiwi Islands in northern Australia can start counting on pretty much the same thunderstorm showing up at the same time every day. It's so reliable, they even named it.
There Were Storm Chasers Even In The 19th Century
Today in 1884, A.A. Adams of Kansas took what is the earliest-known photo of a tornado. Early storm photos are pretty remarkable, for a lot of reasons.
Two Forecasters Figured Out How To Predict Tornadoes, Right Before One Touched Down
Today in 1948, two meteorologists helped make things safer for those living in the path of severe storms, when they issued the first successful tornado warning.
The Proto-Guitarist Who Rocked Ancient Egypt
The earliest guitar-like instrument we've been able to find appears to have belonged to Har-Mose, who played for Queen Hatshepsut 3500 years ago in ancient Egypt.
From Storms Chasing Us, To Us Chasing Storms
Storm damage isn't cool, weird or awesome, but the ways we spot storms and warn people about them are pretty great. And they've come a long way from the time when the US Army Signal Corps banned anyone from using the word “tornado” in forecasts so as not to scare the public!
Where’s Francine Pierce? Or Martina Van Buren? What I’ve Been Reading This Week, June 2, 2019
Some excellent links from the past week.