El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-14

] HESLr 4EdEnGQ 4-N 4l4leS dA AAtAA- H.
! sky opened, and there was deluge
/ Of rain, twO-thirds of an inch falling
/ in ten minutes.
The electrical display was Of extra
! ordinary brilliance the whole sky to
the north and west being a continuous
/ blaze against which vivid fOrked
: flashes Of green, purple and blue ap-
peared.
The tornado entered the city from
the west at $40 p m, between the
/ Missouri Pacific tracks on the north
and the pOOrhOuse on the south, and 1t
/ Travelled almost due east at a speed Of
about Sc miles an hour. 1t moved a
swath for six miles, about mile IN
width, the maximum damage being
done in Lafayette park, two blocks
square, -and the surrounding district
All the trees in the park were twisted
/ or broken off, and many Of the branch
es and twigs were found afterward to
be scared as if with hot irons
Hundreds Of houses blew up. Single
stones and bricks were taken out Of
walls by small secondary whirls/ A
wagon Of lumber was not upset. but
the horses hitched to it were blown
away Heavy masonry OF the St Louis
bridge was torn TO pieces, and white
pine plank was driven clear through
a steel girder.
Moves on to Pennsylvania.
The scene Of the storms fury was
I Pennsylvania. 1t first appeared at 1-ZO
p. m Describing 1t, an eyewitness
said: approaching the window and
looking TO the northwest. 1 beheld a
black cloud. like a monster, about 10
leap into the river when. to my sur
prise and horror. it lifted its colossal
form from the water In rotary shape
Then began the most appalling spec
tacle I have ever seen. SpellbOund. I
gazed at its approach as it whlried
round and round with a whirring noise.
Striking the shore. il shot upward, and
beneath il ] beheld the air filled with
rlV1uu objects. 4 huge black mass
seemed coming directly toward me, but.
TO my agreeable surprise, on reaching
the railroad it took southwesterly
course and continued on. leaving in its
wake desolaCiOn and destruction"
Recent Investigations Of the weather
bureau have cleared up much of what
formerly was mystery in regard to
tOrnadOes.
A balIoOn-shaped cloud, perhaps half
a mile in diameter. sweeps across the
country It travels usually a a rate
OF about 80 miles an hour. From its
lower end extends downward a sort OF
neck. shaped somewhat like an ele-
phants trunk which revolVes with
astonishing rapidity. picking up what
pieces.
When this has been said. it tells
nearly all OF what has been known
hitherto in respect Of tornadoes But
certain conspicuous features OF the
phenomenon have remained unexplained
For instance, how could mere wind
however violent. pick up stones Of
marble or granite weighing several 7
How could it cause brick buildings TO
explode OF convert large trees into
splinters no bigger than matchsticks3
How could IL twist the massive steel
girders OF railroad bridges into shapes
resembling cOrkscrews2
There are many other queer things a
tornado does when In prankish mood
such as tearing off peoples clothes
without inJuring the Wearers, plucking
chickens clean Of their feathers. OF. car /
ryIng cows long distances and setting
them down unhurt. How can mere wind
play these tricks2
Electricity Is Blamed.
1t has been suggested that electricity
is accountable fairly plausible idea
iEasmucn as tornadOes are usually &C
COmpanied by tremendous electrical dis
plays But this is not the theory &C
cepted by the weather bureau. which
explains the phenomena in a way alto I
gether different
To make this explanation clear. II
should first be understood just how the
balloon or funnel cloud is formed
and Of what substance it is composed. /
On warm and sultry day, when a /
layer Of hot ai- is spread over the sur
lace OF the earth, a flood OF cold air ]
flows IN above, occupying a higher I
leFeI. Ihis Is Aure to cause an atmc5- ]
pheric disturbance, inasmuch as tins l
warm air, being lighter ought to be /
on top, and the cold stratum under /
meath such a thing often happens in /
the summer time. and ordinarily a |
thunderstorm is the result, when the /
Two layers gradually commingle.
But once in a while II acts other {
wise. The cold air above finds a weak |
spot In the warm layer beneath (where I
the upward pressure of the warm air IS |
less than elsewhere), and descends
through it, The effect is exactly like /
that Of a basinful of water pouring out
through the venthOlel violent /
Whirling motion is produced. and the /
tornado is ready for business
The cold from above. descending into I
the lower stratum, cOndenses the mois- /
ture which the latter contains, and thus /
IS formed q mass Of VapOrouS air, which Z
assumes the shape Of a balloon, with q I
long neck extending downward toward 4
the earth. 1t is the vapor that makes I
the funnel cloud" visible to the eve Of I
the observer-who. it is to be hoped Is /
at a safe distance.
Moves at 500 Miles an Hour.
1t is the revolving neck which whirls /
at an incredible speed, that does the /
mischief But this is not a phenOme-
non OF wind, in the ordinary sense OF
the word. A column Of air is gyrating
at a rate Of probably not less than 500 I
miles an hour. What obstacles could I
be expected to resist it?
but, one naturally asks, why the es-
innate Of 500 miles an hour, no &C
curate measurement Of tornado's
Whlrl being pOssible2 The answer is
lHdL LllS guess IS prODaDlH very mucn
under the mark On more tnan one
occasion straws have been driven by
tornadOes an inch deep into the trunks !
Of trees and clear through the bark-a
thing which could not happen unless
they Travelled with the velocity Of 7
rifle bullet such a bullet has a We
locity Of half mile q second, which is
equivalent to 1900 miles an hOurl
II was said above that vapOr makes
the balloon cloud visible But the sud
den condensation Of moisture from the
warm stratum of air has another ef-
fect-ft causes electrical discharges of
rrightful violence Vivid lightnings
and appalling crashes of thunder usual
Is add TO the terrOrs Of a tornado. and
its passage is imme dfately followed bv
torrents Of rain or, occasionally, by a
tremendous storm OF hail
We are beginning nowadays to realize
that the atmosphere in which we live
Is a much denser medium than we had !
A little child. with its feeble
breath. blows up a toy balloon. Prob
b1V when this las been acrOr,r1f-T,,.5 I