The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-08-22


induces this belief.
Cloud Deceived.
A light. steady wind was blowing
out of the east at z o'clock when OBJ
server George Bliss of the weather
bureau went onto the roof Of the fed
eral building to take the evening OBJ
servation. The temperature was rs.
Scanning the sky, the observer saw a
dark cloud in the southwest, Just
above the horizon. It was long, fiat
and OF dark green color, so that it
was distinctly outlined against the dun
sky. It did not taper, and to all ap-
pearances was merely a Thunderstorm
cloud. So long as Mr.. Bliss watched
1t made no movement. He remarked
at the time that he expected an UNI
usually severe electric storm. He was
uncertain as to the wind, but did not
believe a big blow was portended.
Wind Shifted Four Times.
The velocity Of the wind then was
twelve miles an hour-that's what the
weather bureau calls a Eight wind
1t continued unaltered until 8:15.
east, and the velocity was increased
to thirty miles an hour-"high
Winds
At 1885 there was another sudden
shift, and the wind blew from the
enthusiastically opposite. For
two minutes the velocity was thirty
five miles an hour. In the next three
was forty-fve miles an hour. The
weather bureau calls this a "moder-
ate gale" The next class of winds
made by the experts is thigh gales"
when the velocity is from fifty to sixty
miles an hour. Saturday nights storm
never touched this class-it jumped
right over it. In a second 1t increased
it's speed from forty-tive to sixty miles
an hour, still from the southeast.
Sixty miles put it into the Hurricane"
class. It blew at that rate for five
minutes.
no Miles An Hour!
Then with lightning-like suddenness,
it shifted again into the northwest,
and made ITO miles an hour! This
terrifying speed was kept up for a
minute and a tenth, during which
time the breeze clipped off exactly
two miles! The fan on the roof Of the
federal building, which records with
almost unbelievable accuracy the
speed of the wind. w11irred with a rap
/ idity no mind can comprehend. And
1 the automatic recorder, which, with
its tiny but overture marker, down in
4 Mr.. Outram's office, jiggered bewil-
deringly-if anybody had seen it.
4 After that awful minute and a
4 tenth, the slow-up began. Eighty-four
. miles an hour as an average for the
five minutes from 8:45 to $3.50 sounds
like summer zephyr in comparison
with the no. but the wind was going
some, even then. From $3.50 to 1855
the average speed was fifty miles an
hour. From 1888 to 9 o'clock, forty
miles an hour was shown by the rec
ord. After that the wind gradually
subsidized.
Lasted Forty five Minutes.
Thus it will be seen that the blow
started at 8:15 o'clock. In twenty
minutes the wind shifted squarely
around and increased it's velocity if
teen miles an hour. Five minutes
later and she was swishing by fifteen
taneously another shift to the point
Of the compass exactly opposite was
made and the 10 miles an hour was
made. In the next fifteen minutes
there was no wind at all. It was all
over In forty-five minutes.
Barometer Was Busy.
During the storm the temperature
dropped 10 degrees. The weather
bureaus gauge showed a rainfall OF
1874 inches, but Mr.. Outram says he
believes much more rain than that
fell, and that the failure Of the in.
strument to give an accurate measure.
ment was due to the driving wind
which kept the water from the pan
But the barometrical fluctuations are
more interesting than that. It has
been g. long time since the air pres.
sure has changed so quickly and sc
much.
The record of this atmospheric con.
dition is kept on a chart like tina,
which shows the fluctuations Of whea
. prices. Ordinarily the line runs along
with almost imperceptible deviation
from the horizontal for days, some
, times weeks. 1t was this way on Mr.
/ Outram's chart until Saturday night
: Then when the storm broke, tn,
J needle flew across the page at RICH
/ angles with the record Of days, jump
then straight back up to $3.50. This
Mr.. Bliss says, is most remarkable ant
is certain, indub1table proof Of tn,
passage of a tornado.
A 'TWister," Sure.
There Is plenty Of evidence that tn,
storm was a "twister." It followed
the direction taken by all tornadoes-
from southwest to northeast. Out be
yond Wacoria a big stack Of oats wa
scattered in an arc extending from
r southeast " IuS WSSl, dEOuuu IIl0 cas-
and north sides. Trees thereabout fel
generally in a northeasterly direction
but in places they were pointed al
most due west.
Il At Hopkins telephone and telegraph
poles fell to the north. At st. Loui
s. Park, about four miles east Of Hop
kins, the top Of an elevator tumblet
down on the south side Of the struc
ture. In the city the position Of felle'
trees indicates that the general direc
ton of the wind was northeast, bu
there are notable instances wller
they went down in other direction
and debris was scattered every way
The explanation is given by Mr.. Bliss
Observer Bliss Explains.
"'The character OF the damag
done,' he said this morning, "indi
A Gates the circular motion Of the vino
s; but not so clearly as does the meteor
illogical record. In a tornado this mo
ton is centrifuga the center
The winds swirl around a pivot, a
the extremity Of which the velocit
becomes very great, SO great that
wipes away huge buildings.
1T is my personal opinion that tn
pivot was above the earth. The pat
e of the storm swerves from right t
le left in it's general northeasterly d
Erection. That's the way a tornad