THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
ENDOWED BY THE DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETIES
QC955
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL
1000108727
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014
https://archive.org/details/tornadoeswhattheOOfinl
TORNADOES.
WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO OBSERVE THEM; WITH PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY.
QC
BY
JOHN P. FINLEY, M. S., F. S. Sc.
Lieut. Signal Corps, U. S. Army ; Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Science, Letters and Art, London ; Member of the Societie Meteorologique de France, Paris.
NEW YORK :
The Insuranxe Monitor.
1887.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the 3^ear 1887, by C. C. Hine, in the office of the Librarian oi Congress at Washington.
The important information set forth in this book is the result of many years of labor and the examination of more than five thousand storms. Ascertained facts have been taken as the basis of every statement, and it is believed that, while further in- vestigation may add truth to truth, it will only set more strongly the seal of authority upon what is here presented concerning the special characteristics of tornadoes and the great dangers which accompany them, augmenting the practical knowledge thus far obtained regarding the protection of life and property.
THE AUTHOR.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
Tornadoes Peculiar to America 7
Chart No. i, Showing Geographical Distribution of Tor- nadoes facing page 7
Cyclones 10
Hurricanes 13
Whirlwinds 14
Waterspouts 15
Hailstorms 16
Thunder-storms 17
The Tornado ; its Definition, Conditions of Formation, etc. 19
Premonitory Signs 25
Illustrations of Tornado -clouds 27, 29, 31, 33, 36, 37, etc.
Protection 43
Suggestions for Escape 44
Plan for a Tornado-cave 51-65
Illustrations of Tornado-cave 54, 56, 58, etc.
Descriptions of Individual Tornadoes, with Numerous Illus- trations 69-100
Tornado in Saline County, Kansas 69
Tornado at Lee's Summit, Missouri 78
Tornado in Marshall County, Kansas 86
Tornado in South Carolina 95
Chart No. 2, Delineating Course of Progressive Movement,
facing page loc
Tabulated Statistics of Tornado Observations 104-144
Summary of Results 145
Scientific Resume of Tornado Characteristics 147
Instructions for Observing Wind-storms 169
General Instructions to Volunteer Tornado Reporters 189
TORNADOES,
BY
Lieut. John P. Finley, U. S. A.
The people of the United States are no longer strangers to" that dreaded aerial monster, the Tornado. A single experi- ence of this awful convulsion of the elements suffices to fasten the memory of its occurrence upon the mind with such a dreadful force that no eff'ort can efface the remembrance of it. The destructive violence of this storm exceeds in its power, fierceness, and grandeur all other phenomena of the at- mosphere.
For over two hundred years past the scientific records of this country have furnished information concerning these storms. It is the same fearful story year after year, of destruc- tion and death, and the records are now sufficiently complete to show beyond all contradiction or exception that tornadoes are indigenous to this country. They belong here because our geographical position and the topography of the country are altogether favorable for the conditions which give rise to their formation. No other country in the world is scourged by them as is the United States of America. If our broad ex- panse of country was cut up by mountain ranges running in every direction, forming a network over the vast plains of the West, and cutting up like a checker-board the great valleys between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountain ranges, then
s
topographical conditions would intervene and present formid- able barriers to the direction and effect of surface currents. These conditions, if they were present, would well nigh rid the country of the funnel-shaped cloud. Fortunately — or un- fortunately, we are not to say which — there are no natural barri- ers to the development of tornadoes in the greater portion of the United States. Their geographical distribution is graphic- ally presented by chart No. i (see frontispiece), and the effect of the Appalachian chain of mountains, and that of the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas over the vast stretch of country west of the looth meridian (Greenwich) is strongly dis- played on the chart and the argument set forth is conclusive.
The populous region of the United States is forever doomed to the devastation of the tornado. As certain as that night follows day is the coming of the funTiel-shaped cloud. So long as the sun shines upon the vast regions in the Mississippi and Missouri valleys, there will forever occur those atmos- pheric conditions which terminate in the destructive violence of the tornado. Nature's laws are unerring in their certainty of procedure, the earth must travel in its orbit about the sun and the seasons must recur in regular sequence as the re- sult of this wonderful periodicity of movement. The earth must revolve upon its axis, and daylight and darkness, heat and cold, must succeed each other with infallible precision. Without these great and regular mutations dependent upon the solar system, atmospheric phenomena would cease alto- gether. Granting that the solar system must continue intact, we have but to watch and protect ourselves as best we may against the fury of the elements. Ignorance of our surround- ings is a most unfortunate plea for those who stubbornly fail to heed the warnings of science. Thousands of people com- fort themselves with the thought that as they have escaped in the past, so will they always remain free from danger; but a knowledge of the tornado, and the necessary precautions to be taken for purposes of safety, should be as common and
9
familiar to the people living in tornado districts as a knowl- edge of the ordinary methods of extinguishing fire. Every effort should be made to popularize the information on this most important subject.
In spite of all that has been written and published about tornadoes in the press, in scientific journals, and through the Signal Service, much confusion prevails regarding the appli- cation of the term and the distinctive character of the storm. This confusion leads to a most unfortunate disregard of cer- tain necessary provisions for safety which should not be neglected by people residing in the tornado districts. Under the head of wind-storms there are various atmospheric phenomena, severally designated as tornadoes, cyclones, hurri- canes, whirlwinds, waterspouts, hailstorms, and thunder- storms, which are essentially distinct in their characteristics. While they are all seriously destructive in their effects, there are many differences which give rise to modifications in their development which it is of importance to know. All of these storms are more or less destructive to life and property, there- fore means of protection should invite the earnest attention of all people.
The coming and going of these storms are as certain as death, yet adequate means of protection for the body and for property are strangely ignored ! A practical knowledge of the various kinds of storms known to the United States should be one of the subjects of instruction in our public schools. As the country increases in wealth and population, which it now is doing with wonderful rapidity, the danger to be apprehended from the violence of wind-storms is ap- palling. Formerly, these violent meteors left no mark upon the treeless and uninhabited prairie, or if passing through the wooded regions there remained but the ''windfall" to denote the track of the monster, but now the farm-house and the village dot the plain, and the hardy laborer has forced his way with his family into the depths of the forest. Where, years
lO
before, there were but inanimate objects to mark the fury of the tornado, precious lives and hard-earned property now succumb to its violence. The funnel-shaped cloud with its tail lashing the earth must now pursue a most tortuous course to avoid the farm-house and the mill, the schoolhouse and the church. The best evidences of civilization and material prosperity suffer untold misfortune, and must continue to do so while our earth has an atmosphere and the sun shines upon it.
This state of things, which upon first consideration may cause alarm and discouragement, should upon reflection give rise to courageous efforts in the direction of securing in- demnity from loss of property, and establishing provisions of safety for human life. The protection of life and property from fire, shipwreck, and disease has compelled the growth of institutions under State authority which afford a safe and generous indemnification in case of loss ; a similar necessity in the event of destruction by wind-storms must call for the growth and support of similar institutions.
