St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-02-17
T0RNADOS AND CYCLONES.

A Confusion Of Terms in the Popular III
In view of the confusion that now exists
in the use of the words tornado" and Soy
Clone" the signal service department sends
out the following brief description of the
characteristics of these very distinct kinds of
storms, in order to attain, if possible, the de-
sirable end of a uniform Technology:
The term cyclone was suggested by Pid-
dington in East India, about forty years ago,
10 apply to the violent storms of the Bay Of
Bengal and other tropical regions; synony-
nous with the typhoou of h e::China Seas and
hurricane of the West Indies. A broad
storm, from 100 to 500 miles in diameter,
characterized by a broad cloud disc, from
which heavy rain falls, with spiral inward
blowing winds of destructive violence near
the center, but with a calm space (ten or
fifteen miles in diameter) at the cen
ter itself, known as the "'eye
of the storm" The barometer
always records a low atmospheric pressure
near the storm center. Cyclones have a pro-
gressive motion, not directly visible, but ap-
parent in the passing changes of the weather
that they bring. The broad storms, often of
~ ACANAN~f oNNOAL BLNN0 - -
heavy widespread sheet of cloud with rain
or snow, bring warm weather in their front
half and cold in their rear, which frequently
covers q considerable number of our states
at once, exhibit nearly all the physical pecu-
~liarities Of cyclones, although this name is
not yet generally applied to them by all me-
t~eorologists. In our country such cyclonic
storms never leave a narrow path of destruc-
tive action along the track Of their central
passage, but they are rather beneficial than
otherwise, as they bring the greater share of
our rains. As a whole, these c%yclonic storms
travel across our country, from west to east,
at a rate of twenty-five to thirty miles an
hour The same storm often endure for a
week, and its path may be followed for sey-
eral thousand miles.
Tornadoes are violent local storms, which
appear, from records made by the numerous
volunteer tornado reporters in cooperation
with the signal service, to be generated only
in certain parts of the broad, relatively,
harmless c~yclOnic storm. Tornadoes are
marked by their ~well-known whirling funnel
cloud, and by their narrow path of destruc-
ton, within which few structures can with
stand their violence. They are, therefore,
very local. They advance at a rate of twenty
five TO thirty miles an hour, corresponding to
the progression OIL Tue great cNclOnlC slOrm
within which they are generated; and a sin
gle tornado seldom endures more than an
hour or two. A number Of tornadoes fire.
quently occur on the same day in adjacent
states They are commonly associated with
thuuder-storms and with gales or squalls of
violent straight line winds. The name tor
nado has been used as here indica-
ted since the arly part of this century in this
country and in Europe. Its replacement by
cyclone is very recent and should be avoided
in order to prevent confusion.
1t is desired TO give this circular as general
publicity as possible, so as to gain, in the
coming tornado season, a use of the words
tornado and cyclone that shall correspond
with their original and techuical meaning,
and with the Technology of meteorologists
throughout the world.
The signal service reports never apply the
word cyclone 10 our western tornadoes, and
it is hoped that the daily press OF the United
States will follow the usage Of the service.
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