Storms Floods and Sunshine

An Autobiography—Memoirs of the Great Galveston Hurricane Weather Forecaster

Isaac Monroe Cline

• Publisher: Pelican Publishing
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781565547667
• eBook ISBN: 9781455612536
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Science & Technology Biographies
• Index: Technology & Engineering

More than six thousand souls perished in the September 8, 1900, hurricane that devastated the island town of Galveston, Texas. Men and women, rich and poor, black and white struggled alike in what was to that date the worst natural disaster in American history. Many more would have lost their lives, however, if it wasn't for the efforts of Dr. Issac Monroe Cline, section director at the Weather Bureau Headquarters. It was Cline who decided to raise the flags over the Weather Bureau, signaling an impending hurricane. He also spoke to large crowds of people in low-lying areas of the island, correctly predicting the unexpected force and direction of the storm.

This detailed autobiography, originally penned by Cline in 1945, chronicles his life and education before and after the deadly events at Galveston. It is a complete picture of him not just as a weather forecaster, but also as a small boy, a student, a survivor, and a meteorological scholar. It is supplemented with antique photographs and information from his textbook Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones.

More than one hundred years after the hurricane that would forever mark his career, Cline is still revered as a pioneer in his field. His work charting hurricanes, measuring their direction, speed, and precipitation, helped build the foundations for modern meteorology. Storms, Floods and Sunshine preserves the science and emotion behind the man the Associated Press called "the smiling, genial, climatological genius."

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Foreword
• PREFACE
• CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER II. ANCESTRY: DUTCH, ENGLISH, IRISH, SCOTCH
• CHAPTER III. BAT CREEK NEIGHBORHOOD
• CHAPTER IV. SHORT BARK NEIGHBORHOOD
• CHAPTER V. A STUDENT AT HIWASSEE COLLEGE
• CHAPTER VI. STUDENT AT FORT MYER, VIRGINIA
• CHAPTER VII. ASSISTANT WEATHER OBSERVER AND MEDICAL STUDENT
• CHAPTER VIII. IN CHARGE OF THE WEATHER OBSERVATION STATION AT FORT CONCHO.
• CHAPTER IX. IN CHARGE OF THE WEATHER OBSERVATION STATION AT ABILENE.
• CHAPTER X. IN CHARGE OF STATION, SECTION DIRECTOR AT GALVESTON.
• CHAPTER XI. SUMMER HOT WINDS ON THE GREAT PLAINS
• CHAPTER XII. MY TRANSFER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• CHAPTER XIII. COOPERATION OF MEXICAN WEATHER SERVICE WITH U. S. WEATHER BUREAU.
• CHAPTER XIV. TEMPERATURE FORECASTS— THE BLIZZARD OF FEBRUARY, 1899.
• CHAPTER XV. FLOODS IN THE COLORADO AND BRAZOS RIVERS.
• CHAPTER XVI. CYCLONE OF SEPTEMBER 5-10, 1900— THE GALVESTON HURRICANE.
• CHAPTER XVII. CHANGE FROM MEDICINE TO CYCLONES
• CHAPTER XVIII. TRANSFER TO NEW ORLEANS.
• CHAPTER XIX. FLOODS IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
• CHAPTER XX. THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOOD OF 1903.
• CHAPTER XXI. ORDERED TO HONOLULU BUT ORDERS REVOKED
• CHAPTER XXII. ART COLLECTOR.
• CHAPTER XXIII. CARE OF OIL PAINTINGS
• CHAPTER XXIV. ORIENTAL BRONZE COLLECTION.
• CHAPTER XXV. ANOTHER MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOOD.
• XXVI.: POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS OF CHIEF MOORE.
• CHAPTER XXVII. THE EXPLOSION.
• CHAPTER XXVIII. HURRICANE LISTENING POSTS.
• CHAPTER XXIX. PROFESSOR MARVIN APPOINTED CHIEF OF THE WEATHER BUREAU.
• CHAPTER XXX. THE 1915 TROPICAL CYCLONE AT NEW ORLEANS.
• CHAPTER XXXI. CLIMATIC CHANGES AT NEW ORLEANS
• CHAPTER XXXII. PORTRAITS OF AMERICANS By AMERICAN PAINTERS
• CHAPTER XXXIII. THE CORPUS CHRISTI HURRICANE OF SEPTEMBER, 1919.
• CHAPTER XXXIV. TROPICAL CYCLONE, JUNE 21-22, 1921, TEXAS GULF COAST.
• CHAPTER XXXV. STUDIES OF DESTRUCTIVE TIDES CAUSED BY TROPICAL CYCLONES.
• CHAPTER XXXVI. MY BOOK "TROPICAL CYCLONES'
• CHAPTER XXXVII. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY—RADIO
• CHAPTER XXXVIII. AMERICAN PORTRAITS—SECOND AND THIRD COLLECTIONS.
• CHAPTER XXXIX. THE GREAT MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOOD OF 1927.
• CHAPTER XL. APPRECIATED COMMENTS BY THE NEW ORLEANS ITEM-TRIBUNE
• CHAPTER XLI. AN INCIDENT OF THE GREAT FLOOD.
• CHAPTER XLII. COMMENTS ON TROPICAL CYCLONE OF SEPTEMBER, 1938
• CHAPTER XLIII. TROPICAL CYCLONE, NORTH ATLANTIC, 1944.
• CHAPTER XLIV. THE GARDEN OF EDEN AND THE ARK IN AMERICA
• CHAPTER XLV. A VOUDOU QUEEN.
• CHAPTER XLVI. OBSERVATION ON WORLD WAR II.
• CHAPTER XLVII. REFLECTIONS
• PART II. CHARACTERISTICS OF TROPICAL CYCLONES
• INTRODUCTION: WHERE TROPICAL CYCLONES OCCUR
• APPENDIX A. A CENTURY OF PROGRESS IN THE STUDY OF CYCLONES, HURRICANES, TYPHOONS.
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• APPENDIX B: EDITORIALS
• APPENDIX C. JAPAN'S ALLY, THE TYPHOON, CAUGHT THE UNITED STATES NAVY UNPREPARED, OR OFF ITS GUARD. WHERE DOES THE RESPNSIBILITY FOR THIS DAMAGE REST?