Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1913-04-23
TORNADO At OMAHA
NO MOREWOLENT
THAN OTHERS
Remarkable Feature Shown
By Investigation Is That
Storm Covered Unusual Dis.
lance Of Ninety Miles.


lincoln. Neb.. April 2s.--5cicntius
from the University % Nebraska have
been following the trail OF the three
destructive lornadoes that swept
across southeastern Nebraska on
Easter sunday, and they are now for
inulntlnE a report In which some new
and interesting facts connected with
this variety Of wsndstOrfn will be de-
vciopcd. These parties have been
under the leadership Of state oeolog-
Ist Barbour. George r. C0ndra, head
OF the physical geography department.
and George "A. Lovcland. Nebraska,
director OF the government weather
bureau ana head Of the department 0g
metoroiogys
Three unusual features have been
discovered. One is that there were
three distinct tornadoos following
three distinct paths some twenty milca
apart. Another n that the one which
caused so much destruction OF Omaha
covered distance OF approximately
ninety miles from STARK to nnisA,
which IL n longer path than any storm
within the knowledge OF tho inventi-
gators and ~ most unusual, forty 20
nifty miles being an extreme distance.
Another N that the Omaha tornado.
while Il maintained the general dircc-
ton Of tOrnadoes, from the southwest
TO northeast. devlatod and xlgxaggod
In "a most unusual manner.
The first trace OF the Omaha tor
nad0 was found on q farm eight miles
north OF Bethany. a college town sub
urb OF Lincoln. Here Il Destroyed
some farm buildings. but bounded on
into the air. striking the earth again
az farmhouse. almost twelve miioB
away. 10 cut across the country 20
another farmhouse on q true north
east course, but after raging n farm
house and barn and killing some live
stock Il turned sharply 10 the north
west for half a mile. Then Il veercd
again TO the northeast and kept that
course for a mile and a quarter. when
Il again turned TO the northwest.
within half mile il awerved back to
the northeast and kept that angie I'M
~ after II had gone through North
Omaha. From that point where Il
left that city II swung at a sharp an
sic 10 tho southeast and hit an end Of
Council Bluffs. From there on as far
az u went In Iowa IN was a northeast
tangent again. The course was easily
followed BY the investigators In their
autos. The discovery at Hardin, Ia,
OF sign known TO have been In
Omaha that sunday. indicates that
tho last trace OF the storm was forty
miles northeast OF omaha, which H.
nearly fifty miles from Bethany.
Prof. l3urbour's Investigations were
largely confined TO examinations OF
wrecked ouiidingr He found that no
frame houses were 80 well built that
they could Withstand the storm. He
did lind a number Of stone houses aud
soiidiy butt brick houses that were
only partly wrecked. Brick yeneered
houses Jared but little better than tho
frame ones. the veneer coming on In
sheets, while those on which stucco
formed the upper hauf were stripped
OF that material down TO the wire net
ting. He found In one neighborhood
two large wooden churches that were
torn to pieces. while the adjoining
houses were but slightly wrecked. lie
agcrlbcd this condition 10 the fact that
the churches contained large air
spaces ana the vacuum In the storm
caused the air within 10 crush down
the walls
"Our Investigations show that the
Omaha tornado" said Weather Chief
I.oveland was no more violent than
the ordinary tornado. The fact that
u passed through densely populated
section made Il seem so. It's unusual
character lies IN the fact that II &C.
CURED about two months earlier than
the tornado season, which IN May and
June 1Ornado are bred under con.
ditiOns where the lower strata OF niS
becomes superheated aud forces 10
way upward Va spirais through the
everything strata OF cold air. Two
closely allied theories are now gem
orally accepted. one IL that the up.
ward thrustlng column forces large
| hole into the cold strata, and the other
that Il causes series OF holes II Is
| this upward movement through the
entrance on entrances effected that
provides the tremendous suction
while the whirl il produced by 1hs
same physical principle that cause,
tho water IN laNatory bowl TO sWir
when the plug n pulled out.
Great cyclone areas move over the
country from west 10 east every Few
days In regular professions. The sur
| is the real breeder IF the tornado, q
viii overhead sections of the strutl
close 10 tho earth, ana the resultant
movements of the air. the heated col
/ umns seeking To rise and the cOldel
| strata 10 descend, warm air cOmina
| from the southwest ana cold air com
INK from the northwest. bring abou
| trouble. The currents striking on,
/ another nt angles produce an invisible
| motion that rs analogous To that scoI
| la the water az point where one
| stream enters another at an angle
THIS produces "a series OF small whirl
| pools that can be- seen floating dow
| with the cOmbiaed stream. and the al
currents act in the same way"
/