Before beginning observations with the ordinary instruments, accustom yourself to making and recording observations of a general character, such as may be carried out without the use of any instruments whatever. Such records include: Temperature; Wind Direction and Velocity; State of the Sky, and Rainfall.

Temperature.—In keeping a record[2] of temperature without the use of a thermometer, excellent practice is given in observations of the temperature actually felt by the human body. Our bodies are not thermometers. They do not indicate, by our sensations of heat or cold, just what is the temperature of the surrounding air, but they try to adjust themselves to the conditions in which they are. This adjustment depends on many things beside the temperature of the air; e.g., the moisture or humidity of the air; the movement of the air; the temperature and the nearness of surrounding objects. In summer, a day on which the temperature reaches 80° or 85° often seems much hotter than another day on which the temperature rises to 95°. In winter, temperatures registered by the thermometer as 10° or 15° above zero often feel a great deal colder than temperatures of -5° or -10°. In recording your observations on temperature, the record book may be divided into columns as follows:—

The following are some of the questions you should ask yourself in carrying out this work. It is not expected that you will be able to answer all these questions at once, but that you will keep them in mind during your studies, and try to discover the answers, as a result of your own observations.

How does it feel to you out of doors to-day? Is it hot, warm, cool, or cold? What is the difference between your feelings yesterday and to-day? Between day before yesterday and to-day? Have you noticed any regular change in your feelings as to warmth and cold during three or four successive days? During the past week or two? During the past month? Is there any difference between the temperature of morning, noon, afternoon, and evening? Is there any regular variation in temperature during the day? Have there been any sudden changes in temperature during the last few days? Have these sudden changes brought warmer or cooler weather? Has the warmer or cooler weather continued for a day or so, or has another change quickly followed the first? Have the sudden changes, if you have noted any, come at any regular times (as morning, afternoon, evening) or at irregular intervals? Does there seem to you to be any definite system, of any kind, in our changes of temperature? In what ways are people in general affected by hot weather? By cold weather? What difference does a very hot or a very cold day make in your own case?

Wind Direction and Velocity.—Wind is an important meteorological element because it has many close relations to human life. It affects very markedly our bodily sensations of heat or cold. A cold, calm day is pleasanter than a cold, windy day. On the other hand, a hot, calm day is usually much more uncomfortable than a hot, windy day. High winds cause wrecks along seacoasts and damage houses, crops, and fruit trees. Sea breezes bring in fresh, cool, pure air from the ocean on hot summer days. In the tropics the sea breeze is so important in preserving the health of Europeans in many places that it is known as “the doctor.” The movement of wind through large cities carries off the foul air which has collected in the narrow streets and alleys, and is thus a great purifying agent.

Record the direction of the wind according to the four cardinal points of the compass (N., E., S., and W.) and the four intermediate points (NE., SE., SW., and NW.). The direction of the wind is the point from which the wind blows. You can determine the points of the compass roughly by noting where the sun rises and where it sets.

Note the velocity of the wind according to the following scale, proposed by Professor H. A. Hazen of the United States Weather Bureau.

The record book will need two additional columns when wind observations are begun, as follows:—

What is the direction of the wind to-day? What is its velocity? Has its direction or velocity changed since yesterday? If so, was the change sudden or gradual? Have you noticed any calms? What was the direction of the wind before the calm? What after the calm? Does there seem to be more wind from one compass point than from another? Is there any relation between the direction of the wind and its velocity? i.e., is the NW. wind, for instance, usually a brisk or a high wind, or, is the SE. or S. wind usually moderate? Does the wind usually change its direction gradually, as from SE. to S., then to SW., then to W., etc., or does it jump all at once, as from SE. to W.? Is there any relation between the velocity of the wind and the hour of the day, i.e., does the wind seem stronger or weaker at noon than in the morning or at night? Is it a common occurrence to have a wind from the same direction for several successive days, or are we apt to have different winds almost every day? Do you notice any systematic changes in wind direction which are often repeated? What are these changes? Can you make a simple rule for them? In what ways does the wind affect us?

State of the Sky.—By the state of the sky is meant the condition of the sky as to its cloudiness. Clouds add much to the beauty and variety of nature. They are often gorgeously colored at sunset. By their changes in form, color, and amount from day to day they relieve what might otherwise be a wearisome succession of the same weather types. Prevailingly overcast skies have a depressing effect. Prevailingly clear skies become monotonous. A proper amount of bright sunshine is essential for the ripening of crops, but too much sunshine may parch soil and vegetation, and become injurious. Clouds bring rain; hence a sufficient amount of cloudiness is just as necessary as a sufficient amount of sunshine. The drift of clouds shows us the direction of movement of the air above us, and is of considerable help in forecasting the weather. Fog, which is a very low cloud, is in some cases so common as to be a meteorological element of great importance. In the city of London, where fogs are very prevalent, especially in winter, the average number of hours of bright sunshine in December and January is only fifteen in each month. The London fogs are, in great part, due to the presence in the air of vast numbers of particles of soot and smoke from millions of fires. These particles increase the density of the fog and prolong its duration.

The amount of cloudiness is recorded on a scale of tenths. A clear sky is one that is less than ³/₁₀ cloudy; a fair sky is from ³/₁₀ to ⁷/₁₀ cloudy; and a cloudy sky is over ⁷/₁₀ cloudy. In observing the state of the sky, note such points as the times of clouding and of clearing; the arrangement of the clouds, i.e., whether they are few and scattered, or cover the sky with a uniform layer; the common forms of clouds; the changes in the amounts of cloudiness, etc.

