Osage Valley banner. (Tuscumbia, Miller County, Mo.) 1879-1881, 1881-08-04
HAIL STORMS.
what CRuse, Them. Together with som'
Curlous Phenoa,enn.


what Cnu-e. Them. Tsssther with some
CUrtous Phenoaenn.
The cause OF hail storms has never
been explained ia satisfactory man
ner. The most common theory, how
ever, iHe regard to them is Volta's.
which Is that the hail stones are sra-
Cessiyely attracted by the clouds
charged with opposite electricities, and
thus grow until they fall. But, if the
hail stones were thus attracted, itseems
much more probable that the two clouds
would be mutually attracted, and
would uuiie. Thc sudden irruption Of
cold air streams into hot atmosphere
charged with n watery vapor, and the
rarelaetion and consequent refrigera-
tion of the air produced by rotary
winds have been called in to explain
The phenomena Of hail. Perhaps the
French metcorologist gives the pest ex-
PLANTATION Of hail. 1t is certainly novel
We translate ii from II atmosphere.
ellail occurs during a thundor, storm,
Wien the Temperature is very high upon
the surface Of the ground, but de-
creases rapidly with elevation. This
rapid decrease is the principal element
in the formation of hail, and il has been
known 10 be as much as one degree in
q little more than one hundred feet.
What, then, takes place in the region of
the cloudsp Those above from ten 10
twenty or twenty-five thousand feet
contain, the highestof them, ice Mt about
thirty degrees Fahrenheit, The lower
clouds contain yesicular water above
thirty-t@o degrees. As a rule these
clouds travel in different directions, and
hail is formed whom there h collision
aud admiNture of winds, currents and
o,oIds, the temperatures OF which are
different. The vapor which then re-
solves itself INTO rain freezes instanta-
neously in so low temperature"
This theory attributes no part of the
formation of hail 10 electricity. This
theory is generally preferred TO that
which attributes the cause of hail
10 the unequal distribution of
electricity IN the air. Hail storms are
peculiar to no country, though hail
forms emily In the summer season. They
are more frequent in some years than
others, and generally the warmest and
tnest summers they are more severe.
Sometimes the same locality is visited
f0ra series OF years; then, again, that
locality is spared for long time. They
are, however, more common in the aft
ernoon than in the forenoon, and rarely
take place at night, Sometimes
they are OF extreme violence, and
hail stones of a large size are
precipitated, doing serious damage.
Prof.. Muncke notices one that occurred
IN Hanover, In 1901, in which a number
gof hares, partridges, crows and spar
'roAvs were killed, and persons who had
been surprised by the hail in the open
air We're covered with bruises and con.
stasions DIR. Maloolmson witnessed ono
in India, in 1881, in which large birds
were killed and cattle injured, These
hal stones were Tat; one WAS ten inch
es IN circumference, and another
weighed two ounces. They plowed up
= gravel walk like muskot ball, passed
through glass windows, making round
hole insthem, bnt not cracking the
glass Some OF the earlier writers re-
cordnumorous instances of incredibly
large stones, which some scientists ac-
copt with considerable hesitation. II is
recorded that at Namarine, l,7l9. hail
stones, weighing six to eight pounds,
fell In a Hungarian village, PutZe-
mischief May =, 1902. a stupendous
block Of ice, which eight men could
NV AAoNNt. htiAH HhANu HtiHuCu 1, ANN
pounds. Is said to have fallen, but the
tale may be set down as Improbable as
wei as that other one that during
the reign of'Fippoo Sshib an ice. block
as big as an elephant dropped from
the clouds at Seringapotam. Nor is
the story told in the Chronicle of
Rheims that on June "a, 1928. a man of
ice fell from the skies fifteen feet across
and six feet thick TO be received with
implicit faith. Yet Missionary Father
Hue claims TO have Witnessed a terrible
storm, which occurred somewhere in
Iartary in 1913 during which an ice
block Of the size of milestone dropped
near his dwelling sad though the
weather was warLl. II took three days
foritto melt.
Hoods arc sometimes preceded py
tremendous hai.storms. Villarst ro-
lated thai IN 1860 an inundatiGa caused
by q hail-storm killed horses in the
English camp at Bretigpy Their
number may be thought exaggerated,
but it Is perfectly authentic that during
terrific hail-storm which befell the
small town OF Benerungen, in Hanover,
the Hoods, consisting Of hail and water.
which rushed down a sloping eminence,
N4A