MEDFORDSfefTRIBUNE
MEDFORD, ORE., SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, I860
The
Weather
Man
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The "weather man" is a most important man. He
warns of dangerous storms, tornadoes, floods,
and heat waves. Millions of United States citi
zens depend upon his forecasts to tell them
when to plant crops, whether to take the plane
or travel on the ground, when to advertise um
brellas and snow suits, whether to plan a picnic
and a trip to the beach, and what to wear for
the day's business. Today we salute the weather
men.
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Bill Acord is the supervising meteorological technician for the Med
ford station. He is shown here working with rawinsonde equipment,
a complicated and delicate system which measures and records air
pressure, temperature, humidity, wind direction and velocity above
the earth's surface. This information is picked up outdoors by a
radio theodolite which is the receiving and. tracking machine.
Robert Church (at right) is meteorologist in charge of the Medford unit of the United States Weather Bureau, located at the
Municipal Airport building. Shown with Mr. Church is his principal assistant, Stanley lacy. The two men are shown studying
a surface weather map, the first tool the weather experts use in analyzing air masses and determining what sort of weather
': r these masses will .bring.
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; Meteorological Aide Philip larch (below) is shown at the microphone making a
weather report for a Medford radio station. The reports, three direct and a
fourth taped, are broadcast by the valley stations each day. Bill Koepke,
meteorologist, is shown typing one of the reports. The microphone and
typewriter are located In a small room which the men refer to as "the broom
closet." Men of the staff take turns at the microphone.
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A battery of Teletype writers at the weather bureau is constantly chattering away as Information is sent out and received.
Pictured with the machines are (left to right) Ward Lampkln, Bob Bauman and Art Fritz, whose voices are often heard
as they give the weather reports. All three are meteorologists with the bureau. About 1000 stations, of varying sizes and
located throughout the United States, gather and exchange information. Sequence reports are received hourly.
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The device shown here is known as a solar radiation recorder. Pictured checking the machine is Herb Hove, a rawin
sonde specialist. Twelve men are on the staff of the station, and they rotate shifts in order that each man takes his
turn at night work. Eleven were at the station Tuesday and the twelfth, Robert Pentney, is on vacation. Ted Wiley,
an electronic technician, is assigned to the station to keep the equipment in good order.
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At 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. In every 24 hours a balloon is released by the men at the weather station, and It carries aloft a radiosonde. Pictured
Tuesday afternoon as they prepared to release the helium-filled balloon are Harold Smith (at left), meteorologist, and Ed House, a meteorolo
gical technician and rawinsonde specialist, The equipment in the small box which Mr. Smith holds, sounds the atmosphere and sends back
to earth Information about temperature, humidity ond air pressure. These are picked up by other machines, recorded and evaluated by the
experts at the station.
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