The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-04-13
TO RESIST TORNADOES.
THEY COULD NOT INJuRE DENSE
AND WELL BUILT CITIES.

| LOUISVILLE We're Poorly Constructed
Scientific Explanation ofthe Tornado.
CcopVfohtl
New York, April 12.-It Is wsll-kuown
that extended porto is Of the United States
are especially liable to tornadoss. Doubt
less the severe storms on the evening of
March %. which forcibly called the asten-
ton of the country to this class of destruc-
tive aud violent phenomena, will be known
as the Louisville tornado. Msteorologists
apply the term tornado to cyclonic
storms Of local character, which have the
popularity of excessively high wind cur
rents passing spirally inward and
upward, aud especially when the
direction of these violent winds is
more nearly vertical than horizontal Il
seems probable to the writer taat the tor
nado Is only more violent and intense ex-
| hibition of thunder and hailstorm condi--
| ticus. In the case of tornadoes, the enor-
nous forces generated by the sudden dis
ruption of We y unstable atmospheric con-
dltions find effect in the development of
violent whirlwinds, Instead of forming hail
or inducing extraordinary electrical oondi-
| tions.
The most destructive tornado within mar
row limits and recent years was that of
| April is, 1880, through which Mars 1field,
No., was almost entirely demolished. over
100 lives lost and several hundred injured
On Feb. 10, 1884, however, an unparalleled
series of tornadoes occurred in the interior
| pats of North and South Carolina and
Georgia, in Alabama, kentucky and Illi-
nois, being most destructive in the four
states first named. The loss of property
was hardly greater than that now ex-
perienced by the Louisville tornado. but the
loss of life doubtless exceeded 500, and the
injured more than 1000.
Apart from:L Iuisville, with its death list
of seventy-hve, that of Metropolis doubt
fully placed, and Gloscoe thirty victims. at
least twenty-five others were lost in lorna
does developed on the evening OF March a.
The data concerning loss of life and
property is at this writing ind FL
mite and vague. save IL the case of
Louis Vile; but at twenty widely sep
arated points in Kentucky, Tennessee,
Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, the total loss
of life aggregates over two hundred, with
more than one thousand houses destroyed.
The entire valuation of losses is estimated
at three aud half millions; probably il will
not fall far short OF that amount, as the
property loss in Louisville was about two
and a half millions, and the exaggerated
estimates from many places will be counter
| balanced by losses not yet reported.
1t is Significant of the uncertainty which
still prevails as to the distribution of tor
nadoes, that those serious and violent
storms occurred over section OF the coun-
try where not a dozen, and in some parts
not half dozen, of these storms have ever
beel known, aud this fact emphasizes the
minor Importance which should be placed
by the public in general on the imputation
that any country or state Is affilc ed with
frequent tornadoes, or the statement that
they are unknown.
Well defined tor ADDE'S were confined at
this time to Kentucky, Tennessee, Southern
Indiana. and Southern Illinois. Severe
storms, however, prevailed during March
20, "a, or 28 in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri,
Nebraska and WisconsiI, and over the lake
region, resulting in damage to buildings
aud shipping. No lives, however, were lost
between the Missouri river and the Rocky
mountains.
1t is of interest to note that these lorna
does occurred neither during the months OF
greatest frequency april to July, nor dur.
ing the hours of greatest frequency $3.50 to
500 D. m.). They conformed, however in
her respects to characteristic tornado con.
editions; that is, they occurred in the south
easterly quad ant OF a low area storm, and
instead of being in the immediate vicinity
of a storm center, they were several
hundreds miles 70 the s1utheastward
The usual decided contrasts of tempera-
ture and dew-points obtained: warm south
erly winds and atmosphere nearly or quite
saturated with aqueous vapor in the storm
front; high, cold northerly winds vita low
dew-points and quite dry air directly In
rear of the storm-center. The tornadoes al
Louisville and adjacsnt points were accom-
panied by the funnel-shaped cloud, which
Ferret considers to be characseristically
tornado, and which appears Suspended
from the lower surfacs Of stratum Of
dense clouds.
The sharp contrasts OF temperature may
be illustrated by hhe conditions at O'Clock
p. m. March %. The air temperature a
Louisville was 66o; at Indianapolis, i0(
miles pistant, as; at Cincinnati, eighty
five miles distant. 460; making in the frs
case, 10 change to every five miles, and il
the latter to every four miles At the samt
time cold air. at or near the freez-
ing point, was violently blowing il
toward the storm center from the
northeast at Chicago, at the rate of forty
five miles per hour, and from the northwes
at Springfield, NO., With velocity of forty
six miles Warm air with a temperatur,
of 74s was also blowing a
Memphis, from the southwest, with a veloc
ity Of forty miles; at Nashville. with veloc
ity of twenty mile; and at Cairo with I
temperature of So and q velocity of thirty
six miles.
The meteorological conditions that morn
ing had been somewhat less violent, Blu
still the contrasts of temperature and dew
points and the barrie gradients were sufi
GENTLY marked to justify not only the gen
eral prediction of the signal Office of violen
local storms for Illinois, kentucky, Tennes-
see, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri, but alst
the sending of special arning kilograms t
this effect to the signal service Observer
stationed in these states.
Under such violent atmospheric condi
tions, disasters must soon come somewhere,
and it is not surprising that along a mario y
path occurred this violsnt disruption,
which, travelling with the speed OF an ex
press train, almost insta Itly turned faiI
scene of life, beauty aud vigor into one
characterized by SCARED visage, helpless
ness and suffering
The tornado theory most generally ac-
cepted presupposes state OF unstable
atmospheric equilibrium either due to or
co-existent with very rapid diminution OF
temperature with altitude, thus causing
!, vertically very sharp temperature gradients
and equally sudden changes in vapor con-
ditlons. Under these circumstances slight
predisposing causes induce a gyratory mo-
, ton and consequent violent disruption &c
restore the atmosphere to a stable equi-
, | lib ium.
As has been shown, these contrasting aud
violent conditions existed horizontally at
o'clock .. M, March "a, over the STATES OF
Tennessee. Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana aud
Missouri, and doubtless did so vertically at