The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-11-03
in A TORNADO.
The Thing to DO to Save the House Is
to Open the Doors aud
windows.

Discussing the awful disaster in Wis
cousin, Prof. L. b. Garriott, of the
weather bureau, says that when people
see funnel-shaped cloud coming they
should throw open every door and win
dow in their houses and then wait for
the storm to pass over.
"Your furniture will probably be
damaged by the heavy rain that usually
accompanies n tornado" he says, but
your house will not be carried into the
next county, nor torn to pieces by the
fury of the winds. The velocity of the
wind causes a vacuum in the atmos-
phere. When the cloud reaches house
with all its doors and windows shut, the
four wallis of -the building must give
way in that vacuum or the house is lift
ed kom its foundation and is carried
with the wind. When the destructive
cyclone visited st. Louis few years
ago many large and substantial houses
were blown down. In the path of the
storm were many frail house, and sheds.
These places escaped without the loss
of a single. The numerous openings
permitted the air to escape freely. On
the other hand, where the buildings
were large and securely closed, the con-
fined air caused destruction. There was
a similar incident just outside Chicago
few years ago. There storm wrecked
large barn. Within few feet of the
demolished structure were n workshop
and corncrib which escaped without
damage.
at is difficult TO forecast tornadoes,
or, rather, to predict where one will
strike. 1t is like attempting to fore
tell where lightning will hit The only
thing to be done when tornado visits
your vicinity is to throw open your
doors and pray that the storm center
will not strike in your neighborhood.
The chances of escape about equal
those of destruction. The storm may
hit or miss you. 1t is purely matter of
chance.
1.-THE northwest has Jared as wei this
year as any other section in the matter
of destructive storms continued DR..
Garriott. THAT section has been a
favorite stamping ground for lorna
does. These centers are caused by the
contact of warm and cold air, which
generally meet in Minnesota, southern
Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. The
reports of storms, as may be expected,
increase yearly as the population in the
northwest becomes more dense. Here
tofore the storms have swept over the
section for years and years, and moth
ing was heard of their severity, while
their force was spent upon trees and
plains. Now, as cities and towns are be-
ing built every few miles, the path of
the storm is obstructed by houses,
which cannot be destroyed without the
reading public learning of it.
"Tornadoes travel from west to
east and are more frequent in the north
west and middle west, where there are
miles of prairie. In the winter the
storms form on the Pacific coast and in
| the Gulf states. The summer lorna
does come out of the Rocky mountain
region and are mild until they come in
contact with the warm air of the valley
| states. The combination of the cold air
| in the original storm and the warm all
meeting and mixing at different angles
forms the cyclonic force which causes
! the destruction. Tornadoes are broken
by obstacles and cannot exist in Il noun
famous country. The storms form at a
low barometric pressure. The storms
go in groups, and their area at times
will cover several states. The cyclonic
force of the disturbance is confined gen
orally to the eastern section Of the
storm, and sometimes is so high in the
atmosphere as to cause no damage
The cyclonic forces remain a mystery
and while the causes of the phenomena
are known, we are not successful in
forecasting the storms. "-Chicago Rec
ord.