Another new column must be added in the record book for the cloudiness. The table will now appear thus:—

Is the sky clear, fair, or cloudy to-day? Is there more or less cloud than there was yesterday? Than the day before yesterday? Is to-day a day of increasing or of decreasing cloudiness? Is the sky usually perfectly clear, or is it oftenest somewhat clouded over? How long does it take for the sky to become completely covered with clouds from the time when it first begins to become cloudy? When there are a few clouds in the sky, are these usually scattered all over the sky, or are they in groups? Have you noticed any particular form of clouds which seemed familiar to you? Do clouds seem to have certain definite shapes and appearances which are to be seen often? Do you discover any variation of cloudiness during the day, i.e., is it apt to be more cloudy in the afternoon than in the morning or at night? Can you make a list describing some of the clouds that you see most often? Can you give these common kinds of clouds some names of your own that shall describe them briefly? In what ways does a clear sky, with bright sunshine, affect us?

Rainfall.—Under the general term rainfall, meteorologists include, besides rain itself, snow, hail, sleet, etc. The term precipitation is also often used. Rainfall stands in close relation to human life and occupations. It feeds lakes and rivers, thus furnishing means of transportation, power for running mills and factories, and water supplies for cities. Regions of abundant rainfall are usually heavily forested, like the Amazon valley in South America, and parts of Equatorial Africa. In civilized countries lumbering is apt to be an important occupation in districts of heavy rainfall, as in Oregon and Washington in our own country, and in Southern Chile in South America. Where there is a moderate rainfall, and other conditions are favorable, there agriculture is possible, and farming becomes one of the chief occupations, as in the Mississippi and Missouri valleys in the United States, and in Western Canada. Districts which have a rainfall too small for successful agriculture, but are not by any means deserts, are often excellent grazing lands, as in the case of parts of Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas in the United States, and the Argentine Republic in South America. Where there is very little rainfall deserts are found. Cities are not built in deserts, because there are no occupations to attract large numbers of men. The inhabitants of the desert are wandering tribes, which move from place to place in search of water and food for themselves and their animals. Rain and snow cleanse the air, washing out impurities such as dust and smoke. Hence they are important agents in preserving health.

Note the kind of precipitation (rain, snow, hail, sleet); the amount (heavy, moderate, light, trace); and the time of the beginning and ending of the storm or shower.

The record book must now be further subdivided into columns, to make room for the rainfall observations, in this manner:—

Does most of our rain come in brief showers, or in storms lasting a day or two? Do we have about the same amount of rain or snow every week and every month, or does the amount vary a good deal from week to week and from month to month? Do you notice much difference in the characteristics of successive storms, or do they all seem pretty much alike? Are thunderstorms limited to any particular season of the year? If so, to what season? Have you discovered any rule as to the time of day when rainstorms or snowstorms begin? When thunderstorms begin and end? Is it common or uncommon for us to have a storm lasting three or four days? How long does a thunderstorm usually last? Do we have most hail in winter or in summer? In what ways does a rainy day affect people? How are you yourself affected? How does a heavy snowstorm affect travel and transportation? In what ways does a snowstorm differ from a rainstorm as to the character of the precipitation and its effects?

After studying the temperature, wind, state of sky, and rainfall separately, take two elements together and see what relation one has to the other. Try to answer such questions as these:—

Temperature and Wind.—What relations can you discover between the direction of the wind and the temperature? Which winds are the coolest? Which the warmest? Does a hot, calm day seem warmer or cooler than a hot, windy day? Does a cold, calm day seem colder or warmer than a cold, windy day? Does the velocity of the wind have any effect on your feeling of cold or of warmth? If so, what effect?

Wind and State of Sky.—Has the direction of the wind anything to do with the cloudiness? Is there more apt to be considerable cloudiness with wind from one direction than from another? What winds are usually accompanied by the largest amount of cloud? What winds usually blow when the sky is clear? Is the relation of cloudiness to certain wind directions so close that, if you know the wind direction, you can make a prediction as to the probable cloudiness? Are the winds with clouds more common in one month than another? In one season than another? If so, which month? which season?

Temperature and State of Sky.—Do you notice any relation between the temperature and the state of the sky? In winter are our coldest days usually cloudy or clear? In summer are our hottest days cloudy or clear? Are the winds that give us the most cloudiness warm or cold winds in winter and in summer? Is a cloudy night colder or warmer than a clear night? Is a cloudy day colder or warmer than a clear day?

State of Sky and Precipitation.—How is rainfall or snowfall related to the cloudiness? Do we ever have rain or snow when the sky is not completely covered with clouds? Does the sky usually become quickly covered with clouds before a rain? Does a sky wholly covered with clouds always give us rain or snow? Does the sky clear rapidly or slowly after a rain? Are any particular kinds of clouds associated with rain or with snowstorms? With brief showers? With thunderstorms?

Wind and Precipitation.—Are any particular wind directions more likely than others to give us rain or snow? Are these the same winds as those which give us the most cloudiness? What winds are they? Has the velocity of the wind any relation to the rain or snowstorm? Does the wind blow harder before, during, or after the rain or snow? What changes of wind direction have you noted before, during, and after any storm? Have you noticed these same changes in other storms? Are they so common in our storms that you can make a rule as to these changes?

Temperature and Precipitation.—Does a shower or a rainstorm in the hotter months affect the temperature of the air in any way? How? In the winter does the temperature show any changes before a snowstorm? Is it usually warmer or colder then than a day or two before the storm and the day after? Is it usually uncomfortably cold during a snowstorm? Are rainy spells in the spring and the autumn months cooler or warmer than clear dry weather?