St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-20
WIND STORMS.

A correspondent writing from Roch-
ester, Mum, objects to the use of the
term scyclone" as applied to storms Of
such character as have recently visited
this section. Technically speaking, III
correspondent is correct, yet the term
cyclone has passed into such common
use when employed to describe the kind
of a storm that is wrapped up in the
funnel-shaped cloud, it has come to be a
good American word. When we say 'a
cyclone" everybody understands at
once what the term signifies, notwith-
standing it is a clear p%erversion of the
original and correct Specification. The
terms cyclone and tornado are so con-
stantly interchanged in their use that
perhaps in the minds of nine-tenths OF
the American people they mean one and
the same thing. Yet there is an essen
tial difference, as we shall proceed to
show.
The atmospheric disturbances to be
properly classed under the head of
wind storms are designated by the
United States signal bureau as follows:
Cyclones, t%ornadoes, hurricanes, whirl-
WllIQO, nQGOlOpOulof q Y lhO VII
thunder storms. AS we have stated,
the two first are being constantly n
founded; and sometimes the whirwind,
the most common and the most harmless
of all. is dignifed with the appellation
of cyclone.
In a pamphlet published eight years
ago under the direction of the chief sig
nal officer, showing the special charac-
teristics and dangers of the various
wind storms, the cyclone is described as
an ocean storm, which invariably
trends northeastward from the West
Indies until it reaches parallel 80 N,
when 1t curves further to the northeast,
and finally disappears in the vicinity of
parallel so n. 1t seldom gets very far
inland, and the diameter of the storms
path varies from 200 to 1000 miles. The
path of the cyclone is invariably a para
bOlic curve.
The tornado. and the one which we
are most interested IN studying, is truly
and invariably a land storm. 1t is a
first cousin of the cyclone in it's chief
characteristics, but doesn't spread out
SO extensively. although equally de-
%structiye so far as its path does reach.
1t is more to be dreaded than the cy-
clone, because usually there are more
persons exposed to its fury. The prom
inent characteristics OF the tornado are
described as follows: 1t moves along
a path varying in width from a few
yards to eighty rods. The general di-
rection of a tornado cloud is invariably
from a point in the southwest quadrant
TO a point in the northeast quadrant.
The tornado cloud assumes the form of
a funnel, the small end drawing near to
or resting upon the earth. This cloud,
or the moving air of which it is the
embodiment, reyolves about a central
or vertical axis with inconceviable
rapidity. and always in a direction con-
trary to the movement of the hands of a
watch. The destructive violence of the
storm is usually confined to the imme-
diate path of the cloud. When the tail
only touches the earth the path of de-
%struction is narrow; when the body of
the cloud lowers the violence increases
and the path widens to the extreme
limit. With hardly an exception the
tornado occurs in the afternoon, Just
after the hottest part of the day, itssfa-
yorite hours being from 8 to 5. A tor
nado rarely ever begins after 6, but if it
has developed before that hour is liable
to continue its characteristic violence
until s or 9.
On account of recent experiences in
this locality, some observations on the
conditions of tornado formation will be
of interest to the GLOBE readers. In
asmuch as the tornado is an extremely
local affair, barometic observations are
OF very little use in foretelling the COM
ing of a tornado. The barometer might
be placed in the immediate track of the
storm cloud and yet might not indicate
its presence until the crash of the
storm was upon the instrument. There
are p%remonitory signs, however, which
are easily detected by the senses of
sight and feeling, and it is to these we
wish to direct the attention of the
reader. By a careful study of cloud de-
velopment, observing color as well as
form, also manner of direction and an