When the Heavens Frowned Tapa blanda - 2000

The autobiography of the maligned, cussed, discussed, much beloved Texas weatherman who played a pivotal role in the 1900 Galveston Hurricane.

"Galveston was a delightful place in which to live, and possessed a lotus-eater charm for the visitors. . . . Yet all this brightness, beauty and happiness were to be swiftly blotted out by the dark shadow of a terrific hurricane."
--Joseph L. Cline

In 1892 Joseph L. Cline, the brother of Dr. Isaac Monroe Cline, joined his sibling in the service of the Weather Bureau in Galveston. Eight years later, he became one of the town's heroes.

Working in conjunction with his brother, Cline was responsible for sending out the last message to Washington, D. C., that explained the gravity of the situation at Galveston. As a result, aid was swift in arriving, and many lives were undoubtedly saved. The chief of the Weather Bureau wrote that "probably no man will ever render such noble service for humanity" as Joseph L. Cline did at Galveston.

But Joseph L. Cline's life encompassed so much more than his actions in Galveston. As a cattle trader, teacher, and salesman, Cline quickly rose to the height of each profession before venturing into the fledgling field of weather forecasting. And his romance with his wife, the former Ula Jackson, is worthy of a novel in itself.

While meteorology was neither his first calling nor his strongest love, it nevertheless proved to be his most productive passion.

Forever linked to the storm of the century, Joseph L. Cline, along with his brother, became one of the premier pioneers in the field. Therefore it is only fitting that he include some observations on such topics as forecasting, rainfall and forestry, and his Weather Bureau work in his thorough, inspirational autobiography.