The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1908-05-13
PECULIAR HABITS
OF BIG STORMS
The Differences Which
IN.Distinguish Them.
DIFFERENT KINDS HIGH WINDS
" Hurricanes, TornadOeS, Cy-
clones and Their ES-
pecial Aspects.

A week Of violent storms in the
South is believed to have been at
tended with the loss of 500 lives.
The damage was done partly by hur-
ricanes, partly by tornadoes, often,
though wrongly, called cyclones.
In modern usage the cyclone is a
vast atmospheric eddy about a center
of light air which is indicated by a
low barometer. The heavier air rush
ing in toward the center from all sides
produces the same sort of an eddy tina
follows the removal of stopper
from a washbowl. The cyclone is
usually from a thousand TO fifteen
hundred miles in diameter. The
winds it causes vary from a gentle
breeze to a gale. Their violence de-
ponds on the difference in air pres
sure in the center from that about the
circumference.
Into its swirling vortex are sucked
the moisture laden currents from the
Gulf of Mexico, so that the passage
OF a cyclone gives southerly winds
and under proper conditions, rain.
The tornado is one of the compare
lively rare Incidents in the history
OF a cyclone when a set Of peculiar
conditions are satisfied. II is a
mass of air from 100 to 1000 feet in
diameter revolving at terrific speed.
Usually it travels only few miles be-
fore 1t disappears. 1879. n CO. . .
This freak of nature occurs ordinar-
lily only in the spring or early summer
when the earth and the stratum OF air
Immediately above it are heating rap
idly. The upper air Is still intensely
cold from the effects of winter Warm
air expands and so becomes light and
tends to rise. Cold air contracts, is
heavy and falls.
Ordinarily the different strata OF
air comming.e gently with no dis
turbance. But sometimes the great
eddy of the cyclone brings down
masses Of cold air from It's western
side upon the hot surface winds Of
the southern quarter. Then there is
trouble.
The hot, rarefied air, surrounded by
a heavy cold envelope, shoots upward
The heavy air PUSHES in TOWARD the
semi-vacuum in the center. Once NOR
there is the effect of the washbowl
with the stopper out.
AS the water neaIs the center of
the bowl, it circles with increasing
rapidity, so that the air particles move
accelerated speed near the center of
the tornado, so that the energy devel-
oped sweeps away houses and uproots
trees. The velocity of the air close
to the center is known at times to
equal that of modern rifle bullet.
The weather bureau outlines four
conditions as essential TO the forma-
ton of a tornado near any given place:
First, a cyclone, or area of low barom-
eter the center of which is to the
north or northwest; second, a temper
allure Of about 10 degrees at 1 O'Clock
In the morning; third, great humidity;
fourth, that The time of year be
between April / and July l.
The conditions are so well known
that the various weather stations are
able to send out effective warnings.
For instance, on the morning of May
81, 1896, the day of the st. Louis tor
nado, the abnormal heat and humidity
and the aspect of the area of low
barometer on the map caused the bu-
reau at 10 o'clock to send out warnings
through Missouri and Eastern Kansas.
The hurricane is an nlargeed lorna
do. Its diameter is usually from 100
to 500 miles and the whirl is cores
pondingly less violent than the lorna
dos. The storm that devaSted Calves
ton in September, 1900, was hurri-
cane. It was first observed Septem-
Der 1, off Porto Rico. Three days
later its center had reached Cuba
September Il was at Key West, The
next day southeast of New Orleans
and September 8 at Galveston. 1t
curved then 10 the north through Ok
lahoma City and then Travelled north
east by way of Des Moines, Milwau-
kee and Lake Ontario.
The weather bureaus storm warn
ings were of enormous value to ship
owners.