West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1878-09-07
Analysis OF "a Tornado.
NOW Hnvcn Palladium

Professor Brewer, who interests him
self in phenomena, has spent a number
of days at Wallingford studying the
features of the tornado, and will go there
again to make more particular ex.
animation of them. He was found
at his home by Palladium reporter,
who asked him for some information of
scientific character concerning the dis
aster. The Professor very willingly
gave this to him substantially az fol-
lows:
No one can tell what makes a tor
nado. There are many theories CON
corning the cause. j know of five hun
dred persons, each of whom has n differ
ent theory. Lightning always plays n
leading part in the disturbance In
some tornadoes the exhibition of cleo
tricity is grand. There is no particular
hour at which they are formed, but they
usually take place in the afternoon, for
1T is then that hot day becomes more
sultry. In the northern ATTITUDES the
rotary molten is always from the right
TO the left. The column is funnel
shaped, the small part being on the
earth. 1t sways from side to side fire.
quently. and sometimes bounds like
ball. The movement is either to the
east, southeast or northeast. IL is agreed
that this tornado had all the character
istics of other tornadoes
| measured the bluff at the lake (in
Wallingford) where the tornado was
formed, and found il TO be about thirty
five feet in height The cone rose up on
this, and the damage it inflicted shows
1T to have been from four hundred TO
four hundred and fifty feet wide. 1t was
not powerful enough 10 uproot trees out
side OF this. 1t crossed the railroad
track nearly mt right angles, and about
six hundred feet wide. At Colony
street it was seven hundred, or seven
hundred and fifty feet in width-that is.
1T was strong enough To tear down houses
within this limit. From the lake TO this
point was the space in which it displayed
its greatest energy. The cone was solid
there, or nearly so at its bottom, so that
its center was as destructive as its out
side lines. AS 1T approached the hill it
broadened to about one thousand two
hundred feet, and over this space UNI
rooted houses. 1t twisted of trees over
still wider area, and further on at
Elm-street broadened still more. It's eff
tects could be seen rs the eve could
reach through field glass. The trees
on portions of the south line of the
whirl were laid TO the east, while on the
north line they were laid in many direc-
tons The tombstOnes i'm the cemetery
were laid toward the east, but the tail
monuments were thrown toward the
north. The actual direction of the tor
nado was east-southeast.
In tornadoes the funnel-shaped col
umn is always visible. ] have witnessed
and studied many sand-whirls on the
plains. These are harmless, and lose
themselves after going short distances.
They appear there in many shapes of the
funnel, some of them being larger at the
base than Others, and some having a
wide bulk for a short distance and at a
height of several feet from the ground.
The tornado at WallingfOrd undoubt
eddy took mud and water from the lake.
The roots of uprooted trees were washed
bare. Some of the mud, however, came
from the street. The tornado was not
of unusual strength.