The Irish standard., 1899-07-22
THE NEW RICHMOND TORNADO
Father Degnan's Report of it to the
Weather Observer.

The story of the New Richmond tor
nado is somewhat old now, but the ter
rble effects OF the storm will long re-
main matter of study and discussion.
Soon after the storm, T. S. Outram, To-
ca! weather observer, of Minneapolis,
visited New Richmond for the pur-
pose of gathering information for the
government records.
In order to supplement his own OBJ
servations, and the accounts which we're
taken from the newspapers, Mr.. Out
ram requested number of New Rich
mond people to write accounts of the
storm, and gave them for their guild
ance printed list of questions and sug-
gestions.
Among those who responded to the
request was Father Degnan, whose
name has become so we'll known in
Minneapolis because OF the prominent
part he took in the work of rescue.
Father Degnan's report was received a
few days ago. 1t contains much that
has not been reported, strange as that
may seem, and much that is of lasting
interest to those who are interested in
natural phenomena. Fathers Degnan's
report to Mr. Outram is as follows:
Pardon an unavoidable delay in &C
knowledging your kind favor.
"Now for information concerning the
tornado OF June IL, 1899. The tornado
passed over Burkhardt, Boardman,
New Richmond, Stanton and towns fur
Their northeast. The greatest damage
done was at New Richmond. The fatal
tornado struck New Richmond at five
minutes after 6 o'clock p. m. At S p.
IN. heavy rains fell here; at $50 large
hailstones fell in abundance, and at 5:45
there was a terrible windstorm from the
northwest. June IL, all day, was ex-
tremely warm and an extra abundance
of humidity was in the atmosphere. At
$50 p. III. the clouds became extremely
black in the southwest. The clouds in
the east and far west were bright and
luminous.
cat about $50 o'clock the funnel
formed and the bright clouds on either
side were swallowed up in the funnel.
l saw the funnel-shaped black clouds
when they were ten miles south of New
Richmond. 1t seemed to me that the
funnel-shaped big cloud was struggling
with the terrible northwest wind that
made direct way for the funnel. The
lasted but minute or so. The
vortex of the funnel sucked in
all the clouds that came near it. At
5:55 there was great noise, similar to
a heavy freight train on an up grade.
AT 6 p. m. the noise increased and three
minutes after E it sounded like 100 or
I 900 freight trains making direct for
the town. The storm moved at a We
locity of about 48 miles an hour. At
five minutes after 6 o'clock the noise
was like million lions or demons de-
vouring their prey. The storm de-
stroyed the town in about one minute.
while the tornado was passing over
the town there was a strong and per-
ceptible odor, most disagreeable. All
the outer part of the funnel was black,
but the interior was constantly lighted
up by lightning. The motion of the air
was spirally inward and upward. All
objects, trees, houses, etc., were drawn
inward toward the center of the funnel;
and heavy bodies were drawn upward in
the center of the funnel. Some objects
were carried couple OF miles before
they were thrown out of the vortex.
cat Boardman and two miles south
the funnel sucked up all the water in
couple of small lakes and fishes were
scattered in all directions. At the big
mound near Burkhardt the tornado
poised on the mound for a short time
and then continued its course to the
northeast. Near the mound for about
two miles it did no harm but passed
over objects without injuring them.
Then it descended to the earth again
and continued it's course of destruction.
In some OF the houses, which were
not entirely destroyed, the closed doors
and windows were thrown outward
with great force, as if from an explo-
sion. The pressure on the outside OF
the buildings was diminished and the
explosion OF the air within the house
forced ouen doors, broke out windows
and affected the walls.
Effects OF the storm on animals were
For ten minutes before
the storm reached the town the horses
became uneasy and unmanageable.
They caught the scent OF the storm and
desire to leave the town.
A few dogs took up the scent OF the i'm
minent danger and followed course
directly westward for over two miles.
The dogs did not return to town for
more than two days afterward.
Effects of the storm on men and
women was also singular. Most of
those who escaped uninjured were dazed
and assumed death-like appearance
Many women acted as if insane,
screamed, pulled their hair and moved
heedlessly about like lunatics. A few
men initiated the lunatic tactics OF the
women. The men, at least the major