Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-05-28
Augusta Is Touched by
a Tornado "Wednesday.
Buildings Are Damaged and
Many Trees Destroyed.
Electric Light and Telephone Ser
vice Both Suffer.

Twice within the past 36 hours Au-
gusta was visited by storms of de-
gree of intensity that is seldom seen
in Maine, each Of which left deStruc-
ton in it's patch. The first was the
thunder storm which came along at
about 645 Tuesday evening and which
in addition to drenching everything
with torrents of water which washed
the roads and quilted the hills, was
accompanied by an electrical display
of unusual vigor The thunder was
very heavy and the lightning was the
most vivid that had been seen for a
long time. The storm lasted for fully
an hour and although but little dam
age was done by the lightning in the
city the heavens were in n constant
glare while the storm lasted.
But though Tuesday evenings storm
was a heavy one it was in no way
equal to the one which visited the city
yesterday afternoon, either in inten-
sity or in the amount of damage done.
Yesterdays storm was in reality a
tornado and exceeded in violence any
thing in the way of wind since the
cyclone of the summer of 1886. The
storm came along at about las in the
afternoon, and though it lasted but a
few minutes there was something doing
every minute, and everything bowed
before it. 1t was accompanied by rain
and hail and some thunder and light
ming, but the wind was the principal
feature and it was the wind that did
the damage.
The storm seemed to vent it's spite
av tLa oh Of fhn n. md
numbers of these were broken and
thrown to the ground, or uproOted and
thrown down bodily. After the storm
had passed there was hardly street
on the west side of the river that did
not show in this respect the fierce
ness of the gale, either by the pres
ence of broken branches or by the
trees themselves in the roadWaVs. AT
the corner of State and Court streets
a big tree was blown down and catch
ing the trolley wire tore it nearly to
the ground, and as the wire was a
live ore that locality was for time
very dangerous, but the tree was soon
cut apart and the wire released.
Up or Sewall street another tree, in
the yard of Howard Owen, was blown
down, and down on Bradbury street
several others met a similar fate. A
tree in George f. Gidding's yard on
Gage street was also blown down. On
the other streets in that part of the
city still other rces were Frustrated,
and teams were busy last evening
hauling off the wreckage. Over on the
cast side of the river there was more
damage of the same nature. A large
in, Of hn
was feled to the earth. and on Can
nctr street q section of tree was
broken off by the wind and in falling
broke a hole in the roof of a dwelling
nearby. There were doubtless many
other trees blown down in different
parts of the CITY, but which We're not
reported.
SO far as has been reported instances
where damage was done to buildings
by the wind We're few. one of the most
serious of these being at the City farm,
where the big barn belonging to the
institution came very near being
wrecked. At the west end of the barn
are two large doors and while these
were closed the force of the wind was
such that the doors We're blown in
and half way across the barn, and the
wind, getting into the structure lifted
the roof and came very near carrying
it away. 1t is said that the only thing
that saved the roof from being blown
away was the fact that the storm was
of brief duration. But the damage was
enough as it was, for the roof was so
wrenched that three of the upper
beams fell to the floor, and the timbers
holding the roof were split and twist
ed badly. 1t will cost quite an amount
of money to repair the damage and
make the roof as strong as it was be-
fore. The barn yard fence at the farm