Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-08-19
IN 4 TORNADO.


ana WINDOWS.
Discussing the awful disaster in wis
consin, Professor E. 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 usual
ly accompanies a 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 vacuum in the at
mosphere. When the cloud reaches a
house with all its doors and windows
shut the four walls of the building must
give way in that vacuum or the house
is lifted from its foundation and is
carried with the wind. When the de-
structive cyclone visited ST. Louis a
few years ago many large and sub
stantial houses were blown down. In
the path of the storm were many frail
houses and sheds. These places es-
capped 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 Sc
curely closed the confined air caused
destruction. There was samilar in
cident just outside of Chicago few
years ago. There a storm wrecked a
large barn. Within few feet of the
demolished structure were a workshop
damage
ut 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 neighborhood is to throw
open your doors and pray that the
storm centre will not strike in your
neighborhood The chances of escape
about equal those of destruction. The
storm may hit or miss you. 1t is pure.
ly matter of chance.
year as any other section in the matter
of destructive storms" continued DR..
Garriott. THAT section has been ia
vorite stamping ground for tornadaes.
These centres are caused by the cen
tact of warm air 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 this
section for years and years, and moth
their force was spent upon. trees ard
plants. Now, as cities and towns are
being 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 val
ley States. The combination of cold
air in the original storm and the warm
air meeting and mixing at different an
giles forms the cyclonic force which
causes the destruction. Tornadoes are
broken by obstacles and cannot exist
in a mountainous country. The storms
form at low barometic pressure. The
storms go in groups, and their area at
times will cover several States. The
cyclonic force of the disturbances is
confined generally to the eastern sec
ton of the storm, and sometimes is so
high in the atmosphere as to cause no
damage. The cyclone forces remain
mystery, and while the causes of the
phenomena are known we are not sue
cessful in forecasting the storms. -
Chicago Record.