The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-07-07
FACTS ABOUT STORMS.
Results of n Study of the Tornadoes at St.
Cloud and Wetmore.

Results of n study of the Tomatoes at ST.
Cloud and Wetmore.
The Signal Office has been making a
special study of the facts reported from
the great tornadoes of April IA, by
which the cites of st. Cloud and Sank
Rapids, Mimi, we're nearly destroyed.
The farthest westerly appearance of the
storm was at jamestown, D. 7. The
total path of the storm was thirty-five
miles long, and in its course killed six
ty-nine people and destroyed over $780,
coo worth of property. At the same
tine there was storm at Benton, Mills
County, Iowa, which proceeded in the
same general direction, and passed
through a dozen towns in the course of
one hundred and ten miles. Another
parallel storm was noted at Wetmore,
Kas., and Stella, Neb., and was traced
for about thirty miles. Another was
reported from Monroe, Mo-, about thirty
miles long. All these storms happened
between five and eight o'clock in the
evening There was uniform pro-
erosion from west to east, the most
e,rtern tornadoes occurring four or five
hours later than the western, The sig
nal service people are inclined to build
theories somewhat different from those
accepted with regard to tornadoes. The
principal authority on tornadoes is Prof.
Ferrel. He says that when, on account
of greater heat, or a greater amount of
aqueous vapor, the atmosphere at any
pace becomes more rare than the sur
rounding portion, it ascends, and the
surrounding heavier atmosphere flows
in below to supply its place, while a
counter current is produced above. AS
the lower strata of atmosphere gen.
orally contain certain quantity of
aqueous vapor, which is condensed
after rising to Il certain height, and
forms clouds and rain, the caloric given
out in the condensation produces a still
greater rarefaction, and doubtless adds
very much to the disturbance of equilib-
rum, and to the motive powers of
storms. The Signal Office finds the
following objections to this theory:
They say it demands more sudden and
complete mixing of warm and cool air
than can ever take place in nature;
that there is no such sudden uprush of
air due to possible heating by the sun.
While the earth's surface may become
very hot, yet this intense heat never
extends more than few feet ver-
teally. Balloon aseents demonstrate
this. The sun heats Il great surface
over the earth, and if Ferrel's theory
was correct, there would naturally be
cloud formation and storms over large
region. whereas storms seem to develop
along certain lines from southeast to
northeast, and are not general over any
large region. Storms are not stationary,
but have q well-defined course, and
move exactly as if propelled by some
force as a part of the course of the
storm, rather than by successive upset
tings of equilibrium, from place to
place. Another fact is, that storms
generalh arise about half past three
CLOCK in the afternoon, Just a little
after the hottest part of the day, and
WORK eastward, where it becomes
cooler. If there was to be any upheaval
of equilibrium, owing to the suns heat,
it would seem that it ought to take
place under the sun and not seven or
eight hours after the sun had passed.
Furthermore. Prof. Ferrel's theory re-
quires rarefaction of air Immediately
in front of the advancing storm.
while the observation of the Signal
Office shows that there is no such
al1efaetion, but, on the contrary,
dense pressure preceding the storm. The
brief of the Signal Service is that a
tornado is the extreme development of
thunderstorm, accompanied by in
tense electrical manifestations and .