Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-10
BLEW TERRIFIC GALE
FIERCE STORM CAUSED MUCH
HAVOC IN CITY.
Norfolk Steamer Fought Sixty-Mile
Gale Coming Up Chesa-
peake Bay.

Washington has been swaying under the
blasts of a fortymile gale for the past
twenty-four hours and the conditions will
continue another day and night unless the
indications at the weather bureau are at
fault.
The high winds that have torn the leaves
from the trees and have ripped flags and
awnings to shreds are a product of the
topics.
The storm, the severest for several years,
centered off the North Carolina coast early
yesterday morning and began to spend its
force on the country to the north. 1t ap-
peared suddenly and is still central OF
North Carolina The weather bureau eX-
perts who watched the wind rise, state
that the storm center is stationary and Will
not disappear until it blows itself out.
Forty Miles an Hour Here.
The wind yesterday varied between thirty
and forty miles per hour. This condltloh
existed all day today, and the weather bu-
reau officials say it will have TO exhaust
it's energy and disappear of it's own Voi1-
ton before there is any change in the con-
dition of things in this section OF the coun-
try.
Washington has not had the worst of 1t
nv any means This morning the weather
bureau received report from the slshai
station at Cape Henry, Virginia. to the e1-
feet that the wind was then blowing sev-
enty-two miles an hour, and was carrying
everything before it,
Such a velocity is almost cyclone. and
nothing but the strongest and most firmly
anchored buildings can stand before IT.
All along the coast of Virginia and North
Carolina heavy weather is being eXpe-
rienced. Crops are being damaged by the
wind and the fishing industry has been
suspended until the gale subsidies.
Fought a Sixty-Mile Gale.
The gale on the river was very severe but
the steamers due here last night and this
morning came into port almost on schedule
time.
The steamer Norfolk of the Norfolk and
Washington line, which was reported to
have tied up at Old Point, with the steam
ers of the Baltimore and Cape Charles lines,
arrived here shortly after Z o'clock this
morning.
She-fought sixty-mile- e-an-h hour gale up the
bay and at times the seas washed over her
bow but at time was she in any danger,
nor We're her passengers at all alarmed.
According to the records of the Norfolk
and Washington company, last night was,
with exception, the toughest ever ex-
perienced on Chesapeake bay since the line
was established The steamer will leave
here on schedule time this evening.
Coal Barge Ashore.
Capt. Bailey Reed of the steamer Wake
field, which came into port from river land
ings yesterday afternoon, reports having
sighted coal carrying barge ashore on the
Virginia side of the river below Occoquan.
She was lying in dangerous position
with the seas breaking over her. The
steamer could not get near enough to her
to ascertain her name.
The northerly winds caused unusual low
water in the river, and nearly all the
steamers in the harbor were lying aground
in their berths yesterday afternoon.
The United States ship Fern, the naval
battalion vessel, was almost high and dry
her entire length.
Below the city the river had dwinaled
to a stream a hundred yards wide, the flats
on both sides being entirely uncovered.
This is the first time they have shown so
completely for five or six years.