I have previously referred to the necessity of a practical knowledge by the people generally of the various classes of wind-storms, particularly the tornado. It will not be amiss here to give a brief description of those phenomena, point out their differences, and then follow with a special discus- sion of the tornado.
CYCLONES.
A cyclone is not a tornado, either in the perfection of its development, or in any stage of its formation and progressive movement. The two storms are essentially different. The cyclone possesses the following characteristics: The path of the storm is a parabolic curve. It trends northwestward from the West Indies until it reaches parallel 30° N. when it curves to the N. E. and continues in that direction, either at some distance off the Atlantic coast, on its immediate border, or a
II
short distance inland. The storm finally disappears ocean- waid in the vicinity of parallel of 50° N. The diameter of its path varies from several hundred to over one thousand miles. At the immediate center of the storm there is a dead calm, a most fatal place for ships to be caught. At no point without the storm's center does the air actually move or whirl in a circle, but there is a cyclonic tendency of the atmosphere about the region of barometric minima, viz.: where the barometer is the lowest. Upon taking a number of points, located here and there in the four quadrants* of the meteoric disturbance, it will be found that in the northeast quadrant the winds vary from southeast to northeast ; in the northwest quadrant from northeast to northwest ; in the southwest quadrant from northwest to southwest, and in the southeast quadrant from southwest to southeast. The barometer is a veiry important factor in all calculations bearing upon a determination of the character and approach of the cyclone at any point in the parabolic course of the storm. The wind very rarely reaches either an estimated or measured velocity of one hundred miles per hour. The maximum velocity gen- erally ranges from sixty to eighty miles per houn As a rule there is no sudden, overwhelming dash of the wind, but a gradual approach or increase of movement which eventually culminates in a fierce intensity sufficiently powerful at times to destroy buildings or sink the largest ships. Cyclones occur most frequently in the months from August to Novem- ber. In the China and Japan Seas this class of wind-storms is called typhoons. In general, as to their place of origin, cyclones form south of the Tropic of Cancer, between the belt of calms and the southern limit of the trade-winds ; say, briefly, in the vicinity of 10° N., 50° W. This region co- incides with the zone of constant rainfall, where evaporation
* Quadrant ; the fourth part ofa circle. In describing wind-storms, etc., it is cus- tomary to speak of the area alluded to as divided into four " quadrants the north- east, northwest, southwest, and southeast.
12
is very rapid, cloud formation exceedingly brisk, the lair almost constantly saturated with moisture, and heavy con- densation a regular feature of the day. Typhoons form south of the Tropic of Cancer and in the vicinity of the Philippine Islands, moving thence northwestward to the Asiatlic Coast and then curving to the northeast over the adjacent seas and islands. As to the character of the region in which th^y form, the same remarks apply as in the case of cyclones.
TORNADOES.
The tornado is truly and invariably a land-storm, which we find possessed of the following prominent characteristics : A path varying in width from a few yards to eighty rods. T^e general direction of movement of the tornado-cloud is ii:i- variably from a point in the southwest quadrant to a point in the northeast quadrant. The tornado-cloud assumes the form of a funnel, the small end drawing near to or resting upon the earth. This cloud, or the moving air of which it is the embodiment, revolves about a central, vertical axis with inconceivable rapidity, and always in a direction con- trary to the movement of the hands of a watch. The destructive violence of the storm is sometimes confined to th^ immediate path of the cloud, as when the small or tail end just touches the earth While, on the other hand, as the body of the cloud lowers, more of it rests upoh the earth, the violence increases and the path widens to the extreme limit. The tornado with hardly an exception occurs in the afternoon, just after the hottest part of the day, and generally disappears before the going down of the sun. The hour of greatest fre- quency is between three and four p. m. A tornado very rarely, if ever, begins after six p. m. , but a tornado commencing about five p. m. may coniinue its characteristic violence until nearly eight p. m., which only means that the tornado-clouci may be traveling after six p. m. or after seven p. m., but it does not develop, that is, make its appearance for the first time,:
13
after those hours. Without the path of destruction, even to the shortest distances, at times even along the immediate edge, the smallest objects often remain undisturbed, although a few yards distant the largest and strongest buildings are crushed to atoms. At any point along the storm s path, where there is opportunity afforded the tornado-cloud to dis- play its power, the disposition of the debris presents unmis- takable signs of the revolving, right-to-left action of the wind. The violence and intensity of the destructive power increases directly as you pass from the circumference of the storm to its center.
Observations with the barometer are of little practical value at any one point, whether made before or after the tornado- cloud has formed or while it is approaching. Such observa- tions will not indicate its approach, however near the position of the instrument to the point of the cloud's inception. The ' ' tornado season is embraced between March and October. The months of greatest frequency are May and July. There are exceptional instances in a long series of years where tor- nadoes have been reported in every month of the year. They may, and sometimes do, occur in some of the Southern States during the winter and spring months. Taking the whole United States together and averaging the dates of occurrence for a long series of years (over 200) it is found that the region of greatest frequency embraces the States of Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. Of all the States in the Union, Kansas and Missouri rank the highest in regard to frequency.
HURRICANES.
Although it seems hardly necessary to'define the hurricane, it will perhaps be well to state that as here considered it means a straight wind of extraordinary velocity. It may, and frequently does, occur without the accompaniment of any precipitation. On the summit of Mount Washington, White Mountains, New Hampshire, a measured velocity of nearly two hundred
14
miles per hour has been recorded. On the summit of Pike s Peak, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, a measured velocity has several times exceeded one hundred miles per hour. On the coast of the Carolinas maximum measured velocities have ranged from seventy-five to one hundred and sixty miles per hour. In the Eastern Rocky Mountain Slope and in the Lake Region measured velocities are sometimes re- corded ranging between sixty and eighty miles per hour. This storm may be known as the Blizzard of the Northwest, the Chinook of the Northern Plateau, the Norther" of the Southern Slope and Texas, or the Simoon of the Desert. Hurricanes may occur at any hour of the day or night and in any month of the year. The most violent, however, take place during the spring and autumn. The width of the path of the storm is very irregular and may vary from many rods to many miles. In either case the velocity at all points within the storm's path is not necessarily the same ; in fact such a condition never occurs. The duration of the storm is also extremely variable, it may continue for only a few minutes or for several hours, although in the latter case the maximum velocity is not maintained throughout the entire period; on the contrary, there are periods of recurrence alternating with decided diminutions of the highest activity. There are perhaps but few portions of the country altogether free from the possibility of their occurrence. In the low table-lands of mountainous regions, where most of the country is extremely broken, the habitable portions are shielded from the power of violent wind-storms. No surface currents can attain any great velocity in such regions, although on the mountain peaks and elevated plateaus dangerous hurricanes at times prevail.
WHIRLWINDS.
