The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-03-12
Sooner Wind
LawOfItS Own

The wind OF Oklahoma is a law
,0,o Itself and takes cognizaneo Of
"a man nor is a respecter OF no wom-
:, II bloweth where IL listeth and
, m time nor no place is IT going
Jter than when IL zips around the
H. of one OF Tulsa's skyscrapers.
Vsbe wind blows hard out at Tulsa
..jyerslty and II has considerable
,o,ce out I'm the open country. But
=, ,osrs through the young canyons
n.,ween some OF the city's big build
80 ot a speed all its own and TO
~ pfier confounding OF the pedes-
W., Last week, for instance, an
,..snsoopting asserby--which is no
eibi for anyone should know better
atsv d, be unsuspeCting OF Oklahoma
i',,sto--would be ambulating
.o,refuily along Boston near Fourth
Inatance when whang! along
i,,ss ,n alr current whose dispo-
,f,io, has been utterly ruined by
,,t.rorena known TO those versed I'm
.,,h things as aero dynamics, the
.rdcsfrlau staggers and struggles
P,j gaspg for breath and clutches
,,ildly al a lid that in all probability
!. already beginning q wild flight
f,wn rtrcet. And perhaps wonders
tov Il happens one can encounter,
r.biie clrcumnavigating the Kennedy
bpildlrg IN what would naturally
a,om the protection of the heart OF
cif, one could get all tangled
and mussed up in a miniature cy-
n ia true that wind currents often
Aeyelop "a velocity IN the streets far
greater than that In the open. These
srtifclal storms, these baby ty-
Vboors and tornadoes and air rapids
,bot beat upon travellers result from
co,npression Of wind and consequent
,,crsasod velocity. Tho wind that
turns tho sharp corner OF building
is churned into violent eddios, and
Il syoops down again at unexpected
angles. And where one might eX-
meet a little turmoil Of breeze there
is surprising quiet and atmospheric
peoce. The student OF aero dynamics
knows that air currents are con-
troed by definite laws and that
fie whims and vagaries OF the zlppy
oge along Boston and Fourth, for
instance. are prompted by the
belght OF the buildings and the sud
den turns Of the street corners.
Wien a current OF air rushes up a
street, especially a narrow and deep
canyon, the wind is compressed and
rs velocity is greatly increased. II
the street is lined with buildings of
uniform height. the air current be-
comes conical in form with the peak
carried forward. The highest We
locity OF the currents will be found
in the middle of the street and the
longer the block the greater will be
the velocity OF the wind. when the
wind passes a street crossing at
right angles the current quickly loses
rs force and secondary currents es-
cape down side streets in several di-
rections which are at time difficult
10 trace. IL one walks along a side
street near such corner the force
Of the artificial wind can often be
felt a block away. A curious quiet
or dead space will probably be fund
iust around the corner from the
street traversed by the main current
No matter how hard the wind blows
In the main thoroughfare there will
be areas Of several square feet
where scarcely n breath of air can
be felt Take n single step beyond
this invisible safety zone and your
hat goes off or your umbrella loses
hs natural dignity and shape in an
instant. When the wind strikes di-
rectly against the corner of a build
ing It IS split into various currents.
When II comes against n flat wall It
mushrooms. so to speak. and Is
scattered in all directions. The
greatest pressure Is not exerted. ms
might be supposed, against the wall.
but at a point several feet in front
OF Il. The violent reaction after
striking such an obstacle sometimes
develops a dead space just before the
wall in which a piece OF paper would
fan 10 the ground. Secondary cur
rents are sometimes set up in the
opposite direction. To understand
me action OF such current It should
borne in mind that divided wind
tends 10 lose its velocity while con-
'erging winds develop ste d y
streams OF air and increase the We