Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-05-29
ORIGIN OF THE STORM.

Weather characteristics Which Preceded
the Tornado-Wind Velocity and Rainfall.
st. Louis. May 2S.-H. w. Franken-
field, local weather officer, was a busy
man during and after the storm. In
an interview with the reporter of The
Associated Press he said:
For the past week the weather in
the vicinity OF ST. Louis has been char
acterized by low pressure, high temper
atures, excessive humidity and prevail
ing southerly winds. The pressure has
also been low throughout the west.
At the same time it is relatively high
in the south, causing the warm souther-
ly winds ladened with moisture 10 blow
from the gulf of Mexico. This moisture
has been held in suspense by the warm
atmosphere, and the humidity conse-
uuently increased from day 10 day.
The mean temperature averaged from
8 to 13 degrees above the normal each
day, while the humidity ranged from
7 to 20 above the mean for this season
of the year. On Wednesday morning
the weather map showed the low pres
sure still everything the west with the
center Of depression extending in ire
gular oval from the Texas Panhandle
throughout Missouri, Kansas and Ne
braska. Throughout the State OF Mis-
souri, high temperatures and humidities
prevailed with south winds. The day
would be popularity termed, warm,
hazy muggy."
'sThe barometer commenced to fall
at noon and by p. m. it had fallen 10
inch. About this latter time the sky
quickly became thickly covered with
dark cumulated stratus clouds, which
by $3.50 p m. had settled into uniform
mass of stratus cloud which commenced
to assume a light green color in the
northewest, spreading more toward the
west and north, and at the same time
the temperature commenced TO fall.
The normal cyclonic circulation thus
brought winds of different tempera-
lures and humidities into such position
that the result was decided instability
was produced the atmosphere, and
violent secondary storm center was
created. The barometer continued to
ldIl ldpluly anu "! % y. ILL., IL uod lSlicu
25 inches. The winds were becoming
variable, with a tendency toward a
northerly direction. Lightning and
thunder had commenced at 4:06 p. m,
and rain, in the form of large, scatter
ed drops, at 4:03 p. m.
"At 5:04 p. m. the storm broke forth
in all its fury; the wind changed sud-
denly to northwest, with rapidly in
creasing velocity, and the rain fell in
torrents. The green cloud still remain
ed in the west and north, but the storm
moved toward the southeast and large,
angry, detached masses of stratus cloud
moved from almost every point of the
compass, crossing each other with the
greatest rapidity. Al sis D. m. the
wind reached velocity of so miles an
hour from the northwest, the greatest
velocity recorded in the history of the
st. Louis station. From about $50 D.
m. the wind had fallen to about II
miles an hour, and shortly after chang
ed direction to the southeast. The rain
continued to fall in torrents. From
5:04 to GOA p. m. 133 inches fell. and
from 6:25 to 6:35 p. m, 62 inches. When
the rain ended at 9:05 p. M, 3.3 inches
had fallen in ALL The electrical display
during the storm was of exceeding
brilliancy. The whole west and north
blaze of light and the reflections could
be seen beyond the clouds extending far
into the south.