Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1892-08-25
WHY THEY OCCUR.
Something Concerning the
Origin of the Thunder
Storm.
Theory Why They so Free
quentiy Occur in the
Night.

Meteorologists have been put Il
their best in trying to find a really
tenable theory to account for the
severity of the late thunder storm!
in the Northwest, and have come t.
various though not very definite con,
illusions. 1t has been a fact of uni
versal observation that the storms
have been unusually severe, and the
conclusion which to them seems the
most plausible is that the conditions
are only the slightly exaggerated
common Ones which have been observ.
able throughout the country.
But why have thunder-storms al
all? This brings one to seek a solu'
tion of the causes of thunder storms.
"The conditions, said Signal Officer
Harmon, ''are but little known and
any definite answer to the question
cannot be given. The department is
trying to collect facts on which to
found a good substantial theory; but
the work has not progressed far
enough as yet to indicate what those
theories will be.
''In regard to the storms, if / may
be pardoned for going into it a little
scientifically, l would say that we do
not know all of their causes. The
sun and the planets have their effects,
and / have no doubt that the magma
tism of the earth acts in ways which
determine the quality. Thus, the
air in the normal condition is charged
with electricity, and this electricity
a make but little display as light
ming till it gets massed at certain
points. When the air is moist the
electricity is easily dissipated and no
electrical storms result. But when
the air is hot and the vapor begins to
rise there is an easy road to conduct
TIE electricity to the closed bodies.
Now it is well known that no more
electricity car be stored in a solid
globe than in a hollow one. From
this we conclude that a closed body
has all of its electricity on the out
side. Then, if we have two or more
clouds, and all are charged with cleo
tricity there is an attraction of the
opposite kinds and a repulsion of like
kinds. AS these clouds move they
may go closer to each other and when
distance becoming less the lightning
will flash between them. This would
also be true in regard to a cloud and
the earth. The intensity of these
discharges will depend upon the
amount of the electricity. Now, if
the air is very dry and heavily charged
moisture will easily conduct large
amounts of electricity to the clouds.
This theory would take the ground
that the most intense thunder storms
would be in the district where the air
is the dryest and yet where there is a
chance for evaporation under low
barometer. / say a low barometer
for the reason that when there is a
low barometer the air is rising and
this would tend to carry the moisture
upwards.
There is one fact which we cannot
account for, and that is why thunder
storms occur in the southeast quad
rant of a low barometer, but in all
probability this will be found to
depend on electrical conditions of the
earth, which conduct storms along
certain lines.
Now, in regard to Minnesota we
may say that we have had a low
barometer for a long time and the
air has been dry, with the exception
of rapid evaporation. The electrical
conditions have been unusual, and in
regard to that l can only say that it
is due to some unknown cause.
"The theory of the generation of
electricity in clouds is that it is
caused by friction and induction. If
caused by friction it must be that
between PARTICLES of air. If caused
by induction it must be because of an
unusual amount of electricity in the
earth.
"Some years ago in England a mem
Der of the Royal Sociery had an idea
that the electrical conditions of the
earth might be accounted for by a
mechanical device, so he constructed
two very large globes, one was a thin
shell which enclosed the other. By
this he thought to illustrate the fact
that the outer shell of the earth
reyolved around the inner globe and
that they revolved on different axes.
By this means he could create fric-
tional electricity. Strangely, he so
worked out his idea that he was
enabled by it to account for almost
every known general electrical or mag
netic condition.
ITO further prove the tenability of
his theory he said that he thought
there must be certain phenomena
along the coast of Labrador and
Greenland which had never been
recorded. When this was published
the American coast and Geodetic sur
vey was being made in that part of
the world, and soon after one of the
officers reported the conditions which
had been prophesied by a member of
the Royal Society, thus adding a new
confirmation to his theory.
"The connection this has with
thunder storms may seem more or less
remote; but it gives us a means of
accounting for the earth's magnetism
and enables us to state that if there
is any change in electrical conditions
such as there now is in Minnesota it
is probably due to some change in the
interior of the earth.
"'The reason for storms coming
Oftener at night is that the evapora-
ton of the moisture On the earth
ceases at that time, the air becomes
dryer than usual, and the electricity
becomes central in the clouds. As a
consequence of this the electric ten
sion becomes greater, the attraction
and repulsion of the clouds more and
more. From these conditions it is
not at all strange that the thunder
storms of great intensity occur in the
early hours of the morning here and
northwest of here.
"This will, in a measure give an
idea of how complex are the prob
lens and how hard men work to solve