Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-09-14
A 40 MILE WIND
VELOCITY OF THE TERRIBLE
GALVESTON HURRICANE.
STORM HAD BEEN PREDICTED.
Had Swept the Caribbean Sea and
the Gulf For Several
49, Days.

Galveston. Sept. 1.-THE local forecast
official of the United States weather SER
vice makes this report of the storm:
The local Office of the United States
weather bureau received the first mes
sage in regard to this storm at 6 p. M,
September 4. 1t was then moving north
ward over Cuba. Each day thereafter
until the West India hurricane struck
Galveston bulletins We're posted by the
United States weather. bureau officials
giving the progressive movements of the
disturbance. On the sixth the tropical
storm had moved up over southern Flor
ida, thence it changed it's course and
moved westward in the gulf and was CEN
trail off the Louisiana coast on the morn
ing of the seventh, when northwest storm
warnings We're ordered up for Galveston.
On the morning of the eighth the storm
had increased in intensity and was NOV
ing westward and at 1890 p. M, the
northwest warnings We're changed to
northeast. Then was when the entire is
land was in apparent danger. The tele-
phone at the United States weather bu-
reau office was busy until the wires went
down; many could not get the use of the
telephone on account of the line being
busy and the people came to the office
in droves inquiring about the weather.
About the same time the following in
formation was given to all alike: The
tropical storm is now in the gulf, south
or southeast of us; the winds will shift to
the northeast and probably to the south
east by morning increasing in enornaos-
ity. If you reside in low parts of the
city, move to higher grounds.
Prepare for the worst. which is yet to
come, was the only consoling words of
the weather bureau officials from morn
ing until night when no fur
Their could be given out.
The local forecast official and one OBJ
car1-a, OF n 1yaI OF tho nffion thrn11 rhn1lt tho
entire storm. The local forecast official
and one observer We're out taking tide
observations about 4 a. M, on the It'll, an
other observer left after he had sent the
last telegram which could be gotten Oft,
1t being filed at Houston over the tele-
phone wires about 4 p. m. Over half the
city was covered with tide water by 3
p. M, One of the observers left for home
at about 4 p. M. after he had done all he
could, as telephone wires We're then go
ing down. The entire city was then COW
cred with water from one to five feet
deep. On his way home he saw hum
dreds of people and he informed all he
could that the worst was still to come,
and people who could not hear his voice
on account of being quite a distance Off,
he cautioned too for them not to go down
town. The lowest barometer by obser-
walton was 1888 inche at $40 p. M, but
the barometer went slightly than
this according to the Paragraph. The
tide at about s p. M, stood at from 8 to
Is feet deep throughout the city with the
wind blowing slightly over a hundred
miles an hour. The highest wind We
locity by the thermometer was ninety-siX
miles from the northwest at about s:l1
D., M, and the extreme velocity was a
hundred miles an hour at that time. The
anemometer blew down at this time and
the wind. was still higher later, when 1t
shifted to the east and southeast. when
the observer estimates that 1t blew a
gale of between 10 and 120 miles. There
was an apparent tidal wave OF from 4
to 6 feet at about s p. M, when the WIND
shifted to the east and southeast thai
carried off many houses which had stood
up to that time.
The observer believes from rec
ords he has now that the hurricane NOV
ed inland near Galveston, going up the
Brazos valley. 1t is believed that much
damage has been done in the interior OF
the state by this storm. Warnings of tbs
United States weather bureau were the
means of saving thousands OF lives. Ihe
hurricane was so severe, however, tina
it was impossible to prepare for such De
struction. The observer states that the
barometer has gone up to about the nor
ma and there is no indication of another
storm. The bureau has issued no storm
warning. The bureau office has not peer
closed during the entire storm and the.
state that they will gladly correct an.
such wild rumor when called upon TO
information.