Chapter 1
The birth of modern forecasting
Chapter 2
Old Probabilities and the Weather Bureau
Chapter 3
Standardizing time for the world
YOUR GOAL
Master of The father of weather forecasting
Ch 2 · Old Probabilities and the Weather Bureau
schopenhauer Old Probabilities
Old Probabilities, Old Probabilities, is it gonna rain today?
schopenhauer Abbe fought to replace traditional superstitions with rigorous scientific calculations.
schopenhauer Abbe earned the nickname 'Old Probabilities' for his cautious and honest weather predictions.
BETA
schopenhauer Match weather signals to discover how Cleveland Abbe created the first daily forecasts.
Fun Fact
The eclipse survival: When Cleveland Abbe collapsed from altitude sickness on Pikes Peak in 1878, helpers had to carry him down the mountain on a stretcher made of branches.
Glossary
forecast (noun)
A prediction of future events, especially coming weather. Cleveland Abbe issued the first official American public weather predictions in Cincinnati on September 22, 1869.
A prediction of future events, especially coming weather. Cleveland Abbe issued the first official American public weather predictions in Cincinnati on September 22, 1869.
Quiz
What famous nickname did the public give Cleveland Abbe because of his cautious weather forecasts?
Quiz
In 1870, under which branch of the US military was the first national weather service established?
Quiz
What was Cleveland Abbe's role when the new federal weather service was created in 1871?
Quiz
Why did Cleveland Abbe call his weather predictions 'probabilities' or 'indications'?
Quiz
Who was the US President who signed the national weather service into law in 1870?
Quiz
On which famous Colorado mountain did Cleveland Abbe nearly die of altitude sickness while observing a solar eclipse in 1878?