Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-22
IN A TORNADO.
The Thing to Do, A. to Open the Doors
ind Windows.


From the Chicago Recotd
Discussing the awful disaster in wiscon-
sin, Professor E. b. Garriott of the wealth
Ell bureau says that when people see a fun
nel-shaped cloud coming they should throw
open every door and window in their
houses and then wait for the storm TO pass
over.
your furniture will probably be dam
aged by the heavy rain that usually accom-
panies 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 atmosphere When the
cloud reaches house with all it's doors
and windows shut the four walls of the
buildings must give way in that vacuum or
the house is lifted from its foundation and
is carried with the wind When the de-
structiye cyclone visited st. Louis few
years ago many large and substantial
houses were blown down. In the path of
the storm were many frai houses and
sheds. These places escaped without the
loss of a Shingle. The numerous openings
permitted the air to escape freely On the
other hand, where the buildings were large
and securely closed the confined air caused
destruction. There was a similar incident
lust outside Chicago few years ago.
There a storm wrecked a large barn. With
in few feet of the demolished structure
were a workshop and corncrib which es-
capped without damage.
TT is difficult to forecast tornadoes or,
rather. to predict where one will strike
IT is like attempting to foretell where light
ming 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 well this
year as any other section in the matter of
destructive storms" continued Dr. CARR
oft. THAT section has been a favorite
stamping ground for tornadoes. These CEN
ters are caused by the contact of warm
and cold air. which generally meet in Min
nesota, southern Wisconsin, Illinois and
Michigan. The reports of storms. as may
be expected increase yearly as the popu-
lation in the northwest becomes more
dense. Heretofore the storms have swept
over the section for years and years, and
nothing was heard of their severity, while
their force was spent upon trees and plains
Now. as cities and towns are being built
every few miles, the path of the storm is
obstructed by houses, which cannot be de-
StrOyed without the reading public learn
ing of 1t.
''Tornadoes travel from west to east and
are more frequent in the northwest 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 tornadoes 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 air meeting and mixing at different
angles 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 barOmetric pressure. The storms go
In groups, and their area at times will COW
er several states The cyclonic force of the
disturbance is confined generally to the
eastern section of, the storm. and some
times is so high IL the atmosphere as to
cause no damage. THE cyclonic forces re-
main mystery. and while the causes of
the phenomena are Known we are not sue
cessful in forecasting the storms"