Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-11-20
PHENOMENA OF lorna
DOES.
Scientific Study of the Phenomena IF No..
nadoes in the United Statcs.

iniIa' VI tAc siSHii corps. has de
voted about eight years, are now SO
we'll understood as to warrant the be-
lief that trustworthy warnings may
soon be sent ont to the inhabitants OF
Localities which may be threatened With
disastrous visitations. Daily predie-
tlons arc in fact, being made at present.
having begun last year and confirmed
during the tornado season. and resumed
recently upon the return of Lieut.. Fin
ley from an inspection tour in the west.
The percentage of veriiication is already
gratifying, though the predictions are
as yet largely experimental, and are
embodied i'll the daily published bulle-
tins OF the signal Office only when the
conditions favorable to the creation of
t%ornadoes are very pronounced. In
noted as probable.
To a reporter Lieut., Finley recently
described the known phenomena of tor
nadoes and the ends toward which
present researches are directed. These
storms have distinctly marked charac-
terlstics. and are by no means to be
confounded with hurricanes, s.bliz-
yards" cyclones, OF n]ortheasters.
Their tracks arc nevermore than a few
hundred yards wide, and their forces
are generally exhausted by the time
they have travelled a course of forty or
fifty miles, though in this latter respect
they are quite variable, some having
been traced by their lines of devastation
more than 1870 miles.
Their rotary motion which is great
oct fnNra1.I- fln oD,,f,,,
reaches the enormous rate of two thous-
and miles al hour, while their forward
movement, always from southwest to
northeast, ordinarily does not exceed
forty or fifty miles. They are Usually
unaccompanied by electrical disturb
ances, and are believed to be uninHu-
enced by electrical conditions, though
violent thunder storms sometimes fol-
low them a few miles away. There is
a distinct and curious relationship be-
tween the tornado and the general
storm center, which is always apparent
in their uniform relative positions; the
tornado always occurring southeast
wardly from the center of the low bar
ometric pressure, and at a distance of
from Il to six hundred miles. The
shape Of the general storm center, the
direction in which its longest diameter
lies, and the appearance of the upper
and lower clouds enter as minor ele-
ments into the problem out of which
the weather experts hope to work Il
complete system of tornado warnings.
The visits Of the tornado are commonly
between the hours of 2 and 6 O'Clock
IN the afternoon.
Its home is an area which includes
the whole OF Iowa, all Of Missouri, eX-
cept the southeastern corner, the north
western corner OF Arkansas, the north
eastern part OF indian Territory, east
ern Kansas, eastern Nebraska, southern
Minnesota, southern Wisconsin,, and
western Illinois. Here its season ex-
tends from April to August, inclusive.
1t is q frequent visitor to two OF three
regions. One is u strip along the gulf
and south Atlantic which takes in the
-aafHRatF g9u portions OF Ala II Ma;;r G,;fsgiI,;
Mississippi and North Carolina, o3qr
which Its devastations arc confined to
the months OF January, February. and
March. The other includes a norti,n
OF southern and central Ohio, a lapse
part OF Pennsylvania, a small area IN
Maryland, Il strip across New York.
u a corner each of Massachusetts
and Connecticut, where it is seasonab,e
only during the months of August aud
September.
Lieut.. Finley further said, while q
9 OF interesting scientific questions
respecting the origin OF tornadoes, the
laws which govern them, and their re-
.latlonship TO other meteorolos1cal
phenomena remain to be answered. the |
more practical questions as to when
and where they are likely to aDsenr
seem to be advancing ratidly tow ard
solution. The interests which are sub
je,ct to disaster from tornaloes are
to the Importance of the work -
Progress. intending purchasers Of
arms apply to the signal office for in
respecting the liability of
-helr selected locality to disaster. To
;'lch are sent the records of the past as
az as they are known. Whenever
-1eQt. Finley travels in pursuit of his
'tudles farmers and villagers press for
Information. To these he saws that
iothlngg raised by the hand Of man
poYe the surface of the earth can
the shock of tile tornado.
10 ADVISES them to seek their dug-outs
!pon the appearance. of the. portentous
lgns OF disaster, and there await the
'assage OF the storm. For their prop
he advises insurance, so that the
osses of the individual may be shared
y his more fortunate neighbors. The
isufanee companies which last year
wrote" $40, 900, 600 in tornado poli-
les are eagerly awaiting the compile
on OF a map now in the process of
saa which will, it is expected,
sglons, and perhaps show that large
ortlons Of them have never exper-
need a destructive storm. Upon this
zap Lieut.. Finley proposes to show
the complete records Of several 4
ears and dates as far rs obtained for
any previous years the average num-
'r OF tornadoes for each locality per
mum.