Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-03-01
CYCLONES AND TORNAD0ES.
STORM CENTERS AND THEIR
CAUSE AND EFFECT EXPLAINED.
Groundwork OF Weather Predic-
tions-How a Storm Trough is
Formed and a Cyclone Produced.

Groundwork OF Weather Predic-
tions-How a Storm Trough is
Formed and n Cyclone Produced.
1t would probably startle many people
were they to be told that every storm
that occurs is cyclone, yet, to certain
extent, such a statement would be cor
rect Every storm is cyclonic in its
nature; that is TO say, it has In large
degree the elements that form the I'M
pleasant characteristics of what is popu-
iarly termed a Cyclone" 1t was not
many years ago that people generally
thought of h nsas whenever cyclone was
mentioned visions of dark, funnel shaped
clouds and flying roofs were con iured up
by the word, and it was q popular idea
that in Kansas the cyclone made its
home. and only wandered beyond the
States boundaries on mere depredato.y
excursions, and never travelled very far
from headquarters. Such, indeed, was
the vague loose idea that folks possessed.
That better knowledge of the subject
has spread of late years is due to the in
vestigations and utterances of sci
entists, who have made the subject of
storms and their peculiarities special
study.
| in large body of air, which causes that
around to rush in to take its place. This
| causes whirling such as is produced
when two currents of water meet. In
| the immediate center there is no agita-
! ton, almost calm, the air surging this
way and that without any definite direc-
| ton, except upward. Farther out the
! air currents flow toward this center, in
a direction generally tangent to the
! center, which is circular at first. Thus
for miles around the storm the wind
blows inward, forming a great whirl-
pool of air. When this phenomenon &C.
ours on a large scale, the center extend
| ing over several square miles. the dis
turbance is denoted a storm, or, in the
/ parlance of the meteorologists, e Glow. !"
This latter word comes from the con-
ditlon of the barometer that precedes
and accompanies the storm.
When the center is small, and concen-
trated over a narrow area, with high
winds flowing in from all directions, it
is usually denoted a cyclone, or tor
nado. These latter storms come sud-
denly, usually without warning, and are
terrible in their destruction. The air
seems solid, so fiercely does it beat
against and overpower solid objects.
Trees are twisted from their rootings,
small objects are whirled from the sur.
face, and even houses are shattered by
the sudden and resistless movements of
the air. In the past few years great
fortunes have been lost through the de-
struction of property by these terrific
whirlwinds.
On first forming, the storm is gener-
allv almost circular, and is usually large
In this country the majority of them
form, or are first noted, in the south
western portion of the United States,
and move toward the Atlantic Ocean in
northeasterly direction. AS a storm
moves, the circular center losses
it's shape and elongates, slightly
at first. For some indefinite
reason, this elongation takes place on
the southern side of the storm. This
elongated area of low pressure is called
trough" AS the storm moves east
ward the trough grows in length, until
sometimes it extends nearly to the Gulf
of Mexico while the storm is in the
neighborhood of the great lakes. 1t even
happens, as was the case on the occasion
of the great blizzard of March, 1888, that
the trough separates entirely from the
main or parent storm and forms sec
ondary storm, which even becomes more
severe than the first one. THIS was what
happened in Mar, h, 1888 The southern
end Of the trough broke off and began
moving rapidly up the Atlantic coast
until it reached the vicinity of New
York and Boston, where it. hung fol-
many hours, causing untold suffering
and damage.
It is when the trough of the storm be-
cones pronounced in it's elongatiol that
cyclone is liable to be formed. It must
be remembered that the conditions
around the trough are the same as those
around the center itself; the winds
blowing in the opposite directions in
: ward. A strong gust of wind blowing
= into the trough meets another coming
from across the way blowing equally
hard. A sudden shock occurs and g
, violent eddy of air is formed which, as
t the two currents continue to blow, be
2 comes the nucleus of a cyclone II
forms, may be, in an instant, and once
having become in itself storm center,
it breaks off from the trough and takes
I up direction of its own, determined
g by the first directions of the currents
that caused its existence.
: The case of a spinning top will illus
trate the motion of a tornado. While il
/ is whirling around on its own axis there
l + is a constant tendency to move forward
in a body, induced by the spinning
Thus the little storm-a pigmy with &
uiant's siren 0th-StartS off on its OWr