Wichita eagle., 1888-07-25
HOW STORMS ARE MADE.
AN ATMOSPHERIC FUNNEL WHICH
FORMS THE TERRIBLE CYCLONE.

FORMS THE TERRIBLE CYCLONE.
A Scientific Expianat,on Of the Origi. a
Sandsponts. Watsrspouts and Tornadoea.
Disastrous Efects-Some aIuder Forms.
The Poetic Side.
Our earth only receives a small fractional
part OF tie suns heat; but, whatever that
may be in the year. more or less than the
average, the entire surface of our earth must
feel and be subject to the effects And cns
thing Is certain-naulely, that year or
series of years Of excessive sun heat VIII in
evitably be years and seasons Of excessive
atmospheric istrrbances, because increase
of heat viii produce excess of evaporation,
excess of electric action. and, necessarily. ex-
.essive precipitation; and, during a preva-
lence OF this excess of SIN heat, there must
be over limited areas violent storms both
summer and winter.
wATERsPoUTS AND ToESADoEs.
When very large areas of the atmosphere
have been, by excess OF heat, brought into an
unequal state, as large areas of lower strss
..zm Of highly heated air and vapor, which is
also intensely electric, the conditions 10 pro-
duce sandspouts. waserspouts and tornadoes
are fully ripe. The upper and colder layer
Of the atmosphere cannot cool the lower
highly heated and vapor laden stratum so
evenly and quickly as TO prevent vents in
the form of tunnels forming from TIE lower
stratum to the higher stratum, and causing
rupture which takes place upward in pipe
form, just as water in a tank or basin, hav-
ing bottom means for discharge by pipe,
flows out with vrh ;,l;n IN,
northern hemisphere always IN the direction
OF the hands of clock, and SO the heated,
highly electric and excessively vapor laden
atmosphere breaks into the cold atmosphere
above when at the level of the ''dew point"
invisible vapor becomes visible, parting with
its latent heat which so rarefes the air as to
force some Of the condensed atmosphere in
visible cloud, mounting thousands of feet
above the condensing dew. point and into a
region above the highest peaks Of the highest
mountains.
To feed this pipe, or as in sone cases,
pipes, the lower stratum flows in from all
sides to rotate and ascend with the intense
velocity of steam power, sufficient to pro-
duce all the disastrous effects of the widest
tornado, there being almost vacuum at the
ground, or water line, as the phenomenon
may be on the land or over the sea- On the
land trees are twisted and uprooted, houses
are unroofed, solids of various kinds arc
lifted from the earth, and human beings
have been blown away like dead leaves
There are, also, records Of railway wagons
having been blown off the rails In deserts
entire caravans have been buried beneath
mountain Of blown sand-camels, horses and
men. while in Egypt there are the ruins of
cities, massive temples, and monuments deep
buried in ehe adjoining desert sand At sea
many good ship, caught by tornado has
been overwhelmed and sent to the bottom
whola
SOME AILDER FORMS.
There are milder forms of the storm effect,
producing on warm summer day the cumu-
lus clouds Here the lower stratum of warm
air is also flowing inward and rising upward
beneath each cloud, condensing at the dew
point, parting with latent heat, producing
modified steam power, and SO causing these
summer clouds to enlarge upward, bulge and
mount in sunshine like illuminated woolpack
mountains, but when seen in an evening
western sky about shutdown they take fantas-
tic forms, SO aptly described by Shakespeare.
Cloud scenery is the poets dreamland, and
Is by some writers most truthfully and beau
tifully described. As rule painters do not
pay SO much attention to clouds as the poets
do. At ell events, they do not represent
them as truthfuily as the poets describe
them There are, of course, exceptions, but
in the Royal Academy exhibition just opened
there are many square feet of canvas painted
on which the portion intended to mean sky
and cloud bears no resemblance to anything
ever seen il nature Every painter should
study meteorology as a surgeon studies anat-
ony Clouds have forms as definite as a
skeleton.
Clouds are not masses Of unmcaning vapor,
but form and float ohedient to law; and, if
the painter has not studied and learned this
law, ne cannot depict clouds in their true
forms. On warm summers day small
cumulus clouds may be seen forming at tho
dew point line of elevation; in each case the
base of the cloud is level at an ascertainable
height above the site, having an upward cur
rent of warm, vapor laden air rising be-
MEATH mounting and bullying. Pail Mall
Budget.
Stewed Devil Fish for Tea.
"Little you Enow of European delights
l. l.