Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-06
ELECTRICAL DISPLAY
LIGHTNING PLAYS IN MIDST OF
A SNOW STORM.

A small cyclone with blizzard features
swept over this city last night, causing
CONSERVATION among pedestrians and 9TH
ers because of the recently recorded dis
asters from wind, storm and earthquake
in other parts of the country. When the
lightning flashed wildly through the blind
ing gusts of flying dust and clouds of snow
and the crashing thunder came many peo-
pie believed for the nonce that a great
catastrophe was imminent in Washington.
The disturbance burst upon the city in
full fury about 1890 o'clock last night, and
was totally unexpected. Just prior to the
arrival of the ''norther'' the atmosphere
was calm and balmy, when suddenly from
out of the north came the icy blasts, ac-
companying the snow and driving it along
at great velocity. With the bowling of the
wind, which reached a velocity of about
forty-five miles an hour, came the flares
and flashes of lightning and the reverberat-
ing thunder The bare trees bowed and
bent before the blasts and the scene re-
minded westerners of the sudden billiards.
that sometimes spring up on the plains
carrying everything before them.
The storm continued for about fifteen
minutes, in which time snow fell to the
depth Of about an inch in places, then it
was succeeded by a genuine March blow.
The snow that fell was Of peculiar color
and formation. 1t was of CHASTITY white,
and in it's consistency reminded one Of
dough.
A venerable colored man who was caught
out in the cyclone-blzzard declared the
| combination Of lightning, thunder, wind and
snow meant the breaking up Of winter"
He predicted that it meant IAN early spring
and pleasant one,'' basing his prophecy
he said, on his observations of the tickle
weather goddess for the past sixty-five
years.
"Unusual Phenomenon"
Those familiar with the science of me-
teorolosy pronounced the affair IAN I'M
usual phenomenon" Prof. Willis L. Moore,
chief of the weather service. said it was
caused by small cyclone passing over the
city.
THE snow, With drops Of rain" he said,
and attended by sharp. rafting reports of
electricity, was caused by a small cyclone
motion of air that passed over the city on
its way up from North Carolina The
cyclone was of small area, but of consider
able velocity and gyration. This brought
| together air masses Of widely varying tenn
perature and some of it partly warm, many
degrees above zero, and other masses prob
ably as much as so degrees below, and
possibly 100 degrees below zero.
The commingling of these two widely
different temperatures has produced rain
in one part snow in another part of the
mixture, and thunder and lightning in an
other part. The thunder and lightning ap-
parently happened very high up. 1t is a
phenomenon that has Occurred before but
| it is very infrequent. 1t has no connection
with sun spots"
The disturbance was also described by a
meteorologist as a collision between a
| streak of frigidity from the cold north and
| balmy breeze that came straying up this
| way from the sunny southland. He added
| that when the opposite conditions met in
| midair there was something doing"
Described as Spring Blizzard.
| Prof. Edward B. Garriott of the Official
| staff of weather forecasters said the at
mospheric occurrence was sort of spring
blizzard" The area of the storm was con-
fined to the immediate vicinity of Wash
| ington; therefore 1t was considered to be
local in its character and sort OF freak
storm. 1t was. he further explained, q
thunder storm with temperature lower
than usual, causing a snowfall instead Of
| showers. NHe added that fair conditions are
indicated for the next twenty-four hours.
| In connection with the storm a dispatch
from Pittsburg says that following the
prediction Of Prof. John A. Brashear, the
| astronomer, that electrical disturbances
| would be caused by new group of sun
| spots. Pittsburg was visited last evening
| by remarkable storm.
| 1t had been an ideal sunny day, with the
| temperature around 40 degrees above zero.
| but soon after O'Clock the skies became
! clouded and the gentle breeze became q
| forty eight miles an hour gale The tenn
| perature dropped fourteen degrees. to Is de.
grees, in fifteen minutes. Snow fell in great
quantities.
While the storm was at its height there
| was vivid flash of lightning. followed by
| heavy thunder. This snowfall lasted for
| only half an hour, but the wind continued
| to blow hard, and tonight 1t is biting cold
/ by the gale, while telegraph and telephone
service was Interrupted.