The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-05-04
TORNADOEs.
some Interesting Facts and Fig
ures About the Much Dread
ed Cyclones.

Gen. Hazen, the chief signal officer Of
the United States, has been giving a
great deal of attention of late years 10
the subject OF the very destructive cy'
clones which occasionally occur in the
western states. He is doing so with the
view TO obtaining sufficient knowledge of
this class Of storms that some OF their
evils NAV be averted, or at least greatly
mitigated. As Texas is by no means ex-
empt from them, and as all who live in
regions that are liable to be often visited
by these destructive winds, will be inter
ested 10 know that,already Sergeant Fin
lev Is about TO start out to investigate tho
track OF the storms which swept over
Michigan, Iowa and Illinois, on the 9th
inst Sergeant Finley has done some
very valuable work on this subject.
Last year the signal service issued, as
one of its professional papers, a very i'm
portant monograph on the character OF
the storms of May 30 and June 30, 1879.
The paper was very elaborate, and there
is now in press another professional
paper by the same writer which con-
tains tabulated statement OF six hun
bred tornadoes, and some generaliza-
lions from their facts, with some sug-
cestions ms TO the method that ought to
be pursued in the investigation OF the
storms.
The six hundred storms cover period
of eighty-seven years, and the whole
country Their examination leads to the
conclusions that tornadoes occur most
frequently IN summer, and in the month
Of June They have occurred, however,
more frequently in April than in July,
l.. flaor, aNR A
gust. Kansas is the state that has been
most afflicted, and that Notwithstanding
the fact that the period during which
tornadoes have visited 1t has been COM
comparatively short. The state has had
sixty-two tornadoes from 1859 to 1881
Illinois has had fifty-four from 1854 to
1881 Missouri has had forty-four from
18i4ito 1881 New York has had thirty
five from 1881 to 1881 Georgia, thirty
three from 1904 to 1881; Iowa, thirty
one from 1854 to 1881 Ohio,
twenty-eight from 1923 to 1881 ::
Indiana, twenty-seven from 1852
TO 1881. The states and terri
tories that have had only one each from
1874 to 1881 are: Colorado. California,
Indian Territory, Nevada, New Mexico,
Montana, Rhode Island, West Virginia,
and Wyoming. The storms occur most
frequently from five TO six in the after
noon, although there is no hour of the
day that has been entirely free from
them.
The average width of the path of de-
siruction is 1885 feet, and the storm
cloud runs with a velocity of from
twelve to sixty miles. The wind within
the vortex sometimes attains avelocity
of 500 miles an hour, the average velocity
being 1902 miles.
. Among the most valuable suggestions
of the paper are those with reference to
the peculiarly of the movements of
tornado clouds, containing rules for
arriving at their violence. A tornado
cloud always has a centre, and it always
moves forward from west to east. 1t
may, however, sway from side to
side in its progressive movement.
Changes in motion are sometimes very
sudden. In the event of sudden
change the observer, who is east or south
of east of the storm, should move quickly
TO the south. If he is northeast, he
should move to the north. If within a
very short distance of the cloud, the OBJ
server should run east, bearing TO the |
south This indicates the character of
the directions which have been given for
the avoidance of the disastrous effect of
storms
The examination that Sergeant Finley |
will make of the recent storm will be
very thorough, and General Hazen eX-
poets that 1t will add greatly to the
knowledge of tornadoes.