The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-12-17
ITEMS or INTEREST 70 FARMER
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large air movement is a storm. amt
the word is used here in that sense.
rather than in the ordinary meaning.
Another great storm path parallels
the boundary between the United
States and Mexico but little dis
lance north thereof, then follows the
Gulf coast line, but about the same
distance north of it. Over this path
great air movements coming from the
Pacific travel across our country to
the Atlantic, with disturbances pro-
portionate to the size and VELOCITY of
the various storms thus travelling.
Between these. and connecting them,
is another storm path, which seems
to be veritable switch-track. Leav-
ing the southern storm path quite a
distance west of the Mississippi river
it runs north-northeast upward
through the Mississippi valley, con-
Meeting with the northern wind-track
about Chicago or a little eastward of
that city Many great air movements
starting eatward from the Pacific up
on the southern storm-track. without
apparent cause. leave it to follow this
swich-track and travel thence, reach.
ing the Atlantic coast over the east
ern portion of the great northern wind
path up the st. Lawrence valley.
These are major pathways of the
great air movements which affect the
climatic Of the United States. OF
course. here are countless little paths
in every section along which wind
movements generally are accustomed
tc travel, and which have not been
charted by the Weather Bureau. The
hurricane paths along which distur-
Dances from the West Indies are ac-
customod to travel also haze been
carefully studied and-charted by the
Weather Bureau. but are quite differ
ent things.
In describing these. accustomed.
travel routes as paths, the reader
should not assume they are any more
than general routes Individual air
movements may follow the same gen
eral path from west to east, but vary
considerably from each other They
might better be defined as the aver
age track of the centers of many great
air disturbances. Some air move
ments may cover a comparatively
small area. Others may extend for
hundreds of miles north and south of
the center.
The Weather Bureau defines such
great air movements as cyclonic or
anti-cyclonic, according to weather
their whirl is from right to left or
from left to right The word "cy
clone" as used by the weather sharks
doesn't mean at all the same thing as
the average man means when he, uses
it. What he calls cyclone" is
comparatively small quantity of air
moving at tremendous velocity. often
exceeding three hundred miles per
hour at the center. and destroying
everything in its path. Such move
ments, however, are properly tornado
es, and are -byproducts of the wealth
mans cyclone, or great air movement,
usually travelling inside the greater
and slower moving whirl down about
the flower left-hand corner"
Surprising one of these great air
movements with the slow whirl from
right to left, or just opposite to the
way you would turn the coffee-grinder.
enters the United States on the lower
Pacific slope and starts upon its travel
across to the Atlantic along the great
southern path. The mountains lift it
high. but entering upon the flatter
country eastward it begins to make
itself felt in proportion to its size and
velocity. Reaching the Mississippi
river it may have been pushed into
sort of elipse by pressure of other
movements on either side of it. Com
ing still further eastward, let us as
sumo it to have north and south
dimension of perhaps thousand
miles-that is not uncommon. It's
center may be working slowly east
ward to strike about Macon, Georgia.
It's lower end may reach to a line
about west of Sarasota. its northern
whirl may be touching the Ohio, river,
or even north of it.
| Let's imagine we are studying it
from Tampa The first noticeable eff
feet would be light southwest winds,
growing stronger and stronger as the
disturbance moved on eastward and
Tampa becomes more and more en-
veloped in it. These may continue
! fo,. a short time. or even for days, ac-