The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-20
THIS is HURRICANE TIME.
Fast WhirIpools of Wind and Rain
That Speed Up the Coast.


Formerly Official Forecaster of the
New York Weather Bureau.
Copyright 1901. by E. B. DUNN
We are now towards the close of the
season of the West Indian hurricane.
No other atmospheric phenomenon
claims so large toll Of human life and
destroys so great an amount of prop
erty. The tornado is swift and terrible,
and its passage is the path of slaugh-
ter; but it is rare visitor; it's rage is
soon spent, and the area of devasta-
ton is narrow. On the other hand, the
hurricane is PERIODICAL; the swath It
cuts is a thousand miles wide; and at
the hight of its fury, as at Galveston,
it Stays its thousand where the lorna
do kills its tens. Finally, the tornado
is often by-blow of the hurricane. 1t
rides on the wings of the greater wind,
and attends it as famine or pestilence
attends war.
few years ago these vast storms
were technically called cyclones.
though that term was also and enron
eonusly employed to designate the
small. whirling storm, born of the
little black cloud no bigger than a
man hand, which is. properly speak
ing, the tornado. Why the name has
been changed is not clear; perhaps
because the word hurricane has a
more terrifying sound than Cyclone"
originally the term hurricane" was
applied to storms of the West Indies
just as "typhoon" was associated with
storms of the East Indies and the
China Sea. 1t was purely a local desig-
nation. Now it is used to designate
all those widespread atmospheric per
turbations which move in from the
region of the West Indies in.
yolving part of the continent of North
America and the Atlantic Ocean. The
hurricane season is from July to Oc-
Ioper, inclusive. Extensive storms
forming or moving over any part of
North America at other seasons would
be called cyclones, or areas of low pres
sure, although they might be as severe
as most hurricanes.
The West Indian hurricane originates
OF develops IN the southern region of
the zone of easterly trade winds. gem
orally east of the Windward Islands
on the border of the Torrid Zone or
equatorial belt of Gains, which ranges
close to ten degrees north latitude. The
belt of Gains, or doldrums, as they are
frequently called, extends in August
and september from three to eleven de-
grees north latitude on the Atlantic
Ocean and from seven to ten degrees
north latitude on the Pacific Ocean.
The formation of West Indian
hurricanes is not fully under
stood. The information at hand, which
forms summary of the study, would
show that these storms may be DAYS
or even weeks in forming; gathering in
excessive moisture over a central re-
gion of excessive heat, thus gradually
reducing the atmospheric pressure in
the vicinity. Toward this center the
surface or lower stratum of air starts
to move from all points, and being de-
f1ected, sets in operation a spiral in
ward and upward motion, the move
ment being always from right to left.
Similar storms in the southern hemi-
sphere rotate from left to right. The
excessive moisture carried by the up
ward flow of wind is condensed, the
atmospheric pressure reduced, clouds
are formed and heavy rain results, thus
liberating a great amount of heat util-
ICED in the process of evaporation.
The inflowing air currents blow hor-
izontally, with increasing force as they
approach the center, gradually chang
ing to a vertical motion, and when
finally near the center, to an upward
spiral motion. With the increasing
force or spiral up motion at the center