Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1882-07-13
Two Stormy Weeks.

Two Stormy Weeks.
Il On Thursday night, for the fourth time
within two weeks, tornado visited Iowa.
It appears to have been less destructive
than tho three preceding ones, OF which the
! first was the most terrible. According to tho
1 report Of tho Associated Press, tho force Of
the Lost tornado was principally expended 10
the air above tho surface Of the earth,
Though wherever it touched the ground it
swept everything before it. The story of
The storms Of the last two weeks is very in
teresting aside from tho destruction of life
and property which they wrought. Roughly
speaking, they ragged more or less through
out the whole Of tho United Suites lying
East of the one hundredth meridian, except
the Southern portion. Iowa appears to have
been. the focus Of the meteorological dstur-
bance. In the centre Of that State three
tornadoes crossed one another's tracks, and
tho town Of Malcolm was twice devastated
within o week. A fourth tornado, starting
in Dakota, swept across the Northwestern
corner Of the State, levellng everything in
its path. Next to Iowa the States of Knu-
sas, Illinois, Dakota, Nebraska. Missouri,
minnesota, and Indiana hive suffered most.
Less destructive storms have also been felt
in Kentucky, Michigon, Ohio, Pcnnsyl-
vania, New York, New jersey, Vermont and
other States; and in Canada. The latest
tornado occurred on Friday night 10 Bul-
tier County, Pa. These storms have not all
been merely tempests of wind. They have
comprised tornadoes, extraordinary hail
okn h,,r trop 4<,,,
pours of rein, causing sudden, destructive,
and fatal floods in rivers end small sreams,
and 10 some cases waterspous suoh as the
one which is said to have chased a railroad
train near Lafayette, Indiana week ago.
Sometimes these various phenomena haze
occurred simultaneously, or nearly so, as at
Rockford, in Illinois on June "a, where q
tornado and destructive hail storm occurred
on tho same day, and in Minnesota, where,
on the night of June %, great winds
ragged simultaneously with floods of rain.
at other times tho different kinds of storms
have occurred separately, though occasion
ally visiting tho same regions of country.
The extraordinary wave that rose mysleri
ously 10 Lake Erie on June %, and, sweep
ing Southwark, as it was described, like q
the shore at Cleveland, was probably the re.
suit of some local atmospheric disturbance
occurring suddenly over tho lake. Such waves
are often caused by earthquake shock; but
il this case, SO far ss il known, there was
no earthquake, end it cannot be doubted
that meteorological causes would suffice for
the proodution of suoh phenomenon
These great storms ars not in themselves
extraordinary. Destructive tornadoes arc
Of frequent occurrence in some of tho West
ern States Moreover, they are all cxplicablo
on meteorological grounds. The mode Of
formation Of tornadoes, watorspouts, and
hail storms IL, in general sense, we'll
enough understood. The thing wanted 10
this case is an explanation Of what may be
called the gregarous tendency of these
storms manifested during the Lust fortnight
UeualIy they ere isolated phenomen', but
now we see them occurring almost simula-
neously over range of territory comprising
many hundred thousand square miles. 40
cording to some Of the dispatches from the
West, tornadoes seemed Last week to be
forming 90 every side, and sweeping paths
in every direction. In somo cases grca
storms rsged at tie same time in PAGES
widely separated 80 that they must cacl
have had q separate origin. Thus there Wa,
. tornado at Amsterdam, in this State, on thu
afternoon of Jun. Is; the samo day there
were destructive hail storm in Iowa ant
Maryland. Before dsybreak the next morn
ing the torDudoes OF Kansas City ant
Leavenworth occurred, followed withir
twenty hours by the awful disaster 10 ceu-
trail Iowa. On the day Of Iowa tornado there
was terrific wind and hail storm in Sara.
toga County, this State. Tho next do,
there was tornado ut Bay City, Michigan
and destructive winds and rain 10 Southern
Illinois. So again, on June 10, there wat
ferco storm at Paterson, which also rageG
ssyagely 10 this city, tornado 10 Vermont
hurricane in Montgomery County, this
State and a very destructive wind and rair
storm 10 Canada South of Quebec Oo June
"a and Is there wero toroadoes and hal
storms in lowe, Illinois, Indiana, Dakota
/, Kansas and Nebraska.
.lei In view of these facts, it cannot bt
doubted that somo general CAUSE was at work
,pYoduoing abnormal meteorological condl.
iions simultaneously over very largo por-
tions Of this oountfy. Of course, simila
coincidence in the prevalence of atmospheric