The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-04
THE EaUINouT1A1 STORM a MYTH.
NO Account of 1t Taken by. United
States Weather Bureau.
From the New York Press.

4
There are hundreds of thousands Of
persons all over the United States who
believe that great storms mark the time
of both the spring and the autumn pre-
cession of the equinoxes. 1t is at tba
autumnal equinox that the spberoid
upon which we finite beings toll and MOL
and study to find out the secrets of ma
ture and infnity shifts itself in such a
way that the suns rays fall more directly
upon the southern hemisphere and more
obliquely upbn the northern, bringing
summers approach to those on the fur
Their side of the equator and winters
to us. at this time in March the earth
shifts back again, bringing summer 10
us and winter to them.
To the untutored human creature it
appears as if it were the sun that
makes this season-changing motion At
the equator, before the autumn eo1,i-
noctial the shadows point southwark.
after it they point northward. Hence
1t is still said that the sun crosses tbo
line, the exact date thereof var,,in !,
from the goth to the Odd By the mn
lu'ored, too, it is supposed that this
operation is always attended bv tro
menQous meteorological phenomena. nov,
lhe winds are believed to blow their
nerSeSt' ola oceans waves to be piled
up highest and the windows Of heaven In
De opened that the waters above NAV
JON in riot with the waters below
VINO has not heard of the equinoctial or
line storm? Who has not believed it,
VINO has not heard or sung that vigor-
Gus Ola song wherein occurs these lines
Ho for the storm Equinox
calls from the eastern ocean.
0lahd 10 your arms, We time-worn rocks!
March Is so proud and free!
And who has not been told often and
again by the weatherwise that the nae
for a whole half years wpatber is ~
ways set when the sun crosses tbe limo
lhat' II a south wind blow then The
coming season will he warm and rleosant.
mat II a north wind, cold and RAVE VIM
indeed did not believe that last veelt'g
great storm was this autumn's eduinoo-
tial? 0A'i''o1-
And yet, devoutly as this frigbtf,1
equinoctial war of the elements was ana
u.s. believed in, there is nothing whateve,
IN the notion. The systematic study al
meteorological phenomena by scirnti6c
men has shown the line storm to ba "a
myth. superstition quite as baseIass a..
the legend that if you spill salt evil viii
10y HNl"li y"u anu your mouse, or that
other delightful absurdity, that If Won
can but touch the deformity of a buncb-
back good luck viii De your portion for
that day.
il viii be hard to say how faith In the
equnoctal storm got It's firm hold alike
upon people Of intelligence ana those
thal are unlettered In a aemi-sclentifc
work, first issued bv one Of the world,s
most famous publishers not more tban D,
years ago. and still sold in large num-
beers, occurs this paragraph. under fha
heading The autumu8l oquinox'.-
as iH We'll known both the autumnaI
ana E.ihal equinoNoH ore distinguished
over the world hy the storms vbilb me.
van at these seasons Tho origin of Fticb
atmospheric commouou has never boon
very satisfactorily explained. but 10 is sfp.
posed i9 arise from inc united tidal A.
O'h of th@ sun und moon upon tho atmos-
ph'fe' an action which ut the time OF the