Weekly Chillicothe crisis., 1885-05-28
T0RNADOEs,
The Formation aud Appearance Of Tornadoes,
and the PrCmOnitOry Signs of Their
AnprOncl

| Tie Formation and Appearance Of TOrnadOes,
and the Prcmonitory Signs Of Their
Approach
Time will only determine whether
this will be good wear" for lorna
does or not, says The ChicdgO Times.
The destruction caused by them dur
ing the past few seasons has created
much alarm in the districts where
they have been the most frequent, and
where they have resulted in causing
the loss of many lives and much valu-
able property. The prevalence oftor.
nadOcs in some places has made eau
tious people reluctant to become resi-
dents OF them, us no person wishes to
locate in Il place where life and prop
crty are rendered insecure by the ac-
tion Of the elements. During the past
few seasons the signal Office of our
war department has made n special
study Of tornadocs, and has cndcav-
orcd to collect all the facts attainable
in relation to the places whore they
are most likely to occur, the cOndi-
tions of their formations, premonitory
signs of their appearance and the
character OF tornado clouds and mo-
tiOns. 1t has also made investigations
in relation TO the best means of afford
ing protection from them to life and
property. All this information has
been compiled by Gen. HAYES, chief
signal-sCryicc officer, and published by
the authority Of the secretary OF war.
Following are some of the important
facts set forth in the report, which are
of special interest to farmers and 9TH
ers living in the country;
In the United States the terms cy-
clone, tornado, and hurricane are fire.
qucntly intcrchanged in ordinary
conycr'Iton, and in the minds Of
ninc-tcnths of the people these terms
mean one and the same thing. This
Is not altogether surprising, consider
| ing the want of systematic instruction
in accurate meteorological knowledge,
and the general disposition Of intclli-
gent minds to speculate about the
weather. But. in fact, the tornado OF
the United States is u wcll.dclincd
species of storm, differing in many
points from hurricanes, cyclones, and
thunder.storms and it is the only one
that will now be considered.
Omitting consideration of the lorna
does. so called by Portuguese and Span
ish navigatOrs on the African coast,
and combining our attention to the
United States, ii is believed that these
storms are possessed Of the following
prominent characteristics: The gen.
cral direction of movement of the tor.
nado is invariably from point in the
southwest quadrant to n point IN the
northeast quadrant. The tornado
cloud assumes the form of funnel,
the small end drawing near to, or rest
ing upon, the earth. This cloud and
the air beneath it revolvc about cen
tral vertical axis with inConccvablc
rapldity, and always in Il direction
contrary TO the movement Of the hands
of u watch. The destructive violence
of the storm is sometimes confined to
II path few yards in width, as when
the small or tail end just touches the
earth; while, on the other hand, rs
the body of the cloud lowers more OF
ii rests upon the earth, the violence in
creases, and the path widcns to the
extreme limit of eighty rods. The tor
nalo, with hardly an exception, occurs
in the afternoon, Just after the hottest
part of the day. The hour of greatest
frequency is between > and / p. M.
TurnadocS very rarely ii ever, begin
after i y. m. \ tornado commencing
about y. m, may continue its charac.
tcrstic violence until nearly Sp. M,
which means, only, that the tornado
cloud may be travelling after up. M,
or after I p. M, but it does not de.
yclop-that is, make disappearance for
the first time, after those hours. Out
side Of the area of destruction, at times
even along the immediate edge, the
smallest objects often remain undis-
turbcd, although at n few yards dis
tancc the largest and strongest build
ings are crushed to pieces. At any
point along the storms path, where
there Is opportunity afforded the tor
nadO cloud to display its power, the
disposition of the debris presents un-
mistakable signs Of an action of the
wind, such as might be called Il rota.
tion, from the right through the front
TO the left around the center, The de-
stluctivc power of the wind increases
steadily from the circumference of the
ST, rm to its center.
Observations with a single isolated
barometer will not indicate the APP
prOach Of 4 tornado, however near the
position of the instrument to the path
of the storm, but such observations
are Of value when q number arc dis
played on the daily weather map. The
tornado season is embraced between
the lst of April and the lSt of Scptem-
ber. The months of greatest frequency
are june and July. There are, how
ever, instances in Il long series of years
where tornadoes have been reported
in every month of the year. Taking
the whole United States together, it is
found that the region OF greatest aver
age frequency per year per square
mile, embraces the following states;
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kan
sas, Missouri, Ohio.
On the day of the storm, and for
several hours previous to the appear
ance of the tornado cloud, what indi-
cations of its probable formation and
approach are within the comprehension
of an ordinary observer, and can read
lily be detected by himP A sultry, OPP
prcssive condition of the atmosphere,
described by various observers as
followed: II really experienced II
slckly sensation under the influence of
the suns rays" 81 was compelled
to stop work on account of the pecu-
liar exhaustion experienced from ply
steal exerton." at seemed as ii the
lightest garments that | could put on
were burden to mc." "Thcre was
not a breath of air stirring.n "The
air, at times, came IN pufls, as from a
heated furnace II felt want of
breath, the air frequently appearing
too rarlled to breathe freely" II was
startled at the sudden and continued
rise in tho thermometer, especially at
this season of the year." "lt was
terribly oppressivei it seemed as If the
atmosphere was unusually heavy and
pressing down on me with great
weight"
Enough examples have been cited
to indicate the effects and signs of this
oppressive sultriness. Other signs
may be found in the development and
peculiar formation of the clouds in
the western horizon. Sometimes these