Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-07
CARIBBEAN STORMS.
RISE UP REGULARLY.
Weather Bureau Warning of
Galveston Hurricane in
1900 Is Recalled.
BY REX COLLIER.


gulf coast lay in the path of a freak
West Indian hurricane, which, instead
Of Recurring northward as expected,
was blowing across the Gulf of Mexico.
The warning was accepted with little
ado by the average landlubber, but
seamen battened down matches and
made fast all movable material on the
decks of their ships.
The next morning the city of CAL
weston aWoke to find water pouring over
the beach and into the houses and q
wind OF increasing fury roaring in from
the Gulf. Within q few hours the city
was in the midst of a great disaster and
at the mercy Of an unprecedented tidal
wave and a record hurricane.
Storm Killed 5000.
When the waters had subsidized and
the Wreckage had been cleared away it
was found the storm had reaped a toll
OF 5000 lives and had wrought damage
totaling $17,000,000.
In the popular mind the Galveston
hurricane of September 8, 1900, and the
Miami hurricane of 1925 stand out as
exceptional occurrences, to which now
must be added the late Santo Domingo
storm. To the meteorologist, however,
these hurricanes are exceptional only in
that they involved large loss of life.
Hurricanes themselves are not "excep-
tional," according to Forecaster Charles
l.. Mitchell. At this time of the year
they are the rule. rather than the ex-
ception. During the 43-year annals of
more than 275 tropical storms, or an
average Of more than half q dozen q
year.
Will Continue for Ages.
These tropical disturbances" have
been occurring during past ages and
they Will continue for ages to come,
Mr.. Mitchell declares. Columbus was
the nrst civilized mariner to run afouI
OF one OF them, and he emerged with a
serious death toll among his men and
the loss of part of his fleet In the four
centuries since Columbus told of his
encounter with such storm, the his
tory OF hurricanes has been written in
the logbooks of thousands of ships
some OF those chapters lying incomplete
at the bottom Of the sea.
Forecaster Mitchell has conducted an
exhaustive study of tropical hurricanes
and has found much of interest about
them. He will tell you that most of
them are born of the "doldrums," not
state of mind, but the curious vac
uum" feared by early sailing vessels
lying of the coast Of South America
above the Equator.
Doldfums Create Cyclones.
The doldrums lie between the north
east trade winds OF the Northern Hem
1sphere and the southeast trades of the
Southern Hemisphere. AS the doldrun1s
move northward in August and Septem-
Der, the southeast trades become south
west winds. Thus. as the doldrums an
proach the Cape Verde Islands, the de-
nectlve action of the opposing winds
appears to set up a cyclonic movement
and hurricane is born!
There are no doldrums below the
Equator in the South Atlantic and,
accordingly, hurricanes are unknown
there. They occur, however, above and
below the Equator in the Pacific Ocean,
but are referred TO by different names,
In the western Pacific they are ty-
phoons, in the Indian Ocean and the
Bay of Bengal they are cyclones, and
so on.
Essentially all these storms are the
same in character" Mr.. Mitchell de-
clareS.
May Occur in Summer.
West Indian hurricanes may occur
at any time between June and Novem-
Der, but the height Of the season is in
August and September. the forecaster
said. Contrary to a belief frequently
expressed by laymen, the records do not
show that the frequency and intensity
OF hurricanes Is increasing within the
past few years. A recapitulation of
the records back as far as 1887 dis
closes hurricanes have been on the de-
cline during the past decade. In the
past Is years, IS tropical storms have
been recorded, while during the first Is
years OF the bureaus history, from
1887 to 1900, there were about 100.
Tne greatest number in one year &C.
CURED in 1887, when Is were recorded
The year 1916 was next with 10. 1908
third with IL, 1891 and 1898 were tied
with II and 1925 and 1901 were tied
with 10 each. The smallest number for
one year was l, in 1890. There were
last year, 4 in 1928, in 1927, 10 in
1925, in 1928, 8 in 1924. in each
Of 1923, 1922 and 1921; 4 In each of
1920, 1919 and 1918, and 2 In 1917.
Give Warning Of Approach.
Fortunately, hurricanes give advance
warning of their approach. They are
preceded by squally weather, ocean
sWells. falling barometer and charac-
terlstic clouds. In addition TO these
Official" indications, hurricane veter-
ans depend on other signs" Mariners
have told often of a hurricane bar"
or great banks of clouds of peculiar
formation, which precedes the storms.
Residents OF the island of Dominica nut
their faith In the hurricane birds" or
f1ocks Of tern which cloud the sky
before blow.
Recent hurricanes in Miami have
been heralded by a strange copper glow
in the sky during and after sunset.
accompanied by an ominous stiffness in
the air-referred to by some residents
as "a vacuum"
MIR. Mitchell is authority for the
statement that more than half of ali
| hurricanes of history developed during
August and the first half of September
In August, 1893, there were four hlrri-
canes raging at the same time, and in
September of 1900 there were three in
Guiding the Galveston storm.
Deviated From Course.
The present storm did not follow the
| course of two-thirds of its September
predecessors, the forecaster pointed out.
A majority of the storms during the
first two weeks of this month recurye
north or northeastward. This time,
! however, there was wall" Of high
pressure extending from the coast over
the North Atlantic, serving as a bar
rier to the northward tendencies of
the hurricane. It was similar high
| pressure condition to the north that
sent the great hurricane of 1900 hurting
| toward Galveston after it had failed to
break through the "anti-cyclone" of
| high pressure.
Hurricanes quickly lose their vicious
ness over land, and the mountains of
| the West Indies easily dealt a death
| blow to the current one after it had
devastated Santo Domingo.
Tension Subsidies.
Tension caused by the present blow
| has subsidized. but the forecaster nointS