Howell's Storm: New York City's Official Rainmaker and the 1950 Drought

(Hardback)

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More than half a century ago, New York City suffered from a drought that lasted through 1949 and into 1950. By February, the desperate city had to try something different. Mayor William ODwyer hired a municipal rainmaker.
Dr. Wallace E. Howell was an inspired choice. The handsome, thirty-five-year-old Harvard-educated meteorologist was the ideal scientistsoft spoken, modest, and articulate. No fast-talking prairie huckster, he took credit for nothing he couldnt prove with sound empirical data. Howells meticulous nature often baffled jaded New Yorkers.
Over the next year, his leadership of a small ground and air armada, and his unprecedented scientific campaign to replenish the citys upstate reservoirs in the Catskills, captured the imagination of the world. New Yorks cloud seeding and rainmaking efforts would remain the stuff of legendand controversyfor decades.
Howells Storm is the first in-depth look at New York Citys only official rainmakeran unintentional celebrity, dedicated scientist, and climate entrepreneur, whose activities stirred controversy among government officials, meteorologists, theologians, farmers, and resort owners alike.

Reviews

" Howell's Storm is like a heavy rain after a long dry spell: cool and refreshing." Dean Karayanis, host of History Author Show
"What an amazing story. . . controversy, tabloid media, inflammatory headlines, lawsuits, ethical dilemmas, and the fate of a city at stake, and it's the story of a weatherman!" Mike Davis, WBNS-10TV meteorologist
"a fascinating account." -- The New York History Blog

Author Bio

Jim Leeke is the author of From the Dugouts to the Trenches, Nine Innings for the King, and Ballplayers in the Great War. A former print journalist, he has written extensively about computing, technology, and American military history.