Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-06-01
STORMS AND T0RNADOES.

AclliB unutT tne authority or tnt
chief signal officer, IN charge of the
United States weather bureau at Wash
ingtOn, d. G, have established my
headquarters at Kansas City, Mo, a
point admirably well fitted by the rea
son of the completeness of its mail
telegraph and railroad facilities, for
the prosecution of my labOrs in the eff.
fort to carefully investigate the lorna
dues Of 1882 and study the general
features of violent wind storms. | shall
give my individual attention to the
tornadoes Of what may be termed the
lower Missouri Valley, embracing the
states of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri,
and Iowa. 1t is within this region
that torHadoes occur with the greatest
frequency, the most unexampled vio.
lence, the most marked regularity and
with the most complete manifestation
of their peculiar characteristics.
Here is an opportunity for a COM
plete and satisfactory study of the
phenomena Of tornadOes, which is af.
forded in no other region of the United
States. hope this year to take an ad.
vanced step in the work and present
such information to the public as will
result in practical good to all concern.
ed. Besides the work of investigating
any particular storm, with view to
gain new and important truths, | de.
sire to push the labor of ascertainng
more definitely the conditions precedent
to the formation of tornadoes in gener-
al, the phenomena and laws of cloud
development, the velocity and power
of the centIiputel currents within the
cloud vortex, the arrangement of suit,
able plans preparatory TO an effort to
warn communities in advance of the
tornado, of conditions favorable to
its formation, and, lastly, to
prepare and disseminate such in.
formation as will direct people
how to act in defense of their lives,
and to certain extent their property
during the approach and passage of
the tornado cloud. To accomplish
these results need the hearty co.
operation of all intelligent people
throughout the lower Missouri valley.
| want every one who can give me
any facts concerning tornado of the
present or past, occurring either in the
year 1882 or at any time during the
past fifty years or more. Much can
be done by the press of the lower Mis-
souri, to aid in this great work, and
trust that there will be no lack of
active sympathy. hope that through
your columns you will succeed in so
encouraging a belief in the importance
and necessity of the work that your
subscribers, contributors and readers
will flood me with facts, facts, facts.
desire every one to become familiar,
as far as it is possible, with the exact
kind of data needed in the work now
contemplated, and with view to aid
in the accomplishment of this object,
the following questions and remarks
are published, which embrace most, if
not all, of the important points:
TIE QUESTIONS,
l. What day of the month, and at
what time of the day did the tornado
cloud passY Take great care in giving
the exact time. Perhaps you watched |
your clock or noticed the appioach or
passage of a railroad train.
2 Give the position of your house
with respect to the nearest postoflice,
indicating the same in miles or parts of |
miles or rods; state the distance in
northing and casting, northing and |
westing, southng and casting, south
ing and westing, estimated along sec.
tion and to Tnship lines.
}. How far and in what direction is
your house situated from the center of |
the path of destruction?
1. Give the direction and distance
from your house to your various farm
buildings, if possible drawing plan
of the same and indicating the points
of the compass. This plan need only
be rough ske,ch.
8. Give the dimensions of your build
ings and state the character OF each as
to whether they are log, frame, stone or
brick, weak or strong.
&. In drawing a plan of your build
ings indicate the position of the lorna.
dos path with respect to each of them
and the direction in which the tornado
cloud moved.
z. State in detail and separately the
damage to each building; what portion
or portions were taken away or injured;
how far and in what direction were
they moved bodily; what portion of
each was first struck by the wind, and
how far and in what direction was the
debris carriedp BE very careful to
give the exact position and peculiari-
ties of building, which were not dam
aged although standing near those
which were destroyed.
s. Give the direction, of the wind
while the tornado cloud was approach
ing, while the tornado cloud was pas.
sing and after the tornado cloud passed.
8. Give the general atmospheric con.
ditions of temperature, wind direction,
humidity and clouds, for from ten to
fifteen days previous to the occurrence
of the tornado and from three to FIVE
days thereafter.
10. Was the day unusually warm
and sultryp Give the maximum
temperature, if possible, and state the
hour at which it was observed, to-
gether with the direction of the wind
and state of the sky existing at the
time.
IL. What had been about the aver.
age daily temperature, also the maxi
mum and minimum, together with the
accompanying directions of the wind,
for eight or ten days previous to the
occurrence of the tornado, and for
three days succeeding its appearancep
II. Give the direction, in degrees, of
the course pursued by the tornado
cloud along its path of destruction in
your locality, as for example: N 700
E; E 800 N, etc, etc.
IL. Send any newspaper article con-
cerning the storm which you may have,
or can obtain without inconvenience.
IA. Give name and address of any
one in your state who is in the habit of