Telegram-herald., 1890-04-24
RESISTING TORSADOES.
Thsy Could Not tnfurs Dense s1d
Wsu B1lt CiEsss
BzHds.Es vita solid ssaaa.sssas .sa
asasst walls Ars AI@.y. s@fs- a.ax
61ddi1ss DsssssYsa "a LsasssuIs
were Tssriy CsasEraotsa-

liable 81 t4r14ages Doubtless ths
severe slarras on ths sse1inx u March
q -alca fqrei1ly esllsd the a5tsatioa
of aas country 90 tais class * dssts aet-
I've and sioisat pheaomsaa siD bs
xhoEl as tns LoaisrlIls tornado. Net
sorelogists apply ths term tosaAdo@
q eYe-oaic storms % local character,
Saiea have ths POPULARITY Of sIesssiEs
hizh ~ia1 earrsats passing spirslly IA
wards anf upwards sni hen especially
ths direction of these violent Winds !.
more nearly vertical than horizontal
j. seems proaa0ls % ths writer that ths
tornade ls only a.ors violent and ia
tense exhibition Of thunder and hail
storm conditions. Ia The cazs Of f0rna-
does. the enormous forces generated -
the suldeu disruption of very 1nstabls
atmosphsr.s conditions. dad effect ia
ths Development OF violent Whirisinds,
instead II touainx hall or inducing ex-
trarodllary electrical conditions
TIE most fessruetivs tornado withia
narroE iimtts and recent years. Vas
that - April ls 1850 through which
M4rsAhei4 So. wsa almost entirely de-
molsasf over one hundred lives lost
and several hundred injured ca Feb
ruary 10 lssf. however. an unparalleled
series of tornafoes occurred IA the in
terror Darts ~ North and South Caro-
Ina and Georgia, ia Alabama, Kentucky
auf Illinois oeegg most destructive ia the
foar ~fa,es hrst ntmsd The loas Of prop
srty was hardly greater than that now
experienced BY the Louisville tornado,
bat ta7 loss ot iIfe doubtless exceeded
five hgndred. and the In iured more than
a thousand.
Apart from Louisville with its death
l.st of seventy five. thst OF Metropolis
doubtfuly placed and Glascos thirty
victims at least twsnty ave others were
loss ia tornadoes developed on the even
ing of March o. The data concerning
loss of lie and property Is AZ this writ
ng Indefinite and vague, save IN the
case OF Louisville. bat az twenty widely
separated points Ia Kentucky, Tennes-
see. 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 al three and a
half millions, probably is will not fall
far short Of that amount 50 the property
loss In Louisville was about two and
half millions, and the exaggerated esti-
mates from many places will DO coun-
tsrbalane-d BY losses not ye. reported.
4. il significant OF the uncertainty
which still prevails as 10 the distribu-
tisn Of tornadoes, that those serious
and violent storms occurred over sec
tiOa OF the country where not q dozen,
and IN some parts not half 3 dozen, OF
these storms have ever been known. and
this fact emphasizes the minor import
ancs which should Do placed by the
public in general on the imputstion
that any country or State Is afflicted
with frequent tornadoss. or the state
ment that they are unknown.
Well defined tornadOes were confined
at this time 10 Kentucky, Tennessee,
southern Indians and southern Illinois.
Sewers storms. however, prevailed dur
ing March 26th. eth or 18th in Color
ado. Kansas. Missouri. Nebraska and
Wisconsin, and over the lake region,
resulting In damage 10 buildings and
shipping No lives. however. were
lost between the Missouri river snd the
Rocky Mountains
II ia Of interest 20 note tha, these tor
nsdoes occurred neither during the
months 81 greatest frequency April TO
July). nor during the hours Of greatest
frequency 3 90 10 500 p. m. They con
formed. however. in other respects 70
characteristic tornado conditions; that
Is they occurred In the sOuthsasterly
Quadrant ~ a low area storm, and In
stead of being in the immediate vicinity
of a storm center. they wsrs several
hundred miles % ne southeastwsrd.
The usual decided contrasts OF tempers-
turs and dew points obtained: warm
so1therly winds And stmosphers nearly
Or quite saturated with squsous vapor
On ths storm front; high, cold northerly
Winds wish low dew points and quit
dry air directly in rear Of the storm
center The tornadoes as Louisville and
adjacent points wers accompanied by
the funnsl-shsped cioui which Fsrrel
considers t0 bo chsrscterissicslIy tornsd-
fc.snd which appears suspen led from the
lower surfacs of a stratum OF dense
clouds
The sharp contrasts of temperature
NAY be illustrated by the conditions al
s 70 m March 21th. The air tsmpera-
tnre - Louisville vas So degrees. At Ia
dianapolis. 100 miles distant. 45 de.
g~sss AZ Cincinnati. 50 miles disssns,
a. degrees. making. in she 6rss case,
one degree change 60 avery Eve miles
80 ia she latter. 90 every four miles
Att she same time. old SIR ~ or near ths
fr.e-inz poins. vas violently blowing
ir toward che storm center from the
northess- as Chicago az she rate - &
nlil-s per honr. aud from The north
vest al nsfsii. h1 with velocity
o- as miles Wsrm air with a teupers-
t1r, ~ - degrees vas also blowing Al
Meunhfs. from che southwest With :
vslrcftv ~ a. miles at Nashville. with
velocity ~ .1 miles ard AZ Csire
wIth. asreersturs Of f6 degrees sad :
veecitr i Iies.
rhs ma.sb b-.s ~0nfifi0ns ths'
r-f-- heH BEEN souev hst iess rio
l rhe cen t-ssts of -smpsra
t~-. trf f.v reirts srT re bsri, grad
s -a srr7rfsnt'v rsrFaa ~ Ius
th- -e~e~a prediction o.
th .nrs m'
r.r- ksrts-tr Tennessee. II
sr rc t-f Mee-1rt h1t siso th'
snfr srts wer1 .E -eieg-'rns p