St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-29

own state and Is one OF the tornado report
ers of the United States signal service
Gen. Hazen wrote him personal letter,
requesting that what information he pos
sessed regarding the science of storms De
given to the general government that it
might be made of general use to the whole
country. On the 10th of this month Mr..
Hicks visited Kansas City with the avowed
intention of being there at the happening
OF severe storm. and the storm came. He
fixed the date of his visit to this city, in
tending to be here during the storm period,
and predicted the storm of Saturday after
noon, week ago, visiting Minnetonka on
purpose to see it break upon the lake.
A GLOBE reporter called on him at the
Hotel Ryan few days ago to obtain some
information regarding his theory, and Mr..
Hicks kindly answered all questions in re-
latlon to it. He is now enjoying vaca-
ton from his clerical labors and spends it
in pursuing the theory of storm phenom-
ena. He has a chart published in 1884.
giving the dates of all the planetary eoui-
noxes until the end of 1890.
Mr.. Hicks thinks that everyone will ad-
NIT the
OCCURRENCE OF STORMS
at or near the vernal and autumnal equi-
noxes of the earth. He claims that other
planets suffer similar equinoctal disturb
ances, and that, by reason of the great in
dessoluble bond uniting the system-termed
by him electricity-these disturbances are
felt throughout the system. That is, when
one planet is in, or near its equinox, the
other planets feel the effect of unusual
atmospheric phenomena. AS the equlnoxes
of the planets are well-known astronomical
periods, Mr.. Hicks has. for convenience
sake. indicated them on the chart men-
toned above for several years.
The dates of these equinoxes are the
centers of his danger periods" Whileshe
says that violent and destructive storms do
not necessarily occur at every danger
period" he holds as fact, proven by official
records, that all storms of remarkable en-
ergy, with hardly an exception, do occur
during these danger periods" All gen.
eral and widely destructive storms originate
in the far West, travel invariably in an
easterly direction and may be expected in
the region of the Mississippi river toward
the middle or latter part of the periods,
reaching the East and Atlantic seaboard at
the last; or, if impeded by opposing bar
ometers sometimes day or two later than
the period assigned. All storms are pre-
coded by warm spell, or wave" and
followed by cooler or very cold weather.
In all the central portions of the CONT
nent, OF
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY,
storms, as a rule. eliminate in their great
est fury in the afternoon and early evening,
or from midnight until o'clock in the
morning. These few facts, Mr.. Hicks
thinks already well established.
and aid the local observer in fore
telling a storm in any locality of the
different planetary equinoxes the Vulcan
ian disturbances cover period of about six
days each, the Mercurial twelve days. those
of Venus forty-five days. those of Mars
three months. and the Joveian nearly three
years. Ali these disturbances are pro-
longed and intensified during the terrestrial
equinoXeS, which have an influence extend
ing over at least two months longer before
than after the equinox, and disturbed pc
Rod of about ten days is attributable to
each of the earth'S solsticeS In Mr.. Hicks
scheme the planet Venus exerts the most
influence and Mars the least, and while
each planet exerts an influence peculiar to
itself. it is when the influences of different
planets exerted simultaneously, or when
the periods infringe on or overlap one an
other, that the most violent storms occur.
One popularity of the Mercurial equinox
is thick, continued cloudiness. with driz-
zling rain in summer and beautiful frost
work or heavy sleet in winter. At the
Venutian equinox wild, copper-colored
clouds rush in higher and lower strata
across the sky in different directions. ac-
companied by the most vivid and startling
lightning and thunder, and Mr. Hicks saws
that observation will show that all
VIOLENT HAIL STORMS
occur during the equinoxes of Venus and
Vulcan combined. One point the prophet
notes is that there are times when the plan
etary outlook seems to call for excessive
and destructive storms, when instead ex-
IRENE and phenomenal changes in temper
allure and atmospheric pressure take place
in various places without storm or precipi-
tation. He thinks the causes for this will
yet be discovered There are many very
interesting points connected with the theory
of Mr.. Hicks which cannot be entered into.
but he holds that a careful local observer
can. under his method, invariably foretell
storms, it being simply necessary to note
the temperature atmospheric pressure and
general storm laws to accomplish this. A
matter of interest to the Northwest is that
Mr.. Hicks prophesies blockade of snow
and sleet here early in Novem Der of this
year. The equinox of Venus is Nov. 10,
of Vulcan Nov. - and of Mercury Nov. 10.
and in the danger period, from the 10th to