New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-28
SEVERE, BUT PICTURESQUE.
A REMARKABLE STORM ENDS HOT AND
TRYING DAY.
WHILE THE CLOUDS WERE soMBRE AND
THREATENING IN THE EAST. A BEAUTIFUL
PICTURE WAS TO BE SEEN IN THE


This city was visited toward nightfall yester-
day by storm that for pcturesqueness and
threatening aspect has not been equallsd this
season. For several hours before the storm the
atmosphere was thick and muggy. and the air
was full of oppressive prophecy OF the coming
wind and rain. Toward o'clock the sky began
to grow overcast In the West, and In few min
utes dark clouds. driven by the southwest wind.
began to appear away up over the Orange Noun
tains. Soon after o'clock the rain began to fall
gently and it continued 10 shower moderately,
with distant and harmless lightning. for nearly
an hour.
Suddenly. just as the streets were full Of the
crowds that were pouring out Of the thousands
OF offices in the downtown business section OF
the city, the clouds which had before been con-
tent to hover threateningly high over the city
descended with a sudden swoop. and their fell
lows. encouraged by their example swept across
from the Jersey shores with wind that blew
fifty miles an hour. At the same time the rain
began 10 food the streets and the thousands
hurrying homeward moved into the entrances OF
the big buildings for shelter. For almost an
hour the rain fell steadily. but not heavily, save
In occasional gusts. and then the rain clouds,
flying low. had been driven across the island and
the East River and the Brooklyn shores
except when the vivid lightning lit up the waste
OF clouds with an instantaneous glare
SCENE OF GRANDEUR
While the storm at its height the streets
were almost dark. and the usual hat-chasing
and Notwithstanding game going on. but
to the watchers in the tall office buildings
presented a scene that made them repentant for
ever having cavilled at what they called the i'm
possibilities represented in landscape painting
AT just about the time when the lightning was
playing its most freak pranks across the East
River a remarkable sunset panorama was un-
folding itself in the sky above New-Jersey
Down in the streets of the city the electric
lights cleaned upon the wet str eets. trembled
on the pools of water in the holows of the paw
ings and shimmered up through the trees in
City Hall Park. over the North River the skirts
of the storm sweeping up the stream,
trailing in the water they sped Gradually
they passed away up toward Harlem and
vealed far beyond 4 bank Of formless clouds
through which the sun struggled family to shine
Very slowly they lighted up and began to take
form Purple gold and green the colors,
but so blended that it was impossible to mark
where one left off and another began. Grad
ually through the mass of vague tints there
crept a streak of paest green. At the north it
began and crawled slowly southwark through
n field of molten silver. 1t looked like a river OF
lmpid green that followed peacefully onward
for thousands Of miles into mighty lake OF
gold and where 1t fell there rose clouds of silver
mist; AAay to the right ran d vast favnc,
which the sun seemed family to pierce. and far
over the Orange Mountains stretched limitless
fields OF fiery uplands fading away on the
horizon of that huge landscape OF sunt clouds
The whole mighty picture was framed in dark
ness and suddenly the scene was dimmed by a
brilliant flash of lightning which ran across the
face Of It from north to south. and striking di
rectly downward twice. died away.
Then the picture began to fade. The pale
ereen river slowly overlowed its banks. the
golden lake overran the fiery uplands, the sunlt
ravine melted away and the delicate tints ran
together once again
1t was slow in clearing up and 1t was nearly
midnight before the stars came out again and
the humidity disappeared.
The temperature was highest when the real
storm broke at 4 o'clock. At that time the mer-
curry stood at 81 degrees. Within five minutes it
had fallen fourteen degrees. At y o'clock the
humidity was 0S per cent and 81 inch OF rain
had fallen.
LIGHTNING STRIKES a HOSPITAL
lightning struck one OF tie cHlInHtyS VI tIe
Co,ored Home and Hospital. No. 424 East Sixty
fourth-st. and shattered It, There was panic
among the 200 inmates for few minutes. but it
was su dued by the superintendent and his as
sistants No was injured
Two bolts OF lightning struck In Harlem One
of them did no damage as far as could be learned
The other struck the big new steel bridge or the
New- York Central Railroad over the Harlem
river and left a distinct line Of charred paint
along half Of it, and, leapng from the north end
destroyed the cable house ana elaborate SWITCH
board connections OF the Western Union Tele-
graph Company. The cable-house was small
building underneath the north end Of the bridge |
The lightning set fire To It,
Policeman Gargan, OF the Morrisania station. |
saw the flames and sent In an alarm at 800, but |
before the fire engines could respond the build
ing had been destroyed. The switchboard. valued |
at $500 destroyed. and In addition the main |
ca bic connecting Manhattan Island with the up
per part Of the State was electrically dsconnect-
ed At 10 O'Clock last night the Western Union |
operator at Mott Haven said that he could not |
get connection with New-York, and that Man.
haitian Island probably disconnected with |
the rest Of the State excepting by way OF New
Jersey or Long Island There Is new cable |
under the Harlem River near Kingsbridge. but 1t
could not be learned last night whether that was
In not
Western Union conduit and connected with the
police telegraph system OF the Morrsania pre-
cinct, burned out all the signal boxes the
police posts The shock sounded in the station
ike a thousand torpedoes
HOT IN THE WEST
It was scorching hot all over the West yester-
day. even according to the official figures. which
always take an optimistic view of things. st.
Louis held the record yesterday. II 90 in
the shade there. Indianapolis a close
ond with 96 degrees Of official heat. At Cincin
natl II was o. and at Kansas City 1t was 02. All
through New England there thunder
showers, and on the coast as far south as Phila-
lelphia while electric storms were also numer
ous at the Lake regions.
The official weather prophets said last night
that the temperature Of New-York would remain
about the same to-day, but the humidity. which
has been causing all the trouble lately. could
not be predicted. Probable showers too. were
KILLED BY A FALLING TREE.