The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-04-14
FRANKS OF TORNADOES
COSTLY IN THE WEST
Destruction Of Life and Property by Cyclone Twisters
Is on the Increase.

The tornado season Of 1919 has already
been ushsred in by two destructive
Cyclone twisterz,'' which within the last
few days have worked devastation Al
Shreveport La. where eight persons
were killed and nifty injured, and Little
Rock. Ark, which reports seven dead
and more than score OF wounded
AS the country becomes more densely
populated this kind OF meteorological
phenomens is assuming propOrtionateiy
greater Importance. Where towns and
villages are thick. tornadoes are more
likely TO destroy lives and property.
Dread OF such yhirling storms has grown.
and their alleged frequency IN certain
States. such as Kansas and Nebraska.
has had tendency TO discourage settle
ment
And yet tornado figures are liable to
be misleading. because in comparing the
records or various States they fail to
take the relative area Of the latter into
account Proportionately TO area accord
ing to Weather Bureau data covering
sixteen consecutive years. the banner
state for storms OF this character Is New
Jersey. During that period New Jersey
has had eleven tornadoes. Kansas. with
102 ''twisters.'' stands second; Maryland
Is third: Massachusettes. fourth Indiana.
nth. and Missouri, sixth.
There Is notion rather generally ac-
cepted that in the East tornadoes are Of
very rare occurrence Such. however, is
far from being the case. The figures
above given show that Massachusetts, and
Maryland are decidedly liable to whirl-
ing storms Of this character and during
the sixteen years Of Weather Bureau OBJ
servation there have been no fewer than
twenty-five tornadoes in the State OF
New York
Weather Bureau a good deal OF anxious
thought-the more SO because II seems to
be impossible TO predict or give warn
ing Of their occurrence. On an average
there are not more than three very de-
structive ones in this country yearly. and
the annual damage hardly exceeds 81. 900, :
ooc. But in 1895 the total loss was S14.-
caused by the funnel
cloud" which struck St Louis in May,
with such disastrous re suits
Certain parts OF the United States
srch as the northern half of North Da-
kota and portions OF Minnesota and Wis
consin-seem TO be practically exempt
from tornadoes. Most subject to them,
on the other hand, are the great iute-
rior valleys. In winter months they occur
only In the Gulf States: but, with the
warming up OF the valleys and plains of
thhe interior. they break loose farther
and farther northward. until June, which
II the month of greatest frequency In
Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa. and Min
nesota.
On an average. the area of destruction
does not extend beyond a strip 800 yards
vide and twenty miles Tonga total OF
only a little over three square miles.
Even in the so-calIed tornado States"
the expectation that a "twister'' will
strike any given square mile or territory
amounts according 10 the Weather Blu
reau's igures) to less than one-sixteenth
OF per cent in a century.
When, however. a funnel cloud does
hit an important center OF population
the damage II does may be enormous.
This was what happened March =. 1890.
to the city OF Louisville, Ky, when 113
lives and g. So 600 worth Of property were
wiped out in ten minutes by a "twister'
which struck the town at 7:45 p. m. II
was an appalling catastrophe. All the
gas lights went out, leaving the town IN
darkness. which was Illuminated only
by lightning and huge balls of electric
FIRE playing about the streets
But the St. Louis tornado, which passed
through that city in the early evening OF
May z, 1885. was vastly more destructive.
In less than thirty minutes time II did
81. 80 900 worth Of damage.
There had been a long and very humid
hot spell. and the bricks and stones of
the houses and streets had become an
enormous storehouse- Of heat-a fact
which, in the opinion OF meteorologists,
augmented the energy OF the storm
At 3:45 p. m. the temperature began
TO fall, the wind rose. and the whole
sky became covered with Strengthening
cloudlets. These ran to-
gether and began to assume the light
green color characteristic OF the tor
nado sky A little after O'Clock there
was a marked increase in the. violence
OF the storm. and the wind, changing
from southeast to west, reached
Id miles an hour. The sky opened. and
there was a deluge of rain. two-thirds Of
an inch falling in ten minutes.
The electrical display was of extraor-
binary brilliance. the whole. sky TO the
north and west being a continuous blaze,
against which vivid forked flashes of
green, purple. and blue appeared.
The tornado entered the city from the
west at $40 p. m. between the Missouri
Pacific tracks on the north and the poor
house on the south. and 1t Travelled al
most due east at speed OF about thirty
Tx miles an hour. It moved a swath
or six miles. about a mile in width, the
maximum damage being done in Lafay-