New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-09-11
THE OHIO TORNADO.

The terrible havoc wrought by the tornado III
Ohio on Wednesday is fresh illustration OF
human helplessness in combating with the
devastating forces OF nature. Another flourish
ing town has been torn up from its foundations
and literally blown to pieces in the fury OF
storm which no weatherwise prophet could
have predicted. Washington Court House has
shared the sad fate which has beiallen so
many Western and Southern towns in recent
years. The details of che catastrophe are most
heartIending A heavy rainfall, night oil
impenetrable darkness. the roaring OF the
tempest, the crash of timbers and falling build
ings. signs and sounds of ruin and destruction
everywhere, the shrieks of wounded and dying,
and the agonizng search OF distracted friends
for the missing, combine TO make this vista
ton of nature one OF the most appalling oil
recent calamities.
The freouent recurrence Of tOrnad0es in the
United States has naturally attracted the atten-
ton of the Signal Service and some OF the most
competent observers have made a detailed
study of the phenomena connected with them.
Sergeant j. p Finlay from the records Cd file
in Washington has Analysed the characteristics
of six hundred tornadoes and published some
seasons. months, and hours OF the day when
they are most likely to occur; the relative fire.
quency of such visitations in sections and
States the common direction and velocity OF
the most destructive winds; the average
breadth and length of the path trayersed the
velocity of progression of the storm cloud, and
| many other particulars. These are elements
which physicists aud mcteorol0glsts find OF
| great assistance in determining the Theoretical
phases of the problem. But neither Sergeant
| Finlay nor any other writer on this subject is
| able to offer any practical suggestions in regard
to the possibility of giving timely warning of
| the approach of a tornado or of averting the
ruin which is inevitably wrought.
| The barometer by a decided fall indicates the
coming of a cyclone on sea or land and the
warning receives confirmation in the steadily
| increasing wind. In the case of tornado there
| can be no premonitons OF approaching devasta-
! ton. 1t is possible that with the advance of
| meteorological science observers in time may
| be enabled to formulate the general conditions
under which a tornado is produced. But ii
must ever be impracticable either to locate in
advance the scene of devastation or to predict
the occurrence. The tornado's life is too short,
| lts track 100 udTIbN, It's uSSbIDylHS lpICco hic
too rapidly spent. to admit of previous calcutta
ton. The black, funnel-shaped cloud must
ever be the only courier of the tempest. There
were probably no atmospheric conditions which
would have enabled even a State Weather
Service in Ohio to have forecast Wednesdays
storm. Nor is there any prospect whatever that
| in the immediate future warnings can be given
of any particular tornado, even if the United
States Signal Service is greatly enlarged and its
operations are supplemented by State weather
services. If the Signal Service, reasoning from
general conditions, were TO attempt to issue
bulletins announcing that the probabilities
were favorable for the production of tornado
in SONS broadly outlined area, the admoni' ion
would be of no practical value and woald in.
ey;tably bring the Bureau into disrcpute az
manned chiefly by alaimists of the Virgins
type.
Professor Edward s. Holden, of the Uni
versity Of Wisconsin. has advocated system