The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-03-31
TALK OF CYCLONES
NIB. JOHNSON SAYS THE FUNNEL
WIND Is A TORNADO.
Wichita all Agog Over Bureau Predictions
of Storms-Observer johnson Discusses
the Difference Between Cyclones and
Tornadoes What Cyclones are and
Favor Storm Movements-Nothine Ger
tain About Place or Time of Occurrence
The Storm Yesterday Afternoon.
The storm Yesterday Afternoon.

Everybody IN Wichita yesterday after
noon was talking about the weather bu-
reau's prediction Of tornadoes in Kansas
Two-thirds of the people really expected
a funnel wind and all dreaded the proba-
bility.
In an hour after the posting Of the
Eagle bulletins people all up and down
| the streets, from office windows and cell
lar doors were looking at the clouds and
| picking away TO fly out in case they go;
a lift. Women up town came down to
their husbands offices and men down
town went in hurry somewhere; bu;
storm caves won't tell tales. Observer
Johnson, when asked about the matter,
said:
Atmospheric conditions today denote
destructive storms-high temperature,
low pressure and moisture. We cannot
tell whether there will be tornadoes or
where they will strike If they come. We
only know that over Kansas today con-
dtions are such as produce tornadoes,
cyclones and wind-storms. We tell this
and the public can make whatever dis
position it pleases of the information"
What is the direct cause of these fun
nel-shaped cyclones?'
Call them tornadoes," said Mr.. John
son; "they are not clclones. There is
where people are almost universally mis-
taken" said he. 1.-The little funnel
shaped swirls that shoot down and
gouge towns and communities all 10
pieces are tornadoes. while the wide ex-
tensive storms are cyclones in the prop
er sense Of the term You cannot tell
which way the wind will blow in a cy-
clone: cut Il sweeps in spiral around the
curves of the earth and moves always
from west to east. These funnel-shaped
t0rnadoes, popularity called cyclones,
very nearly always ocur in the south half
OF the clclone storm,-that is, south OF
the center. For instance, II a cyclone
extending from Galveston 10 Topeka
passes across Kansas the center Of the
storm will be south of US, and as these
tcrnaooes occur in the south half ninety
nine times out OF hundred, We would
be in very little danger of tornado here
in Wichita. These funnel-shaped lorna
does are the result of currents and coun-
ter currents of heat and precipitation,
all Of which result from the movements
of cyclones. A great deal depends upon
pressure In our observations We figure
the oarometric pressure down to the
thousardths of an inch, and while the
average reader probably regardes this
hair-spiitting piece of theoretics, it is
very important, as the merest fractional
difference of pressure may determine the
entire character of wind movement"
In the afternoon the clouds got heav-
Ter ard darker till about five O'Clock.
when one of the heaviest rain and hail
storms ever seen In this section broke
on. Of the southwest. The rain came
down in surges and the hail and wind
dashed and doomed on the sky lights of
the big business blocks till it was uncom-
fortably suggestive.
Tie streets were so overrun for an
hour that people couldn't get about on
foot One young fellow on South Topeka
avenue made nearly $500 carrying peo-
pie across a deep overflow Of the walk.
II IS estima ted that about 2% inches OF
rain fell in thirty-five minutes
A severe local storm is reported In
Pratt and Comanche counties