The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1866-08-04
: ~.
Description of the Great sSaiE
Storm.

Between and & o clock IN the afternoon
Il portentions cloud was observed in the
northern heavens 1t gradually advanced
southwark, but so many showers appcaring
from that quarter had Of late passed round
us through Pcnna., that this cloud gave Us
no certain expectation that it would water
our nrl%hborhood. However, it steadily
came forward. nn,l some time after six. i,
announced its character by diScharginr here
and there hail stone of remarkable size
and beauty. After the lapse of ii few mia,
uteS, they came down with considerable IA.
pidity, and the rain fell in such quantities IL,
10 give hopes of relief from the drought we
had began to experience. The hail still
came down in abuu,!aMcc-in size from the
dimensions of chcstnutS to hens cgps but
the stones were so smoothly rounded, and
came with SO little force. that exposed class
was scarcely broken and vegetation as vet
sustained no. mach damage. But. after the
lapse of some fifteen minutes the direction
Of the Nind shifted from north to south or
east varying in different quarters and sad
denly both hail and rain. came down in such
volune as gas probably unparalleled il,
this locality. The earth was sucelily Gov.
cred with the uuwoaIcd yi,itants. lprrhap,
ii we should say to the solid depth of
two inches. we woHld not exaggerated and
although entirely free from angular outlines
which would have added to their dpsruc-
tivcncSs, by their volume and weight they
made general dcSoation of corn and gar
den CTCfS. The immense anrONnt of water
which accompanied, washed the hail with it
wherever the ground was descending, and
left it embarked in cddrS, where it might
have been Shovclcd up by barrels.
The air was not much coolrd by the oc-
currence, the thernomcter ranging at near
100 all night but so far had the hail sue
cccdcd in cooling the surface of the earth
by its abundance, that some of its banks
were still found the following day. Through.
out all the focus Of the storm, so far as seen
or heard from, the lateral force of the wind
was not great. The demolished corn stalks
mostly stand erect. Thunder storms are
frequently attended with more violent gales,
without being thought remarkable. We
have heard that the wind blew a hurricane
at RowIanlSyillc, bat that was on the ives
tern border Of the storm. 1t is probable
that the great motion of the air throughout
the tract specially dcluged by the rain and
aesolatcd by the hail, was upward, and that
it was the vacuum thus created that caused
the surface hurricane at IIavre de Grace, al
ready so well described in the papers. Had
the hail been hurled directly upon the earth
with all the roughncss of its first formation.
so large its pieces, so formidable their shape,
so great its volume and rapid its descent, it
seems probable it must have killed animals
and smashed through the roofs OF buildings.
But it appears to have been first thrown up-
wards and outwards by the eniinery of the
cloudy magazine, and afterwards DELAYED in
its descent by the force of the ascending
current, so that it at length reached the sur.
face smoothed and polished by long pas.
$ ige through the warm atmosphere, and
struck the ground more gently than could
have been expected from missiles of such
weight and magnitude.
1t appears from accounts that the storm
commenced III the norlheartern part of
Lancaster county, about o clock in the af
ternoon. 1t entered Cecil county just west
OF the Octoraro little after Is. Here the
breadth OF It's furious effect is about a mile,
the cornfeds between the Lancaster road
and the river being quite uniniured. The
path of complete dcsoation extending south
ward, continued, perhaps, about the same,
the storm rather increasing in violence as il
until, when, oyerhanging the hill
country rising from the river, at Port De
post, it seems, in few minutes, to have
poured its last contents with yet redoubled |
energy. All growing crops here present n |
scene of hopeless dcsolaiiou, and the vol
nmes of water that poured down all the ra-
vines and depreSsions into the village, was |
but for want Of accurate data
we must forbear to give the full idea of its
amount AT one ravine below Maxwell's |
annery, the street was filed all across to |
the depth of two or three feet with rocks and |
debris, where the ordinary stream is but a
rill, and no freshet that we know of ever
brought down anything to obstruct the road. |
The loss to farmers from the destruction
Of their crops over district one or two miles |
wide and thirty miles in length will be great,
perhaps equal to that of the X. r. Co. in |
The destruction of their bridge. However,
along the skirts Of the tornado the cases of |
damage varying from slight degree to that
Of condition of hopelessneSs, will afford a
curious instance of the recuperative powers
Of vegetation. As the case is without pre- |
cedent IN the experience of those affected |
oy it, we know not how far recovery by the |
Frustrated crops is possible
Mt