![]() He was ultimately promoted to Principal Meteorologist. In 1901 Cline and his daughters moved to New Orleans, where he remarried and served as District Forecaster. Twenty days following the hurricane, Cline was “most highly commended” for alerting people to move to higher ground and for not leaving his post during the storm although “under great personal peril.” His report from November 1900 lists his marital status as “single (widower)” and his dependents as “three little daughters…” Louis)Ī personnel report for May 1900 lists his marital status, dependents, and next of kin: he listed his wife and daughters. Cline later estimated that death toll would have been double had he not detected the oncoming storm and issued a warning.Ĭline’s personal loss can be seen in the documents contained within his official personnel folder. Over 6,000 people lost their lives, including Cline’s wife and unborn child. On September 8, 1900, a devastating category four hurricane hit Galveston. That September he predicted another impending disaster: a hurricane headed for Galveston.Īlthough he was unable to acquire cooperation from the central Weather Bureau office in Washington, DC, Cline followed his instinct and warned people housed along the beach and in lower elevations to relocate to higher ground.īecause the weather preceding the storm had been fair and many of the people in Galveston were enjoying vacations, not everyone heeded Cline’s warnings. In April 1900, while Cline and his expectant wife, Cora May Ballew Cline, were living in Galveston, TX, with their three children, he successfully predicted the rupture of the Colorado River dam in Austin, TX, saving countless lives. He also began to focus on disaster prediction, and during the Spanish-American War (1898) he established a storm-warning system along the Mexican coast to help protect the U.S. In 1895 Cline shifted his focus to the practice of more accurately predicting temperature readings to benefit crop production. He spent years observing and writing about the affects of weather and climate on people’s health and mortality. from Texas Christian University in 1896, and a passion for the study of weather conditions. Weather Bureau.Ĭline had a medical degree from the University of Arkansas in 1885, a Ph.D. ![]() In 1891, when meteorologists were transferred to Department of Agriculture, Cline moved to the newly created U.S. Louis)ĭuring a time when formal scientific weather forecasting was in its infancy, Isaac Cline was a man with a penchant for predicting disasters.īorn in 1861, Cline was a perpetually driven man who joined the U.S. ![]() Today’s post comes from Ashley Mattingly, an archivist at the National Archives at St. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |