Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-03
PATH OF A STORM
Much Damage From Rain, Hail and
Wind.
TREES And HOUSES OVERTURNED
Wide Extent of the Devastation in
District and Maryland.
SOME NARROW ESCAPES
TREES And HOUSES OVERTURNED
SOME NARROW ESCAPES

| Washington was visited by a severe rain,
| hail and wind storm yesterday afternoon
| about 40 o'clock that did more damage
! than has been done by a storm since the
| tornado September -, 1896. In some sec
| tions the damage done yesterday was even
! greater than that done by the storm three
years ago. Houses were unroofed. window
panes smashed and trees were blown down
| by the wholesale. Thousands of branches
We're blown from trees and some streets
! were rendered impossible. Police reports
| Of the damage done are necessarily incom-
| plete and the amount Of damage done can
not be estimated. So heavy was the down.
pour of water that sewers were choked
and the streets were flooded. Many cellars
and easements of houses were water-soak-
| ed and leaky roofs let through water
| enough to do considerable damage Per-
| haps the most serious damage done in
| the county, where green houses and hot bed
glass could not stand the continued pelting
| of the big hail stones. Then, too, the grow
| ing crops suffered. Whole fields of corn
were laid low severely cut, while can
| teloupes and tomatoes were literally ruined.
Some fruits and vegetables gathered after
the storm and taken to market this morn
| ing, showed with what force they had been
attacked by the hail stones On the lines
| of street cars the motOrmen and conduc-
tors were obliged to remove fallen trees
and broken limbs in order that their cars
might get along. Telegraph and telephone
wires were disabled and for some time af-
ter the storm the telephone service was not
in good shape. Early this morning the Dis
trict had a force of men at work removing
the debris and many citizens got in a sup
ply of wood for the winter.
Weather bureau Statistics.
The report of the weather bureau last
night showed that thunder storms were
prevalent between central Virginia and CEN
trail New York According to the report
| the wind reached velocity of forty-two
| miles hour. The rainfall, which lasted
only short time registered 50 of an inch.
\ noticeable feature of the storm, as shown
in The weather bureau report, was the line
of violence, which was sharply marked.
The severity of the storm was felt in the
northeastern section of the city east of 9th
street. The temperature yesterday regis
tered 50 degrees at the highest ard II at
O'Clock in the evening. The report says:
"Concordia. Kan. and st. Louis, No, were
the hottest places in the country yesterday,
the thermometer standing between % de-
grcc.' and % degrees at those cities. The
whole middle section of the country had an
unusually high temperature. At Cincinnati
yes erday the temperature - degrees.
while in southern Indiana the thermometer
onlT registered Is degrees. This, the fore
caster says. is q rather odd state of affairs.
Throughout Indiana yesterday two and
one-half inches of rain fell in two hours
time
Its Local Effects.
Some minutes before the storm reached
Washington heavy clouds We're noticed to
the northwest ard southwest of the city.
North of the city the rain fell in torrents.
and in some of the counties of Maryland
considerable damage was done. Across the
river in Virginia the damage also
great. In addition to the injury done the
crops many serious washouts occurred
and some of the county roads We're left in
serious condition. So violent and sud
den was the wIndstorm that pedestrians
were forced to take refuge in stores and
private dwellings to keep from being blown
away. The overhead wires suffered, and,
it is reported. some live ones We're blown
down across the streets, endansering the
lives of pedestrians
In the vicinity of the National Base Ball
Park the wind did considerable damage
Some of the fencing was carried away and
two houses just north of the park were I'M
rooted. Two local clubs were playing a
game of ball and a number of the specta-
tors took refuge in the office of Mr.. Wag
ner. Between the base ball grounds and
Brightwood the storm seemed as severe
as it was in the eastern section. William
Freeman's green houses were almost COM
| pIetely wrecked so far as the glass was
concerned, and his loss will amount to
| something like $1,000. The Brightwood
Hotel was deprived of most of it's glass,
and the school only n short distance away
was deprived of part of its roof. In the
neighborhood of Brightwood many private
residences were damaged, and wall be-
tween two houses in course of erection was
! blown down.
| Mrs Annie Ammon and her two children,
]living the Anacostia road, narrowly
| escaped being killed. Their home. frame
| structure. was unroofed and the occupants
| then left the house and braved the storm
| to the house of a neighbGr. Hardly had
| they left the damaged house when they
| heard a crash. Looking back, they saw
their home mass of broken timber. AT
| Twining City a new building that was IN
| occupied unroOfed. In Anacostia the
| roof of d. Shanahans tin shop was blown
| off. There were numerous other instances
/ in and about AnacOstia and Twining City
| of losses caused by the storm. Some of the
green houses in this section suffered and
| truck farmers lost heavily. on one truck
| farm 1850 panes of glass in hot-bed sash
| were broken. Across the river below Jack
| son City a frame structure was struck by
| lightning and burned to the ground.
| In Northeast Washington the Maury
| School building was partly unroofed and
| piece of the timber fell through the roof of
| the car barn of the Metropolitan railroad
| General Manager Hart seated in the
| office at the time. and he narrowly escaped
! being injured. Along NJ street northeast
| between 18th and 18th streets many tele-
| phone and telegraph poles were blown
| down. and it is regarded as almost mirac,!-
| lous that nobody was injured. Several
| houses on NJ street We're also damaged
| number of roofs having been blown off. The
| nome of Mr.. Granville Hartford. No 90; c
| street northeast, wrecked His roof
| went off soon after the storm started. ana
| almost everything in the house was ruined
| Lincoln Park, one of the most attractive
breathing spots in the northeast section,
| presented a desolate appearance after the
/ storm Many trees uprooted or
| bro ken. and the flower beds were ruined
| Not far from the park the wind unroofed
! the house OF Sandy Davis and flooded it,
/ Davis was not at home al the time having
| taken his family an excursion
| Further Damage
| The Columbia Pharmacy, on Maryland
| avenue, and two other buildings in the
| neighborhood were left roofless saloon
! at 6;i3 II street suffered the same fate The
! roof Of the building of Vance & Carroll at
18th and II streets, was also taken off and