The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-01
AN UNWELCOME VISITOR.
The Vary ing Power of Tornadocs
and Their Frequency.

Harpers Weekly.
Perhaps the most important distinction to
emphasize is that between the appearance
of a thunder storm and a tornado. since. if
they can be defined, much needless fear at
the approach of black and harmless thunder
storms can be avoided. When not combined
with tornado manifestations the thunder
storm sends aloft a narrow line of black
clouds in advance, which remains high in the
air. At the right and left the black clouds
seem to reach the earth but this is caused
not by a descent to the EARTH as in a tor
nadO, but by distant edges of the high black
clouds receding below the horizon line It is
one storm, which spreads to the left and
right. There is no splitting up of clouds
with the formation of a different storm at
another part of the horizon.
The tornado is easily distinguished from
this perfectly plain edge of black, with it's
lighter rain-mist extending to the earth.
Whether the funnel is yelled by rain or not
it is ordinarily so black that as it ap-
proaches, it appears as a column of dense
darkness, narrowest at the earth, with light
breaking through on either side of it. The
most marked trait of all is that other clouds
seem to be approaching, others moving at
right angles and a distinct storm of light
hue is coming up from the southwest. This
is all caused by the tornado which is draw
ing clouds and air currents toward itself
from great distances. AS the tornado funnel
comes nearer, with its dark mass of rub
bsh reaching to the earth, the roar is
frghtful, giving the observer fifteen or
twenty minutes warning. The southwest
corner of the cellar, if the tornado is ap-
preaching from the south or west is the
safest place of refuge The tornado carries
the wreckage to the north and east, and If
the funnel is seen in the north or east it
need not be feared, because it will almost
certainly move away Of 600 tornadoes
specially classified, all but thirty-fve moved
from southwest to northeast, and nearly all
the thirty-fiye moved eastwardly.
The tunnels have a rotary motion from
right to left, and this motion is not due to
electrical action, but to acceleration of con-
f1icting air currents. Lieut.. Finley shows
that the lightning supposed to be in the
funnel is really in adjacent thunder clouds
The broken and withered buds, bruised by
the action Of the air, are evaporated by the
sun after the tornado, causing the foliage
to look scared giving rise to the error that
the tornado manifests burning electrical
of wreckase that as the funnel leaves the
earth and rises into the air its force slightly
diminshes, and that this bounding motion
causes the funnel to spare one building and
demolish another. The funnel, with it's small
end to the earth, spins like a top, moving
along at an average rate of about forty
miles an hour, but the velocity of the spin
is incalculable. 1t is like the motion of air
impelled by an explosion.
Tornadoes generally occur between p. m
and D. m and not more than one in 1 600
takes place between 10 p. m. and noon of the
following day. I have heard of only two in
stances in which the tornado occurred be-
tween midnight and morning-one at Hobo
kus, N j.. and another in Southern Michigan,
which caused slight loss of life. Since these
are only two in about 2,0G0 cases. the danger
from tornadoes at night is so small that it
need not be considered.