Technology was a deficient factor in that January 12, 1888, which gave those people no warning of what was happening to them. Meteorologists prone to human error did not have access to information that could have been provided by the military. Certain meteorological terms were forbidden to be used for fear that some cities were immune to these storms. During that blizzard day there were no advanced warning signs (other than the drop in temperature) that the worst blizzard was about to hit, the technology hadn't gotten to that point yet. If the Army had given the weather top priority that day or any other day, some of those children might have been saved or at home with their families instead of dying alone in the snow. Meteorologists could only obtain weather information the day or twenty-four hours in advance. Many of the weather disasters were not accurate, so whether there were good or bad weather forecasts, people had no choice to believe them. Both sides really didn't know any more than that