In defining these disturbances it will be best perhaps to recall the occurrence, on a warm, dry day, of the formation of a dust-whirl as it suddenly bursts upon you in the open
'5
street, fairly enveloping your body with fine particles of dirt, straw, leaves, and the like. Whirlwinds suddenly start up from some barren, sandy spot unduly exposed to the direct rays of the sun. Over a small surface thus exposed the air rapidly rarifies, and ascensional currents form which move spirally inward and upward, carrying dust, leaves, straws, and sometimes objects of considerable weight. The whirlwind's path has a diameter of several feet (sometimes rods), and the direction of its course of movement is decidedly irregular, possibly moving toward any point in the compass. On the sandy plains of Arizona, Southern California, and Nevada these phenomena occur with great frequency during the sum- mer months. Columns of whirling sand, sometimes several in a group, move rapidly over the surface. A whirlwind is harmless and generally of but a few moments' duration. In comparing it with the tornado let it be borne in mind that the whirlwind starts from the earth's surface, extends upward and moves onward, not leaving the earth, being solely confined to the region of surface currents, while the tornado forms near the superior limit of the lower regions of the atmosphere and between the upper and lower sets of currents, or the currents prevailing in the upper and lower regions of the atmosphere ; the former currents are indicated by the appearance of the fine cirrus* clouds and the latter by the heavy cumulus formations. From this lofty seat of origin the tornado-cloud gradually descends to the earth s surface, increasing rapidly in size and augmenting in power.
WATERSPOUTS.
These disturbances generally form at a considerable height in the air, although at times they seem to ascend from the water's surface ; that is to say, there is no visible agent in- fluencing the ascension of the water, but of course in every
* Cirrus clouds are fibrous or woolly-looking. Cumulus clouds are convex masses, piled one upon another. Stratus clouds are spread over the face of the sky evenly or in horizontal layers. Nimbus is a name given to ordinary rain-clouds.
instance the causative power is from above and in the latter case near the water s surface. When I speak of the formation of the waterspout at a considerable height in the air, I mean that the embodiment of the whirl, or the revolving current of air, first appears as a dark cloud of minutely divided particles of water, the result of rapid condensation, of course in the air and therefore above the water. The swift passage of the air in a spirally upward motion over the surface of the water raises it in the form of spray and carries it upward in the center of the whirling cloud, which then presents the appear- ance of a densely opaque body and conveys an impression to the eye of the observer, that a huge column of water is ascending in the form of a long spout, widening gradually toward the top. There are instances, however, where the force manifested is sufficient to raise a considerable quantity of water several hundred feet in the air. Waterspouts form during periods of excessive heat, generally in the afternoon and at or near the hottest part of the day. In the temperate zone they only occur during summer months. They are of most frequent occurrence in the region of calms between the tropics, but are not altogether strange sights in the Gulf of Mexico and along the gulf stream south of parallel 40° N. In regard to motions they possess both a rotary and pro- gressive action, but in neither do they manifest a perma- nency of direction. Waterspouts cannot be considered as altogether harmless, for there are instances where vessels have been wrecked by them.
HAILSTORMS
Are peculiar atmospheric disturbances which, in regard to the dimensions of their paths, are next to the tornado the most circumscribed of all storms save the whirlwind. They are characterized by a strange cloud formation and a peculiar- ity of precipitation unlike any other phenomena in the cate- gory of storms. The cloud from which the hail falls is bas-
7
ket-shaped, with a dark and portentous exterior, a ragged and ominous-looking opening at the bottom, and within a whirl- ing conglomeration of snow-flakes, pellets of snow and ice, partly formed and perfect hailstones, the latter of an almost infinite variety of shapes. The hail-cloud forms between the currents of the upper and lower regions of the atmosphere and moves forward in the plane of these currents, either within or just above the upper limit of the lower atmospheric regions, where it finally disappears and the deposition of hail ceases. The path of the storm, as indicated by the distribution of the hailstones, is at times very narrow, although the range of width is decidedly inconstant, varying from one to fifteen miles. The hailstorm travels quite rapidly, from thirty to fifty miles per hour, and the length of its path is even more variable than the diameter, ranging as it does from ten miles to two hundred or more. The direction of the course pursued by the storm is always from some point west to some point east. It may be from northwest to southeast or from southwest to northeast. Hailstorms may occur at any time of the day or night, although they are most frequent in the afternoon, just after or near the hottest part of the day. They are most prevalent in that region of country embraced between the parallels of 30° and 50° N. South of parallel 30° N. hailstorms are of rare oc- currence at the level of the sea, but at the height of one or two hundred feet they occur more frequently, and in the mountains of British India they are very common, the hail- stones being usually of large size. Hailstorms are not neces- sarily confined to the land areas, but may and frequently do occur over large and small bodies of water
THUNDER-STORMS.
These phenomena are atmospheric disturbances of great variability of extent and power. They are always accompanied by such manifestations of the presence of electricity as are ordinarily termed thunder and lightning, the former being
i8
entirely consequent upon the existence of the latter. Thun- der is but the reverberation of the concussion produced by the inconceivably rapid propulsion through the air of that physical element we are pleased to term electricity. Thunder- storms may be a few miles or several hundred in extent, and their length of duration is quite as uncertain, viz. : from a few hours to one or more days. There is no regular time of day for their occurrence, although they are perhaps more fre- quent in the afternoon. However, they may occur at any time during the day or night. As to the season of year, sum- mer is the period of greatest prevalency. There is no month of the year entirely free from them. Whether the precipita- tion be rain or snow the presence of electricity has still been manifested in the usual form. With the former character of condensation of vapor the evidence of electricity is . most common, while with the latter it is the rare exception. As re- gards geographical distribution, thunder-storms are most fre- quent between the equator and parallel 40° N., and from thence to parallel 70° N. the average frequency diminishes with considerable rapidity. In the vicinity of parallel 80° N. it is believed they never occur, although this in the main is mere supposition. There are certain portions of the United States where thunder-storms are unusually frequent as com- pared with other parts. They seldom appear in the Pacific Coast States, especially California, and are most frequent and violent in the Eastern Rocky Mountain Slope, the Lower Missouri Valley, and in the Lake Region.
Having briefly outlined the characteristics of the various classes of storms, we will now proceed to consider more in detail the most important (at least in certain respects) of all atmospheric disturbances. At this stage of our inquiry in regard to the character and classes of storms, I presume it will be admitted, that no two of the several storms defined, at least appear to be alike. There are, however, points of re- semblance, but in some these features are stronger than in
19
others. As each is studied more carefully, the essential points of difference will be more clearly contrasted. It is not within the province of this book to discuss at length the points of difference or harmony, nor to enter into an intricate analysis of meteorological phenomena and the multiform op- erations of atmospheric changes attending the origin, devel- opment, and complete formation of these disturbances. On the contrary, it is simply desired to present a brief but com- prehensive resume of the leading features of storms, as known at least in the United States, if not in North America, and in particular to present rather a minute consideration of the peculiarities of tornadoes, with a view to place at the disposal of the people most interested^ the facts and practical results of past and present investigations of this most terrible and yet most wonderful and interesting of storms, the dreaded tornado.
THE TORNADO.
