The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-04-14

4
the park were twisted or broken on, and
many Of the branches and twigs were
found afterward to be scared as II 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 10 Il were blown away.
Heavy masonry OF the ST. Louis bridge
was torn TO pieces. and a white pine
plank was driven clear through steel
girder.
The scene Of the storms fury was
transferred on the following day to
Pennsylvania. II first appeared at Co
lumbia at 10 p. m Describing il. an
eyewitness said: Approaching the win
dow and looking 10 the northwest, be-
held black cloud. Ike a monster. about
10 leap into the river when. 10 my sur
prise and horror. Il lifted its colossal
form from the water IN a rotary shape.
Then began the most appalling spectacle
have ever seen. Spellbound. / gazed
at It's approach as IL whirIed round and
round with a whirring noise. Striking
the shore IL shot upward and beneath
It beheld the air filed with flying OBJ
jects. A huge black mass seemed COM
ing directly toward me, but to my agree
able surprise, on reaching the railroad
II took a southwesterly course and con-
tinued on. leaving in its wake desolatiOn
and destruction"
Recent investigations Of the Weather
Bureau have cleared up much Of what
formerly was mystery in regard to tor
nadoes.
A baIIoon-shaped cloud. perhaps half
a mile in diameter, sweeps across the
country II travels usually at q rate
Of about thirty miles an hour. From Its
lower end extends downward a sort Of
neck, shaped somewhat like an ele-
plants trunk. which revolves with as
tonIshing rapidity, picking up whatever
It comes across and tearing II TO pieces.
When this has been said. il tells nearly
all OF what has been known hitherto in
respect OF tornadoes. But certain con-
spicuous features OF the phenomenon
have remained unexplained. For In
stance. how could mere wind, however
violent, pick up stones Of marble or
granite Weighing several tons apiece and
throw them about? How could II cause
brick buildings to explode. or convert
large trees into splinters no bigger than
mateh-sticks? How could II twist the
massive steel girders OF railroad bridges
into shapes resembling corkscrews?
There are many other queer things q
tornado does when in prankish mood
such as tearing OF peoples clothes with
out injuring the wearers. plucking chick
cows long distances and setting them
down unhurt. How can mere wind play
these tricks?
II has been suggested that electricity
Is accountable-a fairly plausible idea in
asmuch as tornadoes are usually accom-
panied by tremendous electrical displays.
But this is not the theory accepted by
the Weather Bureau, which explains the
phenomena in a way altogether different.
To make this explanation clear. II
should first be understood Just how the
"balloon." or funnel cloud. Is formed,
and Of what substance Il Is composed.
On a warm and sultry day. when a
layer Of hot air Is spread over the sur
face of the earth. a food OF cold air
flows in above, occupying higher level
This Is sure to cause an atmospheric
disturbance inasmuch as the warm air.
being lighter. ought to he on top. and
the cold stratum underneath. Such a
thing often happens in the summer time,
and ordinarily a thunderstorm Is the re-
suit when the two layers gradually COM
mingle.
But once In a while II acts otherwise.
The cold air above finds weak spot
in he warm layer beneath Cwhere the
upward pressure Of the warm air Is less
than elsewhere), and descends through it.
The effect Is exactly like that Of a basin
full OF water pouring out through the
y
produced. sni the tornado is ready for
business
The cold from above. descending into
the lower stratum. condenses the mois-
ture which the latter contains. and thus
is formed a mass Of yaporous air, which
assumes the shape Of balloon, with a
long neck extending downward toward
the earth II is the vapOr that makes
the funnel cloud" visible TO the eye OF
the observer-who. II is to be hoped, is
at a safe distance
II Is the revolving neck, which Whirls
at an incredible speed, that does the mis-
chief But this is not a phenomenon OF
wind. in the ordinary sense OF the word
A column Of air is grating at rate
of probably not less than 500 miles an
hour What obstacles could be expected
to resist It?
But, one naturally asks. why the esti-
mate of 800 miles an hour, no accurate
Of the speed OF tornado's
whirl being possible? The answer is that
this guess is probably very much under
the mark. on more than one occasion
straws have been driven by tornados 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 a rife bullet. Such
a bullet has velocity Of half mile
second. which Is equivalent TO l.Soo miles
an hour,
II was said above that vapor makes
the balloon cloud visible. But the sudden
Of moisture from the warm
stratum Of air has another effect-it
causes electrical discharges Of frightful
violence. Vivid lightnings and appalling
crashes Of thunder usually add to the
terrors of a tornado. and it's passage is
followed by torrents Of rain
or, occasionally, by a tremendous storm
Of hall
We are beginning nowadays TO realize
that the atmosphere in which We live Is
l much denser medium than We had sup
osode A little child, with its feeble
breath, blows UP a toy balloon Proba-
biz, when this has been accomplished,
he air in the rubber bag is at a pres
,ure Of not more than two atmospheres.
IS a physicist would say. Yet the bal
DON Is now a very solid object. and easily
-esists a hard blow with the hst.
A cubic foot OF air Cat sea leveD weighs
more than an ounce. A cubic mule weighs
,ver 5000 600 tons. Thus II is easy TO IN
ierstand why flying machines are able TO
loaf Cor swim) about in this gaseous
,cean.
very striking feature of the great
g. Louis tornado OF 1896 was the ex-
,losion of buildings in its path. the roofs
,elng thrown OF and the walls blown
outward. Only few DAYS previously
similar phenomenon had been observed
It Sherman, Tex. when funnel cloud
truck that nelghborhood As described
~ eyewitnesses, houses were carried
ID whole into the air to a height OF
fifteen or twenty feet, and then exploded.
he fragments flying in all directions.
L. ~ orl rahl