Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-05-29
WATERSPOUT IN CHESAPEAKE.
For Ten Minutes the Monster Seemed to
Wrltlie In MidRir.
Baltimore American yrytetdny

For Ten Minutes the Monster Seemed to
Writlie In Midsir.
Baltimore American yesterday.
A whirling, roaring waterspout 100 feet
high and 20 feet wide, throwing off clouds
of spray against II background Of red and
gold sunset, and the clouds of a coming
storm, was seen in the Chesapeake Bay be-
low Annapolis by the officers of the steamer
Potomac, which arrived in port yesterday.
Capt. John Smith, master of the Potomac
states that while the vessel was bound down
the bay sunday for the Rappahannock River,
and was between Thomus Point and Poplar
Island, he WINS called from supper by Quar-
termnster Harry Hudson VINO was at the
wheel. The captain went on deck and saw,
over toward The western shore, what seemed
to be Il cloud of greatly agitated mist, ap-
| parently whiring about on an axis ut the
surface of the waters.
| There were no passengers on board the
vessel at the time, but knowledge of the
| queer phenomenon quickly spread among the
crew and decknnnds, all Of whom crowded
to the side of the vessel, eager to observe the
unusual sight.
| Az the Potomac went nearer the cloud it
| WIS seen to be throwing off showers of
! spray. and that the rain of gems came from
| II writhing waterspout thnt formed the center
| of the upheaval. The troubled mass of water
| was halt us wide and four times as high us
| the steamboat.
| A strong swell was running before north
west blow that filled the waters with
| tulnbling whitecaps. About the base of the
waterspout the sens haaved and surged as
though being drawn up and down by some
! powerful suction, forming wide expanses of
mountainous sens or valleys of water that
| would have tossed about the largest ship.
| Now and then the roaring column of water
| would decrease in bulk and shorten it's height
| only to rise again with a terrific roar lis ii
4 twisted its seprcntine body toward the sky
and whirled oil showers of thick spray. Now
and then report like that OF II cannon rent
tue air as the unseen forces-colliding cur
/ rents OF air--picked up the water from the
bay and dashed the wa yes together until they
whired 100 feet i'll the air in the form of al
| hour glass,
Those on the steamer hnd the wnterspout,
which remained nearly stationary, between
them nnd the sun, setting behind the hills
on the Western Shore. The first elect was
that OF u twisted mass of frosted glass before
many electric lights with the spray dropping
thousands of diamonds. Next, the sun made
the spout glisten like an eifervescent body
of golden yellow, and next the boiling
waters turned purple us the sun went down
bahind the tree tops.
Back OH the horizon could be seen the
angry, black clouds of IN approaching storm
that filled the skies with "A cyclone of smoky
muses., tumbling over one another in their
rush toward the bay. Against this the
writing body of water stood out, a mass of
steel gray and foaming white.
The rare sight had been in view about 10
minutes when it gradually begun to fall and
break in spray, and finally came to the level
of the water. Tho spot where the water
spout had been still seemed to froth and
surge until it passed from the sight of the
watchers on the swiftly moving steamer,
and it was finally lost to view in terrific
lightning and thunder storm and downpour
of rain.
Watespouts are occasionally reported off
Cape Hatteras, but their appearance in the
Chesapeake Bay is extremely rare. The
weather conditions of last Sunday afternoon,
however, seemed propitious, considering the
storm that struck Baltimore between [
and O'Clock.