Isaac Cline

Isaac Monroe Cline (October 13, 1861 – August 3, 1955) was the chief meteorologist at the Galveston, Texas office of the US Weather Bureau from 1889 to 1901.

Cline was born near Madisonville, Tennessee on October 13, 1861 to Jacob and Mary Cline. Cline attended Hiwassee College, then in 1882, joined the meteorology training program of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Cline was first assigned to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he earned a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Arkansas in his spare time. He was then assigned to Fort Concho, then to Abilene, Texas where he met Cora May Ballew, whom he married.

In March 1889, a Texas section of the weather service was being established, and Cline was sent to Galveston to organize and oversee it. Cline stayed with the office when it became part of the U.S. Weather Bureau in the 1891 transfer from the Signal Corps to the Department of Agriculture. In 1892, Isaac's younger brother, Joseph Cline, also began work as a meteorologist at the Galveston Weather Bureau.

Galveston

A well respected man in his time, Cline was the first meteorologist to provide reliable forecasts of freezing weather. He also provided some of the first available flood warnings on the Colorado and Brazos rivers. However, in 1891, he wrote an article in the "Galveston Daily News" in which he gave his official meteorological opinion that the thought of a hurricane ever doing any serious harm to Galveston was "An absurd delusion". Many residents had called for a seawall to protect the city, but Cline's statement helped to prevent its construction.

He was proven tragically wrong on September 8, 1900 when the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 hit the island killing thousands in what remains the biggest natural disaster in US history. Cline's wife, Cora, who was pregnant with their fourth child at the time, was one of those who perished in the storm. Cline himself was nearly drowned, but he managed to survive, as well as to save his youngest daughter, six-year old Esther. Joseph Cline saved Isaac's other two daughters, 12-year old Allie May and 11-year old Rosemary.

In his autobiography, Cline claimed that he took it upon himself to travel along the beach and other low-lying areas warning people personally of the storm's approach. However, no eyewitnesses reported seeing Cline warning people along the beach. It is known that at around noon on September 8, Cline issued a hurricane warning without authorization from the Bureau's central office in Washington, D.C.. However, writer Erik Larson argued in his book "Isaac's Storm" that Cline did not warn anyone in Galveston prior to that.

New Orleans

Shortly after the destruction of Galveston, the Weather Bureau began establishing regional forecasting centers. The center for the gulf coast was initially located in Galveston, with Isaac Cline as chief forecaster. In 1901, the center was moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, and Isaac Cline moved with it.

Cline continued his flood forecasts, this time on the Mississippi River. He successfully predicted floods in 1903, 1912, and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. He also successfully forecast an approaching hurricane in 1915.

Cline retired from the Weather Bureau in 1935. He remained a resident of New Orleans until his death in 1955.

References

* Larson, Erik (1999). " [http://www.randomhouse.com/features/isaacsstorm/book/index.html Isaac's Storm] " . Random House Publishing. ISBN 0-609-60233-0
* [http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/history/icline.htm Dr Isaac M. Cline: A Man of Storm and Floods]
* [http://www.history.noaa.gov/legacy/time1800.html NOAA Legacy Timelines 1800s]