Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-08-28
STORM FORECASTS.
The Next Storm Will Cross the Missis-
sippi Valley from the 18th to Both.
What the Study of the whirIw winds Teaches.
Electric Currents Move in a Spiral.
Streak of Lightning Not Zlgzsg.
Special to the Gazette.

Special to the Gazette.
OMAHA, NEB. Aug. Forecasts OF
the storm wave due to cross the Missis-
sippi valley from 22d to Path were given
in my last letter. The next Will be due
to leave the Pacific coast about the 9th
and will cross the Mississippi valley from
oSth to 3Oth, reaching the Atlantic coast
about the 3lst. The effect of the lasl
disturbances by Mercury and Venus wit
not have been entirely exhausted and
this storm will show energy above the
average. About the time it will be pass
ing out onto the North Atlantic, Sep
TENDER l, the moon crosses the earth 8
equator and this will increase the storm
to the danger point and make 1t unde-
sirable for sea voyages. A secondary
storm wave will be due about Septem-
Der /.
To understand the weather one must
understand the nature of storms.
Study the whirlwinds. Those little in
nocent twIsters we often see carrying up
dust and leaves are miniature low barom-
eters, or storm centers, and every storm
of whatever nature moves and acts like
these little whirlwinds. They all whirl
i'll one direction. Lay your watch down
with face up and the whirlwind, the
storms, the low barOmeters, whirl in the
opposite direction from the movements
of the hands of the watch. The high
barometers whirl in the same direction rs
the hands of the watch.
Why? Because the electric currents
move in q spiral, III the low barometer,
going up from the earth, and that cleo
ward, leaving vacuum, and other air
from all parts rushes in to fill up the
vacancy. The school books say that it
is heat that causes this atmosphere to
rise, thereby causing the low barometers
and the whilwinds. do not believe it.
The electric current causes this move
ment of the atmosphere and the rushing
of the atmosphere together into more
compact aud condensed condition, to-
gether with the effect of the increased
current of electricity, heats the air. If
this was caused by the suns heat alone
the atmosphere would not be hotter in
Iowa at times than it Is in Mississippi,
and we would not sometimes see the
thermometer register 100 in Dakota when
1t Is only eighty in Texas. The stmos-
phere would not be heated in one place
so it would rise and 1000 miles south of
there cooled so 1t would fall. Mol no!
The sun is not SO tickle minded as all
that.
Look again at the whirlwind. While
the leaves and dust are moving in cir
Gle and raising they continually approach
the center. So it is in all storms,
from the little tornadoes to the great
hurricane. and the effect of this move
ment is to bring toward the center the
moisture, the fOgs, the clouds, that go
to make up the rain hail or snow storm.
The movements of free electricity are
always in a circle, or spiral. In viewing
q streak of lightning we imagine that is
Zig-Zag, but 1t is not. It appears SO be-
cause we view il from point where we
cannot see its circular or spiral move
ments. The creeping vines are led to
twlne around the pole or tree by a cur
rent of electricity. A few of these vines,
which are day growers, twine directly as
the watch hand moves, but very great
majority are night growers and Irvine the
other way. A large ma jority of the for
est trees twist in the reverse direction.
Examine the hop, bean and morning
glory vines. The electric movements,
twining of vines and twisting of trees
are reverse south of the equator. VIII |
continue this discussion in next letter.
W II Foster