The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-02-25

NV ".'"1N' ~ IORNADOiSI IN llLlN Jie'
be reduced 70 a'Locatlon Of Mount Vernon
few general facts are Of great interest.
In the first place It is clearly demon
strutcl that tornadoes are not increasing
either in number or destructive force ;
they have certainly prevailed for 100
years past in the United States, and Will
as certainly for 100 years. 70 come
Secondly, tho reason IS found IN the fact
That ell the central section, from the Alle
ghanies 10 the Rocky mountains, Is q
basin plGin, unbrokcn by cross ranges Of
mountains, and with 10 hills which rise
10 the middle region of tho atmosphere.
Hence the territory Of the United States
vest Of tie AllcClanies viii always be the
land Of the tornado, its force increasing
from east TO west till one reaches the Mis-
souri, valley, and from both ends toward
the west centcr--about latitude 40 dogs
These facts would lead US u conclude,
and observation proves it, that there are
certain belts where the tornado is very
rare, and others where IT IS Of appalling
frequency The records for 125 years
prove tho following:
West Virginia is the one state where
tho tornado, strictly speaking, il IN
known, and next TO It III exemption is
Vircinia proper Southwark and slightly
westward from the latter there is an in.
creoslng liability till one reaches that part
Of Georgia and Alabama south Of the
westward trend OF the Alleghanies, and
there Is q storm belt at least 100 miles in
width from north 10 south. From
West Virginia northward there is a
rapid Increase Of liability till one
passes central Ohio; westward from
the Big Miami the liability again
decreases, ard there is a region in the
Wabash valley, from Nincennes to La
fayctte, where there is almost complete
eXCmption-at any rate tornadOes are
rare. Westward from that region the
liability Increases rapidly ana steadily 10
The Junction OF tho Nemaha and Missouri,
and there is, beyond comparison the tor
lado center Of the United States. Take
tho junction Of these TWO rivers as q center
and 10y off concentric circles, with radii
of 100, 200 and 500 miles, and you will
very nearly outline the areas Of greatest
excessively decreasing frequency.
The reasons are very plainly stated n
tho latest publication OF the signal ser
vice bureau but they are too numerous
70 recite here. The g.S1t of interest 10
the dveller in the toi nado belt is to deter
mine the pherofnena which immediately
precede -tife tornado, and the proper
course Of action when it Is imminent.
The following facts, therefore, deduced
from observation of over 800 tornadoes,
are of "yltal interest
/. Seven-eightlis Of all destructive tor
nadoes come between and p. IL. A
tornado never originates after sundowni
they sometimes, but rarely strike in the
night, but always es q continuation Of the
previous days course
.. Nine-tenths Of the worst ones come
from the west; in certain sections (Which
the department now has mappcd) nearly
all come from south of west, end in others
a majority come from north Of west
Therefore, if the narrow black trunk
cloud which always shows the tornado
DO seen in time, run TO the northwest OF
southeast.-never toward the east OF
northeast II you retreat to the cellar,
always crouch in the southwest corner or
under the west wall, Tor in nine cases out
OF ten the house goes of 10 the east or
northeast.