New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-06-14
crOUDRTRSTS md UATERSPOUTS

Az tbe earth goes whizlng through inter-steliar
1000 ot tho rate OF "a million miles day, IL en-
oa,rtcrs at certain tunes Of the year liou'"lS
,uaust and November, swarmS of mcteorS' COUNT
lose in number which give pyrotechnlc uspi"S
ovceedinc the Fall Of Babylon in sugseS,Ne-
moss if not in grandeur. quite as a'"n""",
and curious. if less brilliant, are the occasioH'l
showers of scintllant ignorance Ill regard ~ '"c
weather. through which the news worm Eo'9
scootng at frequent stages OF It's perennial anu
awful flight. Reference is here MADE chicnS. ~
the misuse of terms by the enthusiastic Plo'"'
osouc and cntcrprising reporter In the WIN "'',
,voolly West who cntrusts 70 the teegidP"
10 his conious tales of meteorological wonders
rooordlcss of tie consumption of gray BRAIN mat
tor and blue lead pencils required ny the lh'eii-
,or, conv editors of the cultured East who are
% rcd unon 70 handle his dispatches Ihe most
learned disquisitions on the differences between
souall yale hurricane. cyclone or tornado he''"e'
teach nor daunt him. and every trliiing cold snap
and snowfall. through the lenses OF ms lhaeih'-
tion and phrase, is converted into an appai'i"s
blizzard ,,
Rut il is TO the "watcrspout' ana clou"-
burstn that. at the present moment ana III
snrit Of meek protest, we venture 10 WV
differentiation Of ideas. or Of animal species 10 Vi
course n matter Of degrees and time pu' We C'''-
80, ros,st tho conclusion that to-day, when
American civilization stands, as IL were "'Pi"S
49,; Zoo, -, the doorrnat of the twentieth century,
the distinction between wat"rspoul ana clo""
hurst deserves wider recognition. Ana II Is
with tender shy. yet fond. hope oil 'n'S 'o''
tba, the following explanation is offered
c.,or,Il, snea,,inc. the cloudburst occurs on
land md the waterspout at sea. The one ue'
ri,,es fine food with which il suddenly delugeS a
,.,llev from overhead the other picks mp most
M, all Of the water which it carries from pe!o"'
,I,bourb thc popular notion as 10 the amount
,rbicb rise, into the visible column is far nom
,or,cc, In anatomy and cause both arc closely
,lip ~ n tornado. and have % more or less appT-
on, ,prncl- shaped cloud to start with IL "ha'
is nopularlv known as the waterspou' p"'
,bicb Fcrrel thought should be- called n vapoI-
snout.7 something resembling suction as from
n,un sucks ND any fluid over which II may
mass though not lifting 1t rs high nor carving
!, ,s f,r as the ordinary debris transported p'
tornado But in the nature Of things 'A' con-
d.fious for such performance are s''"'" '''""
e>ccnt II sea In AN exceptional way, """I-
snouts have been seen on the treat Iakes' """
inland when tornado crossed river. III
cloudours,. on the other hand. condensation I'll
vopor IN kcs place rs in an ordinary ran bNt mU'n
more rapidly; and, instead Of falling as II forms
Tho wafer is sustained according 70 ferrcl hy the
ascending current in the air tube. until collision
with a hill or some other incident ineriereS WIN
The wind system and then the dclug' fails all az
once: and this phenomenon, If not really more
frequent. i, at least much more often heard from
on land. for. whether one personally witnesses II
or nor the effect there becomes instantly APP
porcut: whereas al sea, any precipitation oil 'hlS
kind would leave no trace And while there Is
,ood reason 70 believe that coudhursts on a sinai
scale really have been encountered 10y SHIPS Su'h
Instances are rare. Mariners, then, should De-
given ample license 70 spin yarns about water
,pouts7; but "cloudhursts' ought 10 make the
hndsmans narrative sufficiently thrilling 10 sat
i,(, even the most ardent temperament