The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1893-05-13
TORNADO OR CYCLONE.

The Lexington -
cited us to the book regaTdlng os ~
of the INTELLIGENCER will say that we
have carefully looked up your cltaIlohs
and find that our position is correct; n
cyclone is ditferent froma tornado: lillS
was the position we took in the editorial
last week to which the INTELLIGENCER
drew the mark of denial, but we still be-
Iieye as we did. If Bro. Payne Will rea
carefully from page 49,, volume MI,
Encyclopedia Britannica, he Will see that
the writer took the same position we
did, the only difference being he got ms
say before the public before we did
Odessa Moon.
As the genial editor of the Moon is by
no means an ignoramus, the above can
only be set down as the inspiration OF
the boldest gall. .
In the first place the INrELLIGENcER
did not draw the mark of contradiction
at the Moons assertion that "a cyclone
is different from q tornado" On the
contrary.the INTELLIGENCER, following
the adopted nomenclature of meteoro-
logists was careful to draw a distinction,
and made a pretty broad II while it
was at it, declaring that "a tornado is
local, a cyclone continental"
The trouble with the Moons de6ni-
ton was that it got its terms mixed. 1t
described a tornado very well, but made
the mistake of calling it a cyclone.
If the Moon consulted the Encyclo-
padia Britannica at all, it either mis-
understood what it read. or misquoted-
not being willing, after having made an
egregious blunder to confess its folly.
On page 129, volume XVI, Encyclo-
pedia Britannica the following occurs
Whirlwinds, waterspouts, dust storms,
and tornadoes are essentially the same,
differing from each other only in their
dimensions, their intensity, or the degree
in which the moisture Is condensed into
visible vapour, while the hailstorm and
the rainstorm are simply the manner and
degree of the precipitation accompanying
them. In several important respects they
differ widely and radically from cyclones
(see Atmosphere, vol. Ill. p. 33). The
largest toruadoes are OF so decldediy
smaller dimensions when compared with
the smallest cyclones as to admit OF no
shading of the one into the other w,
clones occur at all hours OF the day n
night, whereas whirlwinds and tornados
show q diurnal period as distinctly mark
ed as any in m~eteorology. FINALLY,
cyclones take place under conditions
which involve unequal atmospheric pres
sures or densities at the same heights OF
the atmosphere, due to inequalities in the
geographical distribution of temperature
and humidity; but whirlwinds occur
where for q time the air is unusually
warm or moist, and where consequently
ko,-.or.f,ra md humidity diminish with
height at an abnormally rapid rate.
CYCLONES are thus phenomena resulting
from a disturbance of the equilibrium OF
the atmosphere considered horizontally,
but whirlwinds and tornados have their
origin in q vertical disturbance of atmos-
pheric equilibrium.
Iage 15 volume XVI E. b. says:
tIf weather charts representing a large
part of the northern hemisphere be exam
ined, two distinct systems OF pressure are
seen which change their forms and posi-
tions on the earth's surface from day to
day. The one set are systems OF low
pressure marked off by concentric isobars
enclosing p~ressnres successfully lower till
the center is approached; and the other
system OF high pressure marRed OFF by
isobars enclosing pressures
successfully higher toward the center.
The former OF these are called cyclones,
and the latter ~anti-cyclones. . . Cyclones
have diameters seldom less han 600, and
they occasionally exceed 5000 miles"
Could the storm that ragged along q
narrow strip of land between MAYHEM
and Dover, and whose influence was
not felt / 900 feet away from the center
of the track on either side have been a
cyclone? If so then we unh~esitatingly
declare that the editors of the Encyclo-
padia Britannica don't know what they
are talking about. Conversely, if they
are correct then the editor of the Moon
is clear off his base.
we have examined every reference in
Encyclopedia Britannica to cyclone and
tornado. Every definition of the cyclone
of the temperate zone makes it a harm
less area of low barDmetric p%ressaTe. If
accompanied by certain conditions tor
nadoes are created and these are the
~destroyers. Tornadoes are only possible
when a cyclone is passing across the
continent. No Que ever heard of a
tornado during the prevalence of an
anti-cyclone, or a condition of high
barometric pressure.
Every description of a tornado in the
Encyclopedia Britannica conforms to
the MAYHEM storm, and no description
of a cyclone bears any resemblance to it.
In the article on tornadoes in the
United States the writer says that of
COO tabulated by Mr. Finley, occurring
from 1894 to 1881 the path of destruction
varied only from 40 to 10000 feet.
Buchan says that the diameter of the
cyclone is seldom less than 600 miles.
1t may be of no Importance to discuss
this subject, but these storm forces are
now being investigated with a view to
protecting life and property from their
destructive energy. 1t would seem
therefore to be very proper to get on the
right side, use correct terms and not
confuse matters by incorrection. If
these terrible storms, such as the people
along the track of the Mayhem destroyer
experienced, are tornadoes it is not right
to call them cyclones, and no n who
will properly inform himself will con
tinue to do so. For IA newspaper editor
like the Moon man, who has an ency-
c!opedia of his own to be guilty of the
error, is objectionable.
" M A N0TPS