The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-10-15
HOW TORNADUEs FORM.
The Mysteries of tho Dread Cloud.

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does for the past eight years. lorna.
does are now so well understood that is
believed that trustworthy warning can
soon be sent out to the localities threat.
eued In fact, experimental predictions
haye been made for year, with good
result. According to Lieutenant Finley,
tornadoes have distinctly marked char
ac.eristics and are by no means to be
coafoundcd with hurricanes, "blizzards," "
cyclones or Northeasters. Their tracks
are never more than few hundred yards
wide. Their rotary motion, which is
greatest towards the centre, sometimes
reaches the enormous rate of 1000 miles
an hour, while their forward movement,
always from southwest to northwest, or.
dinarily does not exceed forty or fifty
miles. They are usually unaccompanied
by electrical disturbances and are be.
lieved to be uninhuer"ed by electrical
conditions, though violent thunderstorms
sometimes follow them 4 few miles away.
THE HOME OF THE TORNADO.
There is a distinct and curious rela.
tiorship between the tornado and the
general storm centre, which is always
apparent in their Uniform relative posi-.
tions, the tornado always occurring
Southeastwardly from the centre of low
barometric pressure and at distance of
from one to six hundred miles. The
shape of the general storm centre, the
direction in which its lowest barometer
lies and the appearance of the upper and
lower clouds enter az minor elements
into the problem out of which the wealth
er experts hope to work complete sys.
tenn of tornado warnings. The visits of
the tornado are commonly between the
hours of and o'clock in the afternoon.
It's home is an area which includes the
whole of Iowa, all of Missouri except
the Southeastern corner, the Northwest
ern corner of Arkansas, the Northeastern
part of the Indian Territory, Eastern
Kansas, Eastern Nebraska, Southern
Minnesota, Southern Wisconsin and
Western Illinois. Here its season extends
from April to August inclusive. 1t is
also a frequent visitor to two other
regions. These are, first, strip along
the gulf and South Atlantic coasts, which
takes in the central portions of Alabama,
Georgia and South Carolina, with termini
in Mississippi and North Carolina, over
which its deyastations are confined to the
months of January, February and March.
The Becond includes portion of South.
ern and Central Ohio, large portion of
Pennsylvania, small area in Maryland,
strip across New York and corner Of
each of Massachusetts, and Connecticut,
where it is in season only during August
and September.
HOW THE TORNADO FORMS.
The conditions which are favorable to
the creation of tornadoes are present
when cool, dry current of air meets
warm, moist current, bringing wide
extremes both of temperature and hu.
midity into close proximity. The cool,
dry currents come from the North, but
such us flow over the Great Lakes pick
up in their course both moisture and heat
and their destructive forces are thus
neutralized. Those blowing from the
far Northwest, down over the dry plains
of Manitoba and Dakota, carry something
of their Arctic characteristics far South,
and if in their course they meet one of
the hest and vapor-laden breezes coming
up from the Gulf the war of the elements
begins at the point of contact The
storm always has its birth in the upper
air, its first visible manifestation being
the ouinous funnel.shaped cloud whose
pendant trunk is in form not unlike that
of an elephant. Within it the furies are
confined, and when and where its point
touches the earth the path of destruction
begins. When the isotherm of the
morning signal map shows the advancing
columns of air, with their wide contrasts
of temperature, in proximity; when the
general storm centre is in that relative
position which seems necessary to the
exercise of its mysterious influence;
when the pressure is low toward the east,
disclosing q vacuum into which the
DETECTED currents may advance without
obstruction-when all these conditions
combine it should become but simple
problem for the experts to determine
with reasonable probability from the
wind velocities whether the threatening
line of contact will have advanced to or
beyond the tornado's accustomed haunts
by the time of day when the powers of
mischief shall be oosed.
THE UNKNOWN QUANTITIES.
The chief remaining unknown quanti-
ties in The problem consists of data Of
time and place, great store of which is
already in hand and only awaits digestion
and tabulation, while l $40 special lorna
do observers are gathering additional
facts respecting current storms and from
all available sources the stories of long
past tornadoes, known 10 the earlier
settlers SIS windfall. Thus while host
of interesting scientific questions respect
ing the origin of tornadoes, the laws
which govern them and their relation
ship to other meteorological phenomena,
remain to be answered, the more practi,
cal questions as to when and where they
are likely to appear seem to be advancing
rapidly toward solution.
The interests which ere subject to dis
aster from tornadoes are alive to the i'm.
portance of the work in progress. In
tending purchasers of farms apply to the
Signal Office for information respecting
the liability of their selected locality to
disaster. To such are sent the records of
the past as far as they are known.
Whenever Lieutenant Finley travels in
pursuit of his studies farmers and villag.
ers press for information. TO these he
says that nothing raised by the hand of
man above tho surface of the earth can
withstand the shock of the tornado. He
advises ttem to seek their dug-outs on
the appearance Of the porte ntous signs
Of disaster and there await the passage of
the storm. For their property he advises
insurance, so that the losses of the indi'
vidual may be shared by his fortunate
neighbors.
RobinsOn's Circus Wrecked.