The age-herald., 1902-02-26
STORM STRIKES
 PACIFIC COAST Plays Havoc With Shipping
 Around San Francisco HIGH BUILDINGS WRECKED Wind Reached a Velocity of Sixty Miles an Hour-VesseIs Broke
 From Moorlng and Careened
 Like Drunken Sailors.
HIGH BUILDINGS WRECKED

San Francisco February 25.-One of the heaviest southwestern storms that has been experienced in years struck this city this morning. The wind attained a great velocity, blowing 50 miles an hour in the city, while at Point Reyes 1t reached 50 miles at 7:9O o'clock. Ships dragged their anchors or broke their moorings at their docks a fishing boat was capsized, the telephone and electric wires were down and awnings shade trees and fences were wrecked and pe- destrians were greatly inconvenienced. Photographic communication with the out side world was completely lost for a time.
 North of the ferries craft of all sorts were tossed about like egg shells. The violent south wind stirred the bay into a rolling tempestuous sea, against which all anchors were alike futile. Swell after swell each apparently heavier than the one preceding, bounded the vessels from a southerly direction and sent them drifting in dangerous proximity to one another, drove them close to the piers and to the islands, and kept tugboats busily engaged in efforts to prevent dis aster.
 Careened Like Drunken Sailor.
 The transport Solace. with nothing but three hundred tons of coal to keep her down, broke from her anchorage off Beale Island and careened about the bay like a drunken sailor. She drifted broadside on until a collision with the government steamer Albatross seem ed imminent, but she veered off in the nick of time. The wind and the swell caused her to drift helplessly. The officers of the service gathered on the pier fully expecting the Solace to crash into the wharf. Fortu- nately the direction of the swell carried transport around until she just cleared the buffer and swung out into the stream
 The transports Hancock and Rosecrans which arrived from Manila last night re- mained in the stream. No effort was made to land their passengers.
 The San Francisco light ship No 70 located seven miles from Point Lobos parted her moorings during the height of the storm and was soon drifting toward the harbor which she finally made
 At the time she went astray the wind was blowing at the rate of seventy miles an hour
 Three-Story Houses Blown Down.
 Three three-story houses were blown down in the Mission district.
 The gale, as it swept over the Presidio reservation, left in it's trait wreck end ruin.
 The signal officers of the reservation say that at one time during the morning the wind was blowing at the rate of 60 miles an hour.
 Dozens of tents were wrenched from their positions and after being carried high in the air were landed yards away, where they were afterwards picked up. The majority of the tents simply col lapsed under the pressure of the wind.
 To the soldiers the wreck of the tents was a serious affair for the majority of them had all their possessions under the tents and before they could collect their belongings they were thoroughly soaked by rain.
 bordering on the military reservation, much damage was done to high fences and lofty chlmneys.
 Prof. A C. McAdie of the weather bu reau made the following statement:
 Lowest Pressure Recorded.
 "At 5 D. m. the pressure at Neah Bay was 20 inches which is the lowest record ed this year. The pressure as far south as Roseburg Ore, was 29.1, thus showing for over 400 mile along the northern coast a pressure eldom indicated on the baro- meteric map.
 At $40 the weather bureau barometer read 281 inches, which, reduced to sea level, gives 29.51 inches, the lowest noted here for a long time. The lowest pres sure previously recorded at the weather bureau was 31 years ago. a pressure of %. inches being recorded on February 22, 1871.
 ''Today's recorded pressure Is barely one inch more than that at the time of the Galveston storm a year ago. The pressure at that time was 2S.4S, which is the lowest ever recorded in the United States
 "The wind at 9:45 this morning was blowing at the rate of A miles an hour, and the direction was southeast. The storm will spread over the entire country west of the Rocky Mountains. Southeast storm warnings were hoisted this morn- ing along the entire coast from Eureka to San Diego.
 'I am afraid that the storm will do considerable mischief at sea, and there may be danger also along the rising rivers,' concluded Professor McAdle.