Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-27

SHADOW, and seems only a comno,
storm that has developed unuenaI
power.
An Atmospheric Demon.
But a tornado is kind of A.
mospheric demon, whose black Dis
tOrted form can be seen swiftly an
preaching from far off, whirlirg
and dancing like a gigantic dervisa
and tearing up the very soil in Hs
fury.
1t let's down from the menarirv
cloud above d huge trombe or trurl,
of inky blackness, with ugbrning
playing about it, and, whizzing with
the speed of buzz saw, it pIors
a path through forest: tears
away the front of a gravel hank
with the force Of a hydraulic let;
scoops up the contents Of pond IN
the very mud; sucks away creeks.
1t demolishes barns. haystacky
houses, churches, scattering their
remnants over a square mile Of
territory; snatches up cattle.
horses, sheep, and even men and
sometimes dashing them
to death and sometimes giving
them a wild ride through the air
only to set them down at last, un.
injured.
The path of a tornado is from
100 to coo. yards wiue and The
length of its course may vary from
one or two up to 80 miles. Almost
invariably it moves toward the
northeast, with a speed Of from %
to 80 miles an hour The center
where the destructive power IS
greatest, occupies from one to five
minutes in passing over a given
point
May Level Dozen Villages.
on account of the uniformity in
the direction of the movement n
tOrnadoes, it is not difficult to e..
out of their track if they can D.
seen, or heard. coming a quarter O.
a half-hour in advance.
A single tornado may level q
half-dozen villages and pillow a
track Of destruction across two or
three counties.
But when, as happened this week
a horde Of these "twisters" breaks
upon the face Of the land there is
hardly any meteorological disaster
SO serious as that which they pro-
duce.
l have just been looking at q So
rics Of charts prepared by the gov
eminent in its studies of the grea.
outbreak Of tornadoes on February
10, 1884, to which the present one
may be compared, and they resen-
bic military maps Of an invaded
country, across which a dozen ar
mics are marching on parallel line.
From the Mississippi VALLEY
across Kentucky, Tennessee. Mis-
sissippi, Georgia, South Carolina
and North Carolina the tornadot7
rushed side by side. new ones
breaking out as the earlier ones
were dissipated, until their raid had
almost reached the Atlantic ocean.
Whirl From Right to Left.
Tornadoes always occur in the
southeastern quarter of a cyclone
disturbance. Such a disturbance
may be from 1000 to 1000 miles
broad, producing nothing but rain.
and moderate winds over most OF
its area, but in the southeastern
quadrant, where warm southern
winds are brought into contact VIII
cold winds from the northwest
whirls are set up. as eddies az
pear at the edge of conflicting cur
rents Of water, and these, II l.F
contrasts of temperature are ~
treme, quickly develop into toInau0
tunnels. 1870
In every case the direction OF '-s
whirl of a tornado is from Ile-'
to left. the same as that of all @
CIonic wind in the northern asD-
isphere In the case of the gene
winds. this is readily explained as
result of the rotation of the eaL--
on its axis. In the southern leH
isphere the winds turn from Iei' "
right