What is a tornado ? In defining this storm it would seem almost a necessity to rehearse its long line of striking charac- teristics, but this in the common acceptation of the term would not strictly be a definition. For the sake of brevity, we will state that the tornado is that form of atmospheric dis- turbance which takes the outward, visible fashion or figure of a funnel-shaped cloud, revolving about a vertical axis from right to left* with an inconceivably rapid movement and an immensity of power almost beyond calculation.
Conditions of Formation. — These may be divided into classes. First, those within the reach of and which may be known or investigated by an isolated observer. Second, those conditions only to be witnessed and analyzed by the intelligent and practiced eye of the student of the weather map. To the single observer, located mayhap at his farm home, the work- shop, or the store, there are important atmospheric conditions which he may carefully watch and study with profit, viz. : the
* As you would turn a nut onto a bolt, point downward.
21
gradual setting in and prolonged movement of the air from ;
the north and south points ; the gradual but continued fall j of the thermometer with a prevalence of the northerly currents,
or a rise with the predominance of the southerly. If the north- ;
erly currents are the prevailing air-movements at your place \
of observation, the atmospheric disturbance is forming to the |
southward, but if the prevailing air-currents are from the ; south the storm is forming to the northward of your location.
Carefully study cloud development, color as well as form, also ;
manner and direction of approach. The approach of the cirrus ]
cloud (perhaps at a height of six to eight miles) from the \
southwest is very significant, and is the first evidence of the i gradual but certain advance of the upper southwest current,
which eventually plays so important a part in the development ^
of the tornado-cloud. Clouds are but the embodiment of air- \
currents, yet they are full of meaning. A study of the upper j
currents of the atmosphere would be impossible without their j
manifestations, and that, too, in a variety of forms. Without |
cloud formation, the face of the sky would become a blank, j
and intelligent reasoning thereof a superhuman task, \
Wind direction, temperature, and clouds are the proper j
subjects of observation and thought by the isolated observer. \
The barometer is of little if any importance in this line of in- \
quiry. If you cannot compare your barometric observations ;
with those taken at near or distant points and at the same .,'
moment of actual time, they are of no practical moment, \
even though your instrument is a standard one and your cor- \
rections for temperature and elevation carefully applied. The j
storm you are watching for (the tornado) is an extremely â–
local affair, whereas the barometer indicates general changes, \
Note. — Photographs of tornadoes and tornado-clouds are rare. We "^^
have the reproductions of three which are claimed to be instantaneous ;
photographs, but the majority of our cloud illustrations are sketches \
from memory, most of them by persons not artists, and, while the col- 3
lection is the most varied and perhaps the most correct ever published, 1
we do not claim for it any higher merit than these facts will justify. 1
22
affecting a large extent of country. Your instrument, if a standard, does not lack possession of the delicate sensitive- ness requisite for all the purposes of its construction, but if it were placed in the immediate track of the tornado-cloud, it would not indicate its presence until the crash of the storm was upon the instrument, when of course it would be too late. Barometrical observations appear to advantage and are absolutely necessary to a successful consideration of the mete- orological conditions of tornadoes from the standpoint of the weather map. From this panoramic view of the situation a vast extent of country can be most carefully watched from hour to hour, for days, weeks, or months. Atmospheric con- ditions on opposite sides of the probable course of the storm can be watched from their inception, and any relation easily detected and analyzed. From a study of the weather-map it has been found that the formation of what is termed a bar- ometric trough or elongated area of low pressure (where the barometer stands below the normal for that region at the hour of observation) precedes the occurrence of tornadoes in the Lower Missouri Valley or adjoining States to the south and east. This low-pressure area assumes the form of an ellipse and generally extends from southwest to northeast be- tween northern Texas and the Upper Lake Region. Such a depression may lie between the Central Mississippi Valley and the Lower Lake Region, trending northeastward just south of Michigan and over the Ohio Valley. The major axis * of either of these depressions is easily estimated, while the minor axis may be stated as generally varying from three to five hundred miles. To the north of the major axis, even to a distance of several hundred miles, the winds are found to proceed from any or all points between northeast and north- west with comparatively low temperatures, accompanied some- times by a cold rain or even snow. South of the major axis, and generally to a greater distance, the winds come from
* See chart No. 2, facing page 100 ; also illustrations on page 102.
24
any or all points between southeast and southwest, accom- panied by comparatively high temperatures, high humidity, and often dashes of quite heavy rain.
As these conditions continue to prevail there is a growing contrast of temperature to the north and south of the major axis, owing to the long-continued movement of the atmos- phere from opposite directions, such movement eventually af- fecting the disposition of air in the warmer regions of the extreme south and likewise the colder regions of the extreme north. The contrast of temperature now naturally increases with marked rapidity, and the formation of clouds com- mences in earnest. Huge masses of dark and portentous appearance bank up in the northwest and southwest with amazing rapidity, and soon the scene becomes one of awful grandeur. The struggle for mastery in the opposing cur- rents is thus indicated by the gathering cloud formations. The condensation of vapor from the extremely humid south- erly currents by contact with the augmenting cold of their struggling opponents continues. It increases rapidly. Fi- nally, when resistance to the unstable equilibrium can no longer be maintained (controlled by the rate of temperature change and rapidity of condensation), the opposing forces are, as it were, broken asunder, followed by the upward rush of huge volumes of air. The outward indication of this event is first shown in the whirling, dashing clouds over the broken surface of the heavy bank of condensed vapor, forming the background. A scene not easily depicted or realized by one who has not witnessed it, but never to be effaced from the memory of the actual observer. There is an awful terror in the majesty of the power here represented, and in the unnatu ral movement of the clouds, which affects animals as well as human beings. The next stage in the further development of this atmospheric disturbance is the gradual descent of the funnel-shaped cloud from a point apparently just beneath the position of the enactment of the first scene. The tornado
2S
is now before us, not fully developed, but soon to acquire that condition when the terrible violence of its power will make the earth tremble, animals terror-stricken, and men's hearts quake with fear.
PREMONITORY SIGNS.
On the day of the storm, and for several hours previous to the appearance of the tornado-cloud, the indications of its probable formation and approach are within the comprehen- sion of any ordinary observer and can readily be detected by him. A sultry, oppressive condition of the atmosphere is thus described by various observers as follows : "1 really experienced a sickly sensation under the influence of the sun's rays." I was compelled to stop work on account of the peculiar exhaustion experienced from physical exertion." *'It seemed as if the lightest garments that I could put on were a burden to me." ''There was not a breath of air stirring. " * ' The air at times came in puffs as from a heated furnace." " I felt a want of breath, the air frequently appear- ing too rarified to breathe freely." "I was starded at the sudden and continued rise in the thermometer, especially at this season of the year." *' In the forenoon I actually wore an overcoat, but shortly after dinner I put on my straw hat and worked in my shirt sleeves." I noticed a remarkable change in the temperature, many of the neighbors spoke about it and said that there was a peculiar feeling about the heat, something they had not before experienced in years." * ' It was terribly oppressive ; it seemed as if the atmosphere was unusually heavy and pressing down on me with a great weight."
These citations clearly indicate the character of this pecu- liar sultriness. Other signs equally important and reliable may be found in the development and peculiar formation of the clouds in the western horizon. Sometimes these peculiar clouds extend from the southwest through the west
26
by the north to the northeast. More frequently, however, they form in the northwest and southwest, sometimes com- mencing, first in the former quarter and then again in the latter, but in either case they are equally significant. The marked peculiarity of the clouds is found to occur not only in the forin but in the color and character of development.
The sudden appearance of ominous clouds, first in the southwest and then almost immediately in the northwest or northeast (perhaps the reverse in the order of their appearance), generally attracts the attention of the most casual observer, and frequently overcomes him with astonishment. In almost all cases these premonitory clouds are unlike any ordinary and usual formation. If they are light, their appearance re- sembles smoke issuing from a burning building or straw- stack, rolling upward in fantastic shapes to great heights. Again, like a fine mist or quite white, like fog or steam. Some persons describe these light clouds as at times appar- ently irridescent or glowing as if from their irregular surfaces a pale, whitish light was cast.
The dark clouds at times present a deep, greenish hue, which forebodes the greatest evil and leaves one to imagine quite freely of dire possibilities. Again, they appear jet black from center to circumference, or, in a change of form, this deep-set color may only appear at the center, gradually dimin- ishing in intensity as the outer edges of the cloud or bank of clouds are approached. Sometimes these dark clouds, instead
Note. — The following three pictures are of the great tornado at Ercildoun, Chester County, Penn., July i, 1877, and are from very rough and imperfect sketches. The storm formed about 2:30 p. M. and passed in a direction nearly due east for about twenty miles, injuring many people and destroying over $40,000 of property. Width of track, 1 50 to 300 feet. Diameter of tornado-cloud, 50 to 75 feet. It is de- scribed as having very closely resembled a balloon, although the sketches do not disclose that fact. A balloon-shaped cloud is repre- sented on another page as having appeared near North Vernon, Ind., in 1883.
27
of appearing in solid and heavy masses, roll up lightly, but still intensely black, like the smoke from an engine or loco- motive burning soft coal. They have been described as of a purple or bluish tinge, or at times possessed of a strange lividness. Frequently dark green, again an inky blackness that fairly startles you with its intensity. Many observers are at a loss for words in which to give an adequate description of the terrible scenes and simply say : ''They were the worst- looking clouds I ever saw, perfectly awful/' Said one observer, ''The clouds seemed to be boiling up like muddy
Tornado at Ercildoun, Pa., July 1, 1877. First appearance. See note on page 26 for description.
water, the upper surface of the cloud reminding me of the incessant eddies or whirls seen in the muddiest portions of the Missouri River." Other observers as follows : "I saw two whirling circles of lightish gray clouds in the west ; they were acting independently of each other and moved slowly inward toward each other from opposite directions. The clouds were very low, seemed to be on the earth, the wind
28
in contrary directions across the face of the western sky and surrounding clouds in great confusion/' ''Observed clouds moving in all directions, some of a dark green color, others white as steam/' ''The lower end of the cloud was very white, like fog." "I saw a great smoke, and supposed at first it was a fire. " "I saw a terrible cloud of a dark purplish color." *' There was a peculiar and terrifying look to the clouds." " I saw a green-looking cloud in the north- west, surrounded by others not so deep-set in color. Under the cloud from the southwest, there came a large number of little thunder-heads, some very dark but others as white as steam. They seemed to be separated and running very low. I never saw clouds so low before. Pretty soon they began to go in all directions, some up, some down, right and left, backwards and forwards. I next saw a cloud that looked even all over in color and very white, the edges pretty even. It moved remarkably steady and seemed to be right under the edge of the cloud from the southwest." "The clouds looked as if a mosquito-net had been spread out over the sky." " I saw clouds tumbling over and over in terrible confusion." "I noticed a strange action in the clouds and saw a cloud rolling on the ground coming from the southwest." "The ground was covered with white, steamy-looking clouds that prevented one from seeing any distance." "Two clouds, one from the northwest and the other from the southwest seemed to meet, and after meeting passed still lower. Above their place of meeting black smoke appeared in very pecu- liar shape." " The air presented a very peculiar appearance, it seemed to be in different-shaded strata and quite marked. ' ' At the bottom of the cloud a hazy appearance rose up, obstructing the view." "Two clouds came together, one from the southwest and the other from the northwest ; the latter was the highest, and the former the heaviest and looked the worst." " A heavy cloud spread out before us to a width of about six hundred feet, and as black as night. "
29
The peculiar action of the clouds while they are forming is another interesting and significant feature which should be carefully watched. Under ordinary circumstances clouds form, move about, and disappear without causing the slightest remark, or perhaps thought, from the casual or even the interested observer. In the event of a thunder-storm or hail- storm the movement and disposition of the clouds are not looked upon with fear or as possessed of power to create great havoc, but on the occasion of a tornado the formation and movement of the clouds strike most persons almost
Tornado at Ercildoun, Pa., July 1, 1877. Later appearance. See note on page 26 for description.
dumb with fear; there seems to be some strange connection between the almost .simultaneous appearance of clouds in the southwest and northwest, possessing as they do such unusually threatening forms.
As they approach from opposite directions they are sud- denly thrown into the greatest confusion; breaking up, as it were, into small portions, which dash pell-mell over each other and in every direction ; now darting toward the earth,
30
now rushing upward to considerable heights like sky- rockets, or at moderate elevations rolling over each other in a well-developed whirl. An observer, in describing the approach of the clouds from the southwest and northwest, stated that they ''came together with a terrific crash, as if thrown from the mouths of cannons. " Generally, following closely upon the existence of this condition, the funnel-shaped tornado-cloud appears against the western sky, moving boldly to the front from without this confused mass of flying clouds. As the tornado-cloud advances these scuds continue to play about its top and sides, constituting a characteristic feature of the scene.
Another and invariable sign of the tornado's approach is a heavy, roaring noise, which augments in intensity as the tor- nado-cloud advances. This roaring is compared to the pas- sage of a heavily loaded freight train moving over a bridge or through a deep pass or tunnel. To the roaring of a rail- road train such as is heard on damp mornings when the sound is very clear and loud. The sound coming from the rapid movement of a large number of empty box cars is ac- counted rather peculiar and quite noticeable. At times the roar- ing has been so violent that persons have compared it to the simultaneous ''rush of 10,000 trains of cars.'' Of course, there is no importance to be attached to the exact number here given, it being used in a figurative sense and is quite likely exaggerated. Again, the roaring is likened to the low rumbling of distant thunder. The varying intensity of the roar as here represented is, in the main, due to the lack of uniformity in the positions of the yarious observers with respect to the advancing tornado-cloud. Those situated nearest the cloud, other things being equal, experience the loudest roar, while to those at greater distances the noise is proportionally weaker. In any event, however, the noise is sufficiently peculiar and distinct to create alarm, and as a means of warnijig should not be overlooked under any pretext.
31
How TO Benefit by Signs. — In order to be prepared for the possible appearance of a tornado, so far at least as the above indications are concerned, let every person situated in those regions of country where the tornado is of yearly occurrence commence (to-day is none too soon) to carefully observe and record the daily changes in the face of the sky, the variations of temperature, the direction of the wind and
Tornado at Ercildouii, Pa., July, 1, 1877. Last appearance. See note on page 26 for description.
the character and development of clouds. We do not mean that any person should devote all or most of his time to this work of observation, and possibly not even all of his spare time. For the sake of regularity and uniformity we will suggest certain hours for regular work of this nature, viz. : 7 A. M. and 2 and 9 p. m. These hours are not altogether arbitrary, but there is a reasonable amount of prudence in their selection, looking to a proper and successful use of the results of your labor.
Should the violence of a storm be unusually marked during either the hours of the forenoon or afternoon, or even in the
32
night, it would be advisable to increase the number of hours for observation and record, possibly making them every hour or half hour, or even at shorter intervals, as the importance of the case demands. By this means of frequent observa- tion every feature of the storm would become the sub- ject of inquiry and the most important results would be attained. For purposes of investigation of this class of storms your observations need not continue throughout the entire year, at least in the Northern and Western States, although such a length of record would by no means fall amiss of great value. Yearly records will pay. However, observations should commence without fail by the istof April, and continue unremittingly until at least the last of Septem- ber. Observations through the autumn can be maintained with profit. It will be a valuable adjunct to this work of regular-hour records if a summary of miscellaneous phe- nomena is kept Enter the dates of occurrence and im- portant particulars of such phenomena as auroras, mirage, meteors, lunar and solar halos, prairie and forest fires; the migration of birds and insects; the leafing and blossoming of trees, flowers, and shrubs; droughts, excessive rainfalls, earthquakes, zodiacal light, frosts and the formation of ice. The great importance of systematic observation and record is urged with much earnestness, particularly in the tornado districts and during the tornado season, but further detail is omitted in this place and the student and volunteer observer are warmly recommended to examine the tornado cir- cular of the Signal Service, which is printed in full at the end of the book. It contains 234 questions and suggestions, under eighteen different headings, and constitutes the most complete, as well as the most compact, scheme of instruction ever compiled for the purpose.
Character of Tornado-Cloud and Attending Motions. — The tornado-cloud is, genei;ally speaking, funnel-shaped, that is to say, it tapers from the top downward, not always
33
in\ the same degree with every appearance of the cloud, bat the lower end of it (the part nearest the eanh) is in- vairiably the smallest. Whatever the inclination of the central axis of the cloud to the vertical or plumb line, the lowest erid is the narrov/est and nearest the earth. As seen in differ- ent positions and stages of development by various observers, Icpcated differently, the tornado-cloud has been called : '*bal- l())on-shaped * ' basket-shaped * ' egg-shaped * * trailing oji the ground like the tail of an enormous kite of bulb- ejus form;" *Mike an elephant's trunk,'*' etc., etc. In the majority of instances, however, observers describe the cloud as appearing like an upright funneL When the tip end of
Tornado-cloud ivhich passed near Garnett, Kansas, at 5:30 r. tt, April 26, 1884. From au iiistautaueous pUotograpIu
34
the cloud reaches the earth, the violence of its whirl creates a powerful suction over a small portion of the surface, upon which there is immediately formed a peculiar cloud of dust, and finely divided debris, around which play small gatl(ier- ings of condensed vapor. To all appearances now, the tornado-cloud has two heads, one on the surface of ihe earth and the other in the sky, the bodies of each joimVig in mid-air and tapering both ways with the smallest diamdter at their junction. In other words, the cloud now assumes the shape of an hour-glass and the lower portion, or tjiat assuming the form of an inverted funnel, displays an ex- traordinary violence. The extreme fury and the tremendous power of the tornado-cloud are now experienced, and nojth-^ ing is able to stay the awful force of its onward march. This last and most fatal form of the tornado-cloud is fortunately not a constant feature of Che storm. The tornado-cloud is con- stantly changing from the hour-glass form to that of the upright funnel or some other intermediate shape previously referred to.
The various gradations of form, not any of which, however, affect the stereotyped relation between the size of top and bottom, number some twenty-five or thirty, so far as I have been able to gather information upon this point. These variations of form are quite important in a critical study of the tornado. They depend upon the peculiar movements of the whirling currents of air within and about the cloud vortex, the direction of the currents being outlined to the eye by the singular disposition of the rapidly condensing masses of vapor. The characteristic motions of the tornado- cloud number four, and are described as follows : —
No. L is called the whirling or gyratory motion of the tor- nado-cloud, which is invariably from right to left, or against the course of the sun. From the peculiar character of the formation of the tornado-cloud, this motion is in all prob- ability the first evidence of the existence of the cloud, and
35
shotald therefore be .placed first in order of consideration. Above all other motions, this is attended with the greatest violjence, and its velocity of movement is far in excess of any of the others. This gyratory motion forms what is termed the vortex of the tornado-cloud, within which the velocity of the centripetal currents of air is almost beyond conception. Malny efforts have been made, but most of them altogether fruitless, to estimate the rate of progress of these currents, and velocities ranging from roo to 800, and even 1,000 miles per hour, have been deduced; the two latter are the ex- treiiies that have been ventured upon and of course are not reliable, while in the majority of instances more trustworthy determinations have ranged between 100 and 500 miles per hour. Theoretical velocities of over 2,000 miles per hour, based upon certain assumed atmospheric conditions, have been deduced. Such velocities are mathematically possible, but not meteorologically probable.
The uncertainty in computing the velocity of centripetal currents arises from the difficulty attending the acquirement of the requisite data. In all carefully conducted investiga- tions heretofore made, there has unfortunately occurred such a long interval between the happening of the storm and the arrival of the person authorized to commence the work, that valuable and satisfactory results in this direction were pre- cluded. It is always of prime importance to ascertain definitely what portion of a building or other object was first struck by the wind in order to determine the configuration and inclination of the exposed surface. As a rule such examination is rendered next to impossible by the rapidity with which devastated districts recover from the violence of the storm. This fact is a most praiseworthy and well- deserved commentary' on the exemplary industry and deter- mined spirit of the people of the Lower Missouri Valley, With the gyratory motion of the tornado-cloud, objects are drawn inward to the center of the storm and then carried
36
violently upward by a spirally inward and upward motion which fairly crushes and grinds into pieces buildings, trees, and whatever else falls in the line of the advancing cloud. The spirally upward motion throws the ascending debris iri a circular manner outward at the top of the tornado-cloud. This debris, when beyond the central whirl of the cloud, fillls to the earth, but in such a manner and so disposed as to indicate the character of the force which acted upon it
Tornado near Redstone, DaTl.sonCo., xvakota^ Aug. 28, 1884. From asketcli by J. H. Nott. See o^>i>osite pafre. These two pictures of the same storm, made 20 miles apart in aiMoiiiing counties hy different pei-sons having no knowledge of each other, are valuable conhnnatious ol one another.
No. II. is called the progressive motion of the tornado- cloud, the motion which determines the cloud's track from one point to another. The rate of progressive velocity ranks next in order to the velocity of motion No. L, although it is at all times far below the high degree of the latter.
The rate of progress of the tornado-cloud is subject to great variability throughout the path of any one storm, al- though on the average tornado-clouds possess a moderately uniform velocity of progression. Some observers have indi- cated the movement by the following expressions: ''All in an instant" ''Gone in a moment'' "Quicker than
37
chonght'^ " Without a moment's warning/* It moved no fester than a horse gently galloping." ' * I just saw what it was and then all was over." Before I had time to turn about in my tracks it flashed by me/' It seemed to remain almost motionless, as if held to the ground by some mysterious force." **I shuddered, held my breath, and the monster had van- ished." *' It seemed to move no fester than I could run."
Toirodo clouaaaseeiiatllowarcL Miner Co., lKikota» Ang. 28.1884. Photo- graphed by F. N. RohiBSon. The clond passed 22 niUea west of aim in a soiith- easferly direction, remaining in sight over two boui-s. Several people were lulIod» and ali property in the path was destroyeiL
These estimations of velocity are not to be taken alto- gether literally. The circumstances under which the im- pressions were received must be considered, viz.: undue excitement or abject terror. However, the comparative re- sults are important, and to a certain extent reliable. Through them, the reader will at least not be led astray in his conceptions of the awful grandeur of the panorama, or fall into the fatal mistake of encouraging a belief that the tor- nado is not what the united experience of all observ'ers has portrayed it.
38
Such data will not answer, however, to figure on very closely, but the items, average diameter of cloud, actual time (local or standard), and measured distances, must be care^ fully obtained before an approach to accurate calculations can be secured. Reliable data are very difficult to obtain, especially time. This fact should be thoroughly appre- ciated by observers and every reasonable effort made by them to examine their clocks or watches upon the approach 'and passage of the tornado-cloud. Generally speaking, it is a good habit to form, of jotting down in some place of rfeady reference the hour, day, month, and year of nolable eventSe In regard to this matter of time, so far as past de- terminations can be valued, the progressive velocity of the tornado-cloud is variously estimated at from twenty-five to seventy miles per houn The former is perhaps too low and the latter quite likely too high, and although in both in- stances they represent the extremes, yet either of the above velocities may have existed for short intervals. The general average is probably about forty miles per hour.
No, III. is termed the rising and falling motion of the tornado-cloud, the character of which finds definition in the following expressions from various witnesses: *'The top of the cloud seemed to pop up and down, and then to rush for- ward." **It bounded over the ground like a ball." It was the strangest jumping and flopping object I ever saw."
At times it seemed to lash the earth in terrific fury with its huge tail." ''It came along, popping up and down in a most fantastic way." ''Rising up like the uncoiling of a huge rope, it cut loose from the earth and passed over us with a horribly whizzing sound. " ' ' Ever and anon it would shoot directly upward from the earth, sometimes with great rapidity, and then again quite slowly, each time dashing to the surface with apparently renewed vigor." It is perhaps clearly seen that this is a distinct motion with striking pecu- liarities which define its character. Sometimes, upon the
39
liftilig of the tornado-cloud from the earth, it does not again desrt:end for a distance of several miles, at times making the retifm movement or descension twenty or thirty miles distant, the( intervening space proving a complete blank in its track. More frequently, however, the!5e gaps are from one to five miles in length.
While the tornado-cloud is traversing the atmosphere at some considerable distance above the earth, it may reach down so low as to just skim over the tops of the highest trees; descend to a level with the roofs of buildings, simply scaling off the shingles in spots or entirely on one side, leav- ing the roof-boards and rafters unmoved; removing the tops of chimneys ; taking out all the fans in the wheel of a wind- mill and leaving every portion (even the tail) of the re- mainder of the mill unharmed ; take off the cornice without disturbing the remainder of the roof; removing simply the top board of a five-board fence, or one or two of the top rails of an ordinary rail fence. The tornado-cloud may, however, remain at a perfectly safe distance throughout its aerial course, and where it may be seen at a great height, moving solitary and alone, like a huge balloon. While in this condition it has not a few times been unwittingly taken for the latter object, but the mystery and sensation were en- tirely dispelled when the news came in from the surrounding country of the frightful power of this now silent monster.
There is still another condition, which the fearful aeronaut may assume in his flighty movements. Upon rising fiom the earth and passing through a few uncertain struggles, ap- parently to decide as to whether the final direction shall be up or down, the tornado-cloud is ultimately lost sight of in the surrounding clouds, and re-appears suddenly again at its point of descension, or perhaps only to remain at a safe dis- tance.
No. IV. is called the zigzag motion, or swaying from side to side of the central line of cloud movement. This motion
41
is sometimes quite suddenly performed, but generally it is a moderately slow movement and one that can be watched and easily identified. It seems to occur most frequently just as the tornado-cloud touches the earth in completing the last act of motion No. III. In completing the extent of a single act of this motion, the toniado-cloud will diverge about an equal distance on either side of the central line of movement, though these tangents to the major axis are not necessarily of equal length.
At the commencement of this motion the tornado-cloud always moves first to the left (N. N. E. ) and then to the right (E. S. E.) forming an obtuse angle on the north side of the major axis. On the return movement, the cloud may or may not cross the major axis (to E, S. E.). If it does, it will then form a similar obtuse angle on the south side of the major axis. This zigzag movement, first from one side and then from the other of the central line of progressive action, may continue for several miles^ or it may cut short its existence after the first few moves. The regularity of this peculiar ac- tion appears to depend upon indraughts from the south side of the major a^^is of violent currents of air, which frequently advance (only from the south side) and give evidence of their existence by swaths or narrow paths of destruction (al- ternating with spaces of no damage) cut inward toward and joining with the central line or track. The tornado-cloud may, upon the return movement (whether executed upon the north or south side of the major axis, it matters not), fail to cross it, but upon reaching it, continue onward in the central line of movement to the northeast
The distance traveled by the tornado-cloud in departing from the major axis, * either to the north or south, is gener- ally subject to considerable variability, ranging from forty or fifty yards to nearly as many rods. While executing this zigzag motion itvery frequently happens that the tornado-cloud simply skims over the earth without manifesting its extreme violence.
42
Building Spots.— In regard to the matter of buildiings, the question may be asked whether there is not some choice in a building spot, with a view to safety from the viol ence of the tornado-cloud. Many persons have thought that if their house or barn was perched upon some high " divide," or on the brow of a steep decline, in fact upon any mai:ked rise above the surrounding level, the tornado-cloud by reason of some mysterious effort of clemency would rise from the earth and pass over them. This is a careless and unreason- able supposition when the facts are known. It does not seem to occur to the mind of an observer that there is no reason why the tornado-cloud should not follow the rolling surface as well as the plain. The tornado-cloud pursues a general course to the northeast without regard to the charac- ter of the earth's surface, and if your buildings are in the line of its destructive path, whether upon a hill, in a valley, or within a ravine, they are subject to its violence. Western towns as a rule are not built upon high * divides," but are more frequently sheltered between neighboring hills. The same may be said of farm buildings, it being the prevailing cus- tom to select building spots along the low bottoms of a stream for convenience to water and timber, and for protec- tion from the continued heavy winds that break over the open prairies.
From the above facts it will be seen that there is very little opportunity offered the tornado-cloud to display its violence on the hill-tops, even though it were so disposed. Repeated investigations have shown that buildings were destroyed with as great violence and completeness upon high lands as upon low lands, but the largest number in valleys because of the facts above cited. In many instances the funnel-cloud has passed from one ridge to another, doing damage on both, but skipping the intervening depression. Again, it has fol- lowed high ' ^ divides " for several miles where they coincided with its general course of movement. Ridges and valleys
43
are almost invariably crossed at right angles when their courses are from northwest to southeast^
Electricity. — ^The rain and hail which sometimes pre- cede and at other times follow the tornado-cloud, but always accompany the heavy clouds which form in the north and west, are not always but generally attended by lightning ; somietimes most violent manifestations, and then again but occasional flashes. The most terrific displays are reported during the heavy precipitation which often occurs after the tornado-cloud has passed, some ten to twenty minutes. Very often its darting flash is observed in the dark clouds which begin to rise above the western horizon an hour or more before the storm. The relations of electricity to the tornado are so fully and so conclusively set forth in the ''Scientific Resume," printed at pages 147, etc., that further examination of that particular point is omitted here.
PROTECTION,
If you have a tornado-cave or a dug-out, get into it with your family and your treasures before the storm reaches you ; if you have no such means of retreat and cannot get away from the storm, go into your cellar and get as close to the west wall as possible, ne:ver go to the east side of a cellar or of any other ihiclosed space in any building toward which the tornado is approaching; always seek the west side, towards THE STORM. Frequently life may be saved by timely flight in the rig& direction, A tornado travels from southwest to northeast stand facing it as it approaches ; if it is going to the right of you, run to the left ; if it is going to the left of you, run to the right ; never run towards the storm nor with it,
ALWAYS RUN TO THE NORTHWARD OR SOUTHWARD AT A RIGHT ANGLE FROM IT, GIVING THE BENEFIT OF DOUBT IN FAVOR OF THE
NORTH. Read attentively the small print following for details in regard to saving life, property, and live-stock.
44
Means of Protection. — First in regard to life. How can you save your life or avoid injury ? In regard to this question much, if not everything, depends upon the manner and in what direction you 7nove^ together with the distance of the tornado-cloud, its direction, and the kind of motion prevailing at the instant you determine upon changing your location.
We will now suppose the various conditions, and proceed to poi4t out the necessary action in each instance. In all cases it is granted f(ir the sake of convenience in illustration, that you are in front of or situated directly in the line of the advancing tornado-cloud. Under thes(^ cir- cumstances if No. II., or the progressive motion of the cloud is prevailing,
c.
and your distance from it is, say, eighty rods or more, move directly and with all possible dispatch to the north. Whenever this motion is prevailing always run to the north, unless in so doing you would be obliged to cross the entire path of the storm. A sharp glance to the
45
westward will tell yon whether you are about on the southern edge of the probable path of the tornado-cloud, or more to the north. If in the center or half-way between the center and the southern edge, your chances are best in a direct course to the north. If further to the south, move directly and very rapidly to the south, bearing slightly east. In no event should you ever run directly to the east or northeast. Sup- pose the tornado-cloud to be distant from you (W. or S.W.) eighty rods and its progressive velocity sixty miles per hour, it would follow that one mile is passed in sixty seconds, or eighty rods in fifteen seconds. Assuming the average width of the destructive path of the tornado- cloud to be forty rods and your position at the center of that path, it will be seen that you have fifteen seconds in which to reach the outer edge of the path to the north (a distance of twenty rods) before the tornado-cloud could arrive at your location.
I have taken an extreme case in every particular. Most persons first see the tornado-cloud at a much greater distance, from one to three miles, sometimes five and ten miles -on the prairies. Of course, at the unusual distance of five or ten miles you could not determine very sat- isfactorily its probable course, especially with regard to your buildings or the safety of your own location. Watching the approach of the tornado -cloud closely at a distance of ten miles, and from that position on and on in its eastward course until it came within a mile or so of your point of observation, would give you sufficient opportunity to predict its probable course in regard to your location. When that matter is set- tled satisfactorily to your judgment, move immediately and without further hesitation. If you wait until the tornado-cloud is distant one mile, you have at least sixty seconds in which to run a distance of thirty rods, supposing that you are obliged to cover more than half of the de- structive path of the storm. In an average case you will probably have between eighty and ninety seconds in which to run a distance of twenty rods. In either case I am supposing that you are prepared in every particular to move at the very instant of timely warning. Further, I am supposing that you have been watching the weather of the day and understand that a terrible storm is imminent There is, under ordinary circumstances, no reason why you shoiild not be so in- formed. A tornado- cloud does not come out of a clear sky, and there are many and ample signs of its approach.
What has been said in regard to the directions in which persons should move when the progressive motion is prevailing, will for all practical purposes apply to motions Nos. I. and III. With respect to motion No. IV. (the zigzag) the following preliminary remarks should be most carefully considered. Remember that while possessed of this
46
motion the tornado-cloud crosses from one side of the central line of movement or major axis to the other. That this peculiar motion most frequently occurs just after the termination of the rising and falling mo- tion (No. IIL), so that when you see the tornado-cloud descending to the earth from one of its aerial flights you may expect (not absolutely) the zigzag motion to follow. That the first departure of the tornado-cloud from the major axis is to the left or on the north side of the path. That all departures from the major axis, whether forward or return movements of the tornado-cloud, are mvariably executed to the east- ward. There is no backward movement to the west. That the tornado-cloud never continues to move in the direction of any tangent to the major axis, but in the event of any departure it ultimately re- turns to the central line of movement. Having these points well in mind, you are quite satisfactorily prepared to act when the exigency oc- curs. When the departure of the tornado-cloud is to the left and your position is at any point in the central line of movement (better near the center of the path), move directly north with the utmost rapidity, even if the cloud is at a long distance from you. Should ic chance that your distance from the cloud is reduced to from twenty to forty rods, run in- stantly to the south, bearing slightly west. This movement will take you away from the forward and return action of the tornado-cloud. Another case, suppose your position to be the same as just given, viz. : at any point in the central line of movement, but that the tornado- cloud had just crossed over that line to the southward. In this event you should move instantly and directly to the north, bearing slightly west. This movement will also, as in the case previously cited, take you away from the forward and return action of the tornado-cloud.
How TO Act on its Formation. — The following remarks apply to your manner of action when the evidences of the existence of the tornado-cloud are undeniable. Suppose the actual tornado cloud is not yet in sight, but other infallible signs (heretofore given) of its forma- tion and probable approach from a point possibly below your horizon, are present. Act immediately, judiciously, and with the utmost rapidity, but never for one instant allow yourself to become excited or reckless in anything. Take the situation as calmly as possible, knowