The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1905-06-01
SCIENTISTS LOOK FOR
YEAR OF T0RNADOES
Period of Activity in Storms
Seems to Be at Hands.
Unusual Destruction.
SUN is BLAMED IN PART
Interesting Data Regarding the Death
Dealing Windstorms-caves and
Cellars Are the Sole Pro-
lection.

Kansas City, Special: What il
the mysterious connection between the
condition of the sun and the prevalence
Of ~tornadoes?
This seems one Of the unexplainable
phenomena of nature, the recurrence Of
which puzzles the scientists. Recent.
tornadoes in Kansas, Missouri, Arkan.
sas, Texas, and other parts of the vest.
and south are monitory of the bsg ming
of the storm season, and on the heels,
of this comes the announcement thar
a new sun spot period of unusual ac-
tivity is also under way.
Pronounced Disturbances.
A prominent official of the United
States signal service says that, whiIel
it is impossible to accurately forecast
the effect of the disturbances on theiii
sun upon American weather, it is likelyi
to be more pronounced than during anyi
like period within a generation.
1t is an interesting fact that the tor
nado is an American speciality, and its
occurrence is rare anywhere else on thee
globe. Even in this country it operates
within certain definite limits.
The tornado belt begins near the,
western edge of the continental plateau
and follows the Missouri and the SOUTH
ern states, particularly Alabama,
South Carolina and Georgia. T%ornadoes.
never occur on the Alleghanies, and
seldom in New York or New England.
The greatest center for these storms
seem to be the plains of Kansas and
around the junction Of the Missouri,
Ohio and Mississippi valleys.
How T~ornadoes Are Born.
Tornadoes usually occur along the
southeastern border Of an area of low
barometic pressure, because only in
such a situation is a warm, moist wind
likely to force it's way under a mass of
earth.
The prevailing winds are from the
south and are usually laden with mois-
ture from the gulf and the Atlantic
This brings into play the nj maxi
Ing forces. The warm, moist air. being
lighter than the cold aid above it,
seeks an outlet, and when a weak point
is found it begins to pour through and
spread out like oil on water. To take
Its place the surrounding air rushes in.
In Opposite Motion.
Then for some reason which has
never been satisfactorily explained.
but which probably arises from the in
huence Of the cyclonic winds them
selves sweeping circularly around the
center of the storm, these currents Of
warm air, rushing toward the point
where the rise is taking place, are de-
Elected from their course in such a
manner as to draw spirally inward in
a direction opposite to the motion Of
the hands of a watch.
The more air that rushes in toward
the center the greater the velocity Of
motion at the center itself.
At length the Whirl at the center be-
comes SO swift that a ~semi-vacuum
ts formed, through which he warm
air rushes upward as through a tall
n h M ,nr NP ~ f,nt@rr ~. rNL,,. tlr, an
is born.
The thrush Of air sometimes attains
a velocity of 200 miles an hour, and
when 1t reaches the center ascends
vertically with a suctional force which
IS sufficient to draw up to a height of
heaviest objects-farm implements,
or buildings, limbs of trees,
heavy timbers, cattle n human be-
ings.
Characteristic Funnel Shape.
The central funnel of the storm. ow-
ing to the condensation of moisture
going on within it as the hot air rushes
swiftly up into colder regions, and ow-
ing also to the quantity of dust and
debris Of every kind that is sucked up
from the ground, ecomes quickly Of an
intense and ever inky b%lackness.
Not only does the tornado wind whirl
with tremendous velocity, but, at the
~ ~ iAllS ". ylduo
itself, sweeping and dragging along the
ground, n sometimes resembling the
Of a gigantic elephant with its.
in the cloud, also moves swiftly,
usually from southwest toward north
east. Sometimes the motion is almost
directly eastward, but it seldom hap
pens that the path Of a tornado is to-
ward the southeast, and it is never to-
the west.
Cellar the Only Refuge.
The speed with which a tornado ad-
vances varies from twenty to fifty miles
hour. The path of destruction, that
is to say, the width Of the tornado fun
at the point where it touches the
ground commonly varies from 100 to
300 yards.
Thus such a storm may sweep through
a town Of considerable, size, making a
narrow pathway within which every
building has been destroyed and the
short distance aside from the path little,
may have been wrought.
The length of q tornado's path varies
from a mile to fifty miles or more.
Oppressive Temperature.
Persons who live in the tornado belt
are well acquainted with the charac-
t~eristic state and appearance of the at.
The sudden quiet, the oppressive tenn
perature, the hush, the apparent wait,
ing of nature, all these things ares
phenomena that have often been OBJ,
Il1asmuch as the course of a tornado
is almost always toward the east or the
northeast, it is possible for the inhabi-
of a threatened point who have
seen the gathering of the cloud on the
horizon OF the west of them to know in;
whether they are2in danger.
The only safe refuge in case the fun
mel cloud is sweeping down on the point
occupied by a spectator is furnished by
the tornado or cyclone cellar.
Shows Up Threatening.
There is a record of 5000 people killed
in the United States by these storms
since observation began. The last great,
was in the late '7Os and the ea.lyl