Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-03-27

mon storm that has developed unusual
power. sst.
But . tornado n : kind OF atmos-
pheric demon, whose black, distorted
form can be sccn swiftly approaching
from far of, whirling and dancing like
. gigantic dervish, and tearing up the
very soil in its fury.
It lets down from the menacing cloud
above huge trombe or trunk Of inky
blackness with lightning playing above
it, and, whizzing with the speed OF
buzz saw. it plows a path thru a forest
tears away the front of q gravel bank
with the force Of hydraulic jet:
scoops up the contents Of q pond to
the very mud: sucks away creeks.
1t demolishes barns. haystacks,
houses, churches, scattering their rem
nants over square mile Of territory;
snatcheS up cattle, horses, sheep. and
even men and women sometimes
dasfiing them to death and sometimes
giving them wild ride thru the air
only to set them down at last unin-
jured.
The path OF tornado 10 from 100 to
coo yards wide, and the length Of its
course may vary from one or two up
to nifty miles. Almost invariably 1t
moves toward the northeast, with
speed Of from twenty to fifty miles an
hour The center where the destruc-
tive power is greatest, occupies from
one to five minutes in passing over o
givn point. On account OF the uniform
ity in the direction of the movement
OF tornadoes, it is not difficult to get
out Of their track II they can be seen
or heard, coming quarter or q half
hour in advance.
A single tornado may level q half
dozen villages and plough a track Of
destruction across two or three coun.
ties.
But when as happened last week,
horde of these "twisters'' breaks upon
the face Of the land there is hardly any
meteorological disaster so serious a.
that which they produce.
have just been looking at series
Of charts prepared by the government
in it's studies OF the great outbreak Of
tornadoes on Feb. 10, 1884, to which the
present one may be compared, and
they resemble military maps Of an in,
vaded country, across which dozen
armies are marching on parallel lines.
From the Mississippi valley across
Kentucky, Tennessee. Mississippi.
Georgia South Carolina and North
Carolina the tornadoes rushed side by
side. new ones breaking out as the
earlier ones were dissipated, until their
raid had almost reached the Atlantic
ocean. s.
Tornadoes always occur in the south
eastern quarter of cyclonic disturb
ance. Such a disturbance may be from
900 to 1000 miles broad. producing
nothing but rains and moderate winds
over most Of its area, but in the south
eastern quadrant, where warm south
erly winds are brought into contact
with cold winds from the northwest.
whirls are set up as eddies appear at
the edge of conflicting currents Of
water. and these, II the contrasts of
temperature are extreme. quickly de-
velop into tornado tunnels.
In every case the direction Of the
wl1irl Of tornado is from right to left
the same as that Of all cyclonic winds
in the northern hemisphere. In the
case Of the general winds this is read
lily explained as a result OF the rotation
of the earth on it's axis. In the south
ern hemisphere the winds turn from
left to right IL, ;.s 'f,ls
Some OF the performances OF tor
nadoes seem incredible. Occasionally
the whirling trombo Is withdrawn
toward the clouds. skipping threat
ened point only to dart down again
with vicious speed and redoubled pow
er. Small objects like loose nails, are
driven into trees or board fences. Vic
Tins sometimes have their clothes
stripped off and torn to shreds. On
one occasion a corn-stalS was driven
partly thru door. recalling the ex-
pertinent Of shooting candle thru a
board" A four-inch scantling, ten feet
long. was driven by tornado three and
a half feet into the ground.
Not infrequently there is a notice.
BILE disturbance OF the air only a few
hundred yards on either side OF a tor
nado track within which everything has
been destroyed. Once in a while
house, the windows Of which have been
kept closed. has been burst outward
like a shell by the expansion OF the
enclosed air as the central vacuum OF
the tornado passed over 1t. Hail storms
and tornadoes frequently go together,
and both are evidently the result OF the
meeting of bodies, or currents. OF air
Of sharply contrasted temperature.
An Epidemic Of Coughing
,s sweenine over the town and young