Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-03-24

only about eight square miles, since
the point of the funnel was only
about one-f1fth OF a mile. The whole
area actually devastated by the fun
mel was less than one-tenth of the
area of the District of Columbia. for
the storm leaps up and skips much
area then drops to earth again. This
is due TO the configuration of the
hills, which interrupt and defect the
current. Destruction occurred also
from subsidiary winds outside of the
main funnel.
= =
A tornado always occurs on land
and moves in a path varying from
few rods to so rods, travelling from
southwest TO the northeast. A tor
nado nearly always occurs in the
afternoon, usually between 8 and 4
o'cIock-very rarely beginning after
o'clock, though when it begins be-
fore o'clock it may continue into
the evening. The tornado season is
between March and October, with
greatest frequency between March
and May.
1t is not correct to say that east of
the Alleghenies there ARE no lorna
does, although such storms are not
so frequent as in the Mississippi VAL
ley and in the Southern States. Hur-
ricanes differ from tornadoes, in that
the hurricanes have no funnel-shaped
clouds, may not be accompanied by
rain, and the wind seldom exceeds
200 miles an hour, while. as stated
above, in the funnel-whirl of the tor
nado the velocity is two or three
times as swift. Hurricanes occur in
the East as well as upon the sea-in
fact in all regions-but they are not
as destructive as tornadoes, except
when they roll great tidal waves
over islands or upon the coast.
At the United States Weather Blu
reau records show that tornadoes
have been most frequent in the Mid
west and South. Arkansas leads in
the number recorded-76 in an eight
year period. Next come Kansas,
Texas. Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma.
No other State has had as many as
SO in eight years. Arkansas had 80
in one year-19l6. Eight States had
none in the eight-year period-Con-
necticut, Delaware, Maine, Nevada,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and
West Virginia.
In prior periods Finley records at
least one tornado in each of these
States, except Washington, and Henry
found one tornado in Oregon The
following States never missed one
year out of eight without at least
one fatal tornado: Arkansas, Iowa.
Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebras-
Texas. In the entire country, from
1916 to 1923 inclusive. there were 752
tornadoes-in 1917, III.
The aggregate loss of life from tor
nadoes in the last eight-year period
(not including 1920, was 1929 with
a property loss of 100000 900. The
catastrophe of last week was equal
to half of the combined tornadoes
for eight years, and was eight times
as fatal as the worst one of any pre-
vious period as recorded by H. c.
Hunter OF the Weather Bureau. in
charge OF the climatologieal service.
Only one tornado is recorded as
having started in the District of Co.
lumbia in the last eight-year period
That was on April 5, 1913, when about
o'clock q destructive tornado began
in Rock Creek Valley and swept into
Maryland.
Tornadoes similar to ours in Amer
lea are almost unknown in Europe
Last year there was one in Saxony
and one in Belfast. ireland. This Eu-
ropean immunity Is attributed to -
of the earth, where
lr ountains break up the flow of hot
or cold currents. In the United States
there is a belt of frequency across
northern Mississippi, Alabama, Geor-
gia and South Carolina, where the hot
currents from the West Indies meet
the cold of our North. Then there is
belt covering Tennessee, Kentucky.
West Virginia and Virginia, where
there are very few such storms. while
north of this belt to the Great Lakes
and New Englnad the region is dan
gerous for. tornado frequency though
not 50 dangerous IS Missouri, Kansas
and Arkansas.
These conditions viii always exist
since there is nothing that man. can
do to counterfeit them. The only safe
guards are so-cafled cyclone cellars
for retreat when storm conditions ap-
pear.
Copyright, 1925. by Paul V. Collins.