The Topeka state journal., 1909-01-29
One of Unusual Severity Passes
Over Kansas.
Electric Signs, Barns and Store
Fronts Destroyed.
THE WIND is SEVERE
Velocity Reaches 66 Miles an
Hour This Morning.
Telegraph Wires Down and
Communication Hfndered.
Light Snow Falls During the
Night.

For the past twelve hours Kansas
has been insthe center of a wind storm
| belt and the indications are that there
has been no loss of life nor great dam
age to property. Bill boards, electric
signs. barns and outbuiIdings were
blown down in Topeka and several
plate glass fronts in business houses
were demolished. According to the
weather department the trouble was
! caused by whirling cyclonelike storm
which had its center over northern
Kansas Thursday afternoon.
This storm reached its greatest in
tensity early in the afternoon and
passed over Topeka between and
4:3O O'Clock. when it will be remem-
bered there was calm and the sun
shone for few minutes. Prior to this
time the wind had blown from the
south at a rate varying from % to 80
miles an hour. AS soon as the storm
center had passed over Topeka the
wind shifted to the northwest and in
creased in velocity until at $3.50 this
morning II was blowing at the rate of
6e miles an hour
AS the storm center approached To-
peka Thursday afternoon the barometer
fell rapidly and at 4s30 when the
storm center was directly over the city
measured PSI inches. the lowest meas
urement recorded since the 18th day Of
March. 1890. when the wind reached a
velocity of 90 miles an hour. At this
time the barometer was somewhat
lower than II has been during this
storm period
The high winds demoralized the AS
ISOLATED Press service Still the State
Journal has been able to obtain quite
a large quantity of news for this even
ing's paper. Several columns OF it
6a vyfra To x
early this morning. before the wind
caused so much tTouble. the news De-
ing mailed from 4dIausas City to To-
peka- Later IN the day the Associated
Press succeeded with a wire over the
Postal lines, giving Topeka direct news
teiegra phfc connections with the out
side world. Part of the markets were
received over the Bell telephone wires,
but about 1 O'Clock both telephone com
panies had lost their telephone eonnec-
tions with the east
The extent of the storm can not be
determined for several days as all
means of communication with the out
side world has been affected by the
storm, even the trains are running be-
hind time. The wires Of the Western
Union and Postal Telegraph companies
the wires of the Independent and Bell
Telephone companies, though the local
lines of the latter are working in fair
The Bell telephone wires were work
ing all right this morning, the State
Journal markets coming that way.
Storm a Hurricane.
The storm is designated by the
weather bureau as hurricane" and
the storm which is responsible for the
existence OF the present one is
branded a Cyclone by the same
authority. The rain and mist which
fell during the late hours of daylight
Thursday changed to snow with the
approach of night BY the time the
theaters were being emptied of their
patrons the storm was on in good
shape and it was almost impossible to
face the wind and cutting flakes of
snow
The mercury failed to get ratified
although the elements seemed at war
with each other and the minimum for
the "a hours ending at s O'Clock this
morning was 81 degrees above the
zero point While not supplied with
official information the indications
are that the storm will continue
throughout the day and night
During the night the precipitation
amounted to 06 of an inch, making a
total for the past "a hours of is of
an inch with half an inch of snow
which fell during the night The
high wind has caused the light snow
to blow and drift and in many cases
there is hardly a trace and in others
the snow measures several inches in
depth.
Unofficial information received be-
fore the wires went down indicates