The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-06-22
i COMFORTING PREDICTION.


Topeka Capital: The readers Of the
Capital will recall paragraph in our
columns some days ago 10 the effect that
tho aurOral display Of last Thursday
forcbOdrd violent storms and probable
tOrnadoes. Our we'll known contributor.
Col. Henry Inman, was our authority
for the prediction II was "A guess, Of |
course, as ali weather representations |
are, more or less. aud yet IT was based |
upon defined and exact scientific data
which Col. Inman and others who have
investigated the subject declare to be n
safe and unCailing basis for such cAlcu-
lations. Certainly the theory has been
justified in this instance, as il was Ia
that Of the Rice county tornado, which
Col. Inman also foretold as the result of
similar aurOral manifestation few
days before.
| IL SO happened that Col. Inman was
in western Kansas when the storm OF
Friday night occurred, and letter re-
ceived from him yesterday gives some
additional particulars concerning it,
particularly ia the matter of its origin
and formation. Il originated. he says,
south OF Salina, and began TO aggregate
about o p. m. First, a dark and omi-
nous cloud formed In Il high current in
the northwest, and remained stationary,
apparently, i0 about an hour. The
wind was high, but not blowing a gale,
and no rain fell. Next, another black
cloud raised south of the first one, but
IN lower current, and with more velOc-
ity. Then, from low in the west Game a
third cloud, intensely dark, like huge
sphere, and seemed drawn towards the
others with great rapidity; and when
! the three clouds came together, rs they
did about midnight, the tornado started,
moving in general direction from
! southwest TO northeast
There seems to be no reason To doubt
this was the origin Of the storm; hui
i there Is still room left for an interesting
article by Col. Inman or some other
student of meteorological phenomena il
. explanation of the wide track and long
: Journey of the tornado, rs we'll as of The
: fact that it struck places far apart at al
i most exactly the same time. Our dc
counts show that the storm extended
over north and south scope of at leas
three hundred miles, and Travelled east
ward. across both the Missouri and Mis-
sissippi rivers, nearly twice that distance
-grnniing it all To have been the same
storm, and to have started in Kansas
We are not sufficiently acquainted with
the matter to speak positively, but We
do not rccollect having heard or read d
: a cyclone or tornado that swept such q
wide path, or Travelled 80 far without ex
: hausting its fury; nor do we recall al
instance in which such storm wa:
known 10 descend simultaneously upoI
points separated by hundreds of miles
1t is to he hoped that our friends, thu
: scientists, will furnish US the philosophy
: of these singular circumstances.
Our readers will be pleased TO know
:, we are sure, that in Col. Inman's judg
ment we have now passed the tornado
\ crisis for this year, and that no addition
al blows of importance or particular
danger are to be anticipated. AS hi!
q predictions have turned out so accurate
ly in one direction. we may reasonably
, trust them in the other and pleasante
, one. 1t may be well to add, also, tina
in general way, he estimates that tn
& weather of the current summon will b.
I advantageous for growing purposes ant
8 the production of abundant crops. Their
| is a silver lining to the tornado, it seems
and the sun-spots which cause so mucl
atmospheric disturbance are not whool )
, without their serviceabe results.