Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 254, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 November 1917 — Violent Shock of Explosions in Battle Has No Effect Whatever on the Weather [ARTICLE]

Violent Shock of Explosions in Battle Has No Effect Whatever on the Weather

By C. F. Martin,

Chief of the United States Weather Bureau

The violent shock and' the heat of explosions in battle have no effect whatever on the weather. All weather factors, temperature, precipitation and wind velocity, ultimately depend on the heating and cooling of the atmosphere. The idea that battles cause rains is very old. In the earlier times the rain was attributed to the clash of swords and sweat of soldiers, later to the noise of cannon and guns, then to the dust particles (smoke) caused by the burning of black powder, and now, by some, to the gases freed by the explosion of guncotton, etc. _________ Anyone at all familiar with the real cause of rain (the cooling of humid air by vertical convection) will see at once that it cannot be induced by noise, nor by the gaseous products of modern explosives. “ Furthermore, statistical studies show that the weather during years of war does not differ appreciably from the weather during years of peace.