Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-07-05
PHENOMENA OF WlND-sToRMs.
Facts About TOrnadoes,
~ WhirIwintlS and cyclones.

In many Of their characteristics, but in
several PARTICULARS they differ widely
and radically. The range of the largest
tornatlo Is only fraction of that of the
smallest eyelone; and while cyclones
appear at all hours, tOrnadOeS and
whirlwindz are generally confined to
the hours between sunshine and sunset.
I0rnadose, the most violent manifesto
ton oftbe whirlwind, are known in
nearly al climates, but cyclones have
their origin In the tropics. Whirlwinds
and toTna<i0eS occur where the air Is I'M
Usually moist or warm for the time,
and where Temperature and humidity
consequently diminish with height at
an abaOrinally rapid rate; but cyclones
appear under conditions implying I'M
eqral densities of the atmosphere at
equal heighm due to inequalities in the
ceographfca distribution of tempera-
lure o.. humidity. In other words,
whiriwinds and tornadoes owe their
origin To a vertical disturbance of the
ak1'osDheric eeui,ibrium, while cyclones
ara due to horlzontal disturbance; the
former are shert-lived, but the latter
raee for days and travel far.
fWaterspoutS whirlwinds and
tornadoes are essentially the
sane. differing only in di-
mensions, Intensity or the degree
in which the moisture is condensed into
visible p&por. 1.-THE main features of
wllirlwinds are best observed in water
spouts, because Of the more or less COM
plete condensation of moisture into visi-
ole cloud. Waterspouts are generally
formed during q period Of great heat,
n krnrtrnnf i'm tho nQlm
regions between the tropics. The OBJ
server frst notices dark cloud from
which there is projection in the shape
of an inverted cone. As this projection
becomes larger and extends downward,
the water Immediately underneath is
heaped up and agitated violently. BY
this timethe whirling motion which be-
gan in the clouds has reached the water,
and is probably continuous throughout,
although part of the whirling column
has not yet been made visible by the
condensation of moisture into cloud.
The extension of the projection from
the clouds is not due, according to Pro-
fesSOr Ferrel, to the descent OF Yapor,
but to the visible condensation of the
vapor Of the spirally ascending air cur
rents arising from an increasing rare
faction due to the accelerated rate Of
the gyrationS, the condensation being
similar To that of the cloud seen In
exhausting an air-pump. AS the
whiTllng of the upper part OF the water
spout becomes more intense the rare
faction of the air within IS
increased and the condensation
into cloud continues down.
ward until the entire column IS
visible. Then there is roaring noise
Ike that of a great waterfall, but with
in a moderate distance around the
waterspout a calm unusual prevails. AS
soon as the rapidity of the rotary mo-
ton is leSsened the condensation OF
yapor is diminished and the column
gradually breaks up and disappears, the
cloud sometimes discharging itself In
rain.
The water underline waterspout is agi-
tated because the atmospheric pressure
beneath the column is less than the
pressure around it. This fact IS Illus
trated in another way when tornado
on land passes over a close building. In
many such cases the walls and roof OF the
house have been thrown out violently,
showing that tn pressure outside was
suddenly and largely diminished, and
the air within as suddenly expanded
| In this way the tornado works a great
| part of its destruction to life and proper
| ty, The progressive motion of tornadoes
| and whirlwinds varies greatly, the rate
| being, probably, that of the general
movement Of that portion Of the atmos-
phere Of which they are part. lorna
| does sometime occur at comparatively
! low elevations without reaching down
| to the surface Ofthe earth, and in such
cases they rage with violence ON the
| hill-tops, leaving intervening valleys
unframed. During the onward move
ment tOrnadOes sometimes rises above
] the surface for a short time and then de-
ascend again, 1t is not improbable that
the wind sometimes reaches force in
tornadOes exceeding what is ever reach
| ed in cyclones, but it does not blow for
so long time or travel so far as in the
! cyclone.
! Some meteorolgists, assuming that
tornadOes were formerly confined almost
exclusively to the immediate neighbor-
hood ofthe tropics, point to every tor
| nado that occurs in the West and
| Northwest as an evidence that the eli
| mate of the United States ''is undergo
| ing impOrtant,modifie the charac-
/ ter and extent of which can only be dim
| Iyguessed at.n 1t is more probable, how
ever, that the supposed increase in tor
| nadoes is due to the fact that as the
country becomes more thickly settled
fewer storms pass by unnoticed. In
| these days of telegraphs and railroads
| all disastrous storms are promptly re-
ported, but when the country was thin
| Nv settled storms were seldom heard oil
| far from the places where they oc-
| CURED.
MYSTERIES OF CYCLONIC ACTION
| FFOR the bloomington 4 TR.) Leader.
The year 1882 bids fair to become his
| toric as q season Of remarkably deStruc-
tive storms. Beginning early in April
and continuing with alarming regulari-
| ty down to the present time, tornadoes
have swept over widely-separated locall-
ties between the atlantic coast and the
Rocky Mountains.
On the 9Th of April tornado swept
over Barry and Eaton counties, Mich.
and also extended with decreased force
into Midland and Isabella counties. On
the same day similar storm swept
over Rice and Clay counties in Kansas.
April 18th aclyclone destroyed the great
er portion of Brownsville, Mo-, and Sc
verely damaged Montrose in the same
State, and Bloomfield, Iowa. On the
same day BarrolltOn, La, was partially
blown down and considerable property
destroyed and several persons killed at
Mount Vernon, Pa. April %, Monticel-
10, Miss, was destroyed by a cyclone,
and destructive wind storms swept over
parts of Alabama, North Carolina and