Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-09-03
The Late StOrm-Was 1t "A Great
Store :" "a Hurricane" or "A
YiOleat Hurricane:"

tTAVA n ~ "a AANoaNf
Violent HuTrIcane:"
The storms Of the present century, memo
rable IN this locality for their violence and
destrUctiveness, occurred in the years 1904,
1924, 1854 and 1851, at intervals averaging
about twenty-five years, or the fourth OF s
century. OF these, the storm Of 1904 vas
handed down through three generations as
the ''great hurricane Among the negroes,
as indeed also among many Of the whites, 1t
vas the datum Of reference for events, as
was the building OF The city among the Ro-
mans. There can be little doubt, that until
the storm OF 1881, the ''great hurricane"
was supreme In its tradition OF high waters,
velocity of wind, devastation Of property,
and loss Of life.
In the absence ot positive data IS TO the
three first mentioned storms, it is probable
that the storm tide OF 1881 was at least
equal IN character and effect to tina. OF 1904.
o; the latter, as also OF the storm of 1924,
there IS no record Of the height OF the tide
or OF the velocity OF the wind. Tn posi-
tive record Of tle storm Of 1854 Is confined
to the height Of the tide, which has been
fixed By the level water Of Msj. James S.
Williams, Civil Engineer, at eleven and
one-haIf feet above lowest water point.
The velocity OF the wind Was not s:cer-
tanned by instrumental observation:
tut, from personal recollection, it
vas less IN 1884 than in 1881,
and is damage less IN the city, and,
with the exception OF the rice fields, less
also IN the country Whatever may have
been the difference IN the heights Of the
tides il those storms may be determined By
the level, but, assuming them to be the
same, the duration OF the storm of 1854 was
much longer, as it blew perslstently from
the northeast from the forenoon OF Thurs
day, the It'll, until the afternoon OF the Sth,
q period Of about eighteen hours; but in the
storm OF 1881 the wind appeared to break
cut west Of north in the afternoon OF the
27th Of August, blowing with increasing
violence at S p. m, when It shifted to the
northeast, stiTl blowing with terrific force.
Between S and 10 o'clock the aneroid fell
very rapidly TO probably the lowest poiat
+ on record here, rising as rapidly about II
+ O'Clock. But the wind from the northeast
and east, which drives up The destructive
tides, continued but brief time, not ex-
. ceeding three hours. This shows that the
velocity OF the wind was much greater OF
the 9Th OF August last than on the 7th and
Sth Of September, 1884, bus it Is doubtless
true that the ocean water had been prev;-
ously hesped against the coast, and was as
sisted to sudden rush up the river by the
intense violence Of the wind, where 1t blew,
although but brief time, from the north.
east and east.
The greatest velocity Of the wind for the
storm Of the 9th Of August last was sixty
miles per hour, but the wind register:
were stopped at S:45 ?. N. By the destruc-
tion OF the instrument. 1. was estimated
that the subsequent velocity was from sew
enty to eighty miles per hour. With veloci
ty OF sixty miles per hour, wind travels a
the rate OF IS o. feet per second, and with 4
force Of IL pounds per square foot. This
would De the record OF "great Storm,
III "A tAiC fS-ONAt1 u bAC wiz
is eighty miles per hour, travelling
at the rate of 1875 feet per second, the
force would be 81 pounds per square foot
This last would be Hurricane" But
following up still further the scientific gra
dents Of storms, a evident hurricane
which Wrenehes and tears up trees, forces
dwellings and minor buildings from theil
foundations and dives them before It
would travel 100 miles per hour, 146 fee
per second, and exert a force OF 20 pounds
per square foot"
The evidences Of the recent storm seen
to describe violent hUrr'csr", according
to the force end val~-rsy OF winds, tabulated
hv s,na-.---. The general wreck in the city
add contributes wrenched eff aud up
7 torn, dwellings and minor buildings forced
from their foundations and driven before
! the winG-jefne a violent hurricane. Il
the force Of such storm Is calculated z:
exerted agairst building only thirty feet
wide by twenty feet high, It will be found
equivalent to q pressure Ct nearly fifteen
short tons. Such a pressure, applied even
with the sud1en impact Of the air, elastic
and tenuous as It is, would demolish any
building in tia city Of Savannah.