163
9.5 The World’s First Severe Weather Warning Service
In order to satisfy the ever-increasing requests for weather forecasting, motivated by
the aim of saving lives especially at sea, and to minimize the economic damage
associated with the most severe and extreme weather phenomena, Angelo Secchi
organized the first governmental meteorological network in history: the “Telegraphic
Meteorological Exchange” of the Papal States. He drew inspiration from two distinct meteorological projects conceived by two American high-level scientists, the
aforesaid Maury and Joseph Henry (1797–1878), as Secchi himself stated in
his manuscript Notizie meteorologiche adattate all’uso comune, (APUG Angelo
Secchi S. I., 4, V (b): [21]) (see below, paragraph 9.7). Maury and Henry were two
protagonists of the 1840s debate over the nature and causes of storms that was to
lead to a real “meteorological crusade” (Fleming 2000).
The time was ripe for scientists to begin to set up modern meteorological services, both nationally and internationally. In fact, the obvious awareness that atmospheric perturbations move beyond national borders stimulated scientists’ interest
in organizing coordinated meteorological services, to allow the unambiguous
understanding of the movement of air masses and storms (Iafrate 2011). For this
purpose, in 1847 the Smithsonian Institution in the USA, at the urging of its secretary Joseph Henry, had organized a daily collection of weather information provided by volunteer observers scattered across the country, whose number grew to
about 600. They were equipped with standardized forms and instruments and every
month submitted their weather reports to the Smithsonian Institution. These included
temperature, humidity, wind and cloud cover, and rain and snow measurements. The
aim of this project was to help scientists better understand storms, weather patterns,
and climate differences across the country. Although the Smithsonian had recommended using telegraph for gathering data and forecasting, this was not part of the
initial program, as it was deemed too expensive! During the late 1840s, there were
various informal telegraph companies in the USA that exchanged meteorological
information, but these were not connected to the Smithsonian Institution. It began
systematically gathering telegraphic information for forecasting in 1856. Weather
forecasting was another part of Henry’s plan. He set up a network of telegraph stations around the country to transmit weather data to the Smithsonian once a day.
Telegraph operators simply communicated whether the sky was clear or cloudy,
whether it was raining or snowing, and the wind direction.
In the early 1850s, independent of Henry, Maury also planned the creation of a
US “telegraphic meteorological bureau” within the Naval Observatory and
Hydrographical Office under his direction, in order to receive and analyze meteorological reports and then formulate weather forecasts. Unfortunately, Congress did
not approve his plan and he had to put aside this important goal (DuVal 2017).
In Europe, the first idea of a meteorological service aimed at modern weather
forecasting is generally attributed to the famous astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le
Verrier (1811–1877), director of the Imperial Observatory of Paris. His plan envisaged a vast meteorological network whose central office would be responsible for
telegraphing warnings of the imminent arrival of storms to French and other
European port authorities, as well as to sailors (Le Verrier 1855). The project was
9 Angelo Secchi and Meteorology in Italy
9.5 The World’s First Severe Weather Warning Service
In order to satisfy the ever-increasing requests for weather forecasting, motivated by
the aim of saving lives especially at sea, and to minimize the economic damage
associated with the most severe and extreme weather phenomena, Angelo Secchi
organized the first governmental meteorological network in history: the “Telegraphic
Meteorological Exchange” of the Papal States. He drew inspiration from two distinct meteorological projects conceived by two American high-level scientists, the
aforesaid Maury and Joseph Henry (1797–1878), as Secchi himself stated in
his manuscript Notizie meteorologiche adattate all’uso comune, (APUG Angelo
Secchi S. I., 4, V (b): [21]) (see below, paragraph 9.7). Maury and Henry were two
protagonists of the 1840s debate over the nature and causes of storms that was to
lead to a real “meteorological crusade” (Fleming 2000).
The time was ripe for scientists to begin to set up modern meteorological services, both nationally and internationally. In fact, the obvious awareness that atmospheric perturbations move beyond national borders stimulated scientists’ interest
in organizing coordinated meteorological services, to allow the unambiguous
understanding of the movement of air masses and storms (Iafrate 2011). For this
purpose, in 1847 the Smithsonian Institution in the USA, at the urging of its secretary Joseph Henry, had organized a daily collection of weather information provided by volunteer observers scattered across the country, whose number grew to
about 600. They were equipped with standardized forms and instruments and every
month submitted their weather reports to the Smithsonian Institution. These included
temperature, humidity, wind and cloud cover, and rain and snow measurements. The
aim of this project was to help scientists better understand storms, weather patterns,
and climate differences across the country. Although the Smithsonian had recommended using telegraph for gathering data and forecasting, this was not part of the
initial program, as it was deemed too expensive! During the late 1840s, there were
various informal telegraph companies in the USA that exchanged meteorological
information, but these were not connected to the Smithsonian Institution. It began
systematically gathering telegraphic information for forecasting in 1856. Weather
forecasting was another part of Henry’s plan. He set up a network of telegraph stations around the country to transmit weather data to the Smithsonian once a day.
Telegraph operators simply communicated whether the sky was clear or cloudy,
whether it was raining or snowing, and the wind direction.
In the early 1850s, independent of Henry, Maury also planned the creation of a
US “telegraphic meteorological bureau” within the Naval Observatory and
Hydrographical Office under his direction, in order to receive and analyze meteorological reports and then formulate weather forecasts. Unfortunately, Congress did
not approve his plan and he had to put aside this important goal (DuVal 2017).
In Europe, the first idea of a meteorological service aimed at modern weather
forecasting is generally attributed to the famous astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le
Verrier (1811–1877), director of the Imperial Observatory of Paris. His plan envisaged a vast meteorological network whose central office would be responsible for
telegraphing warnings of the imminent arrival of storms to French and other
European port authorities, as well as to sailors (Le Verrier 1855). The project was
9 Angelo Secchi and Meteorology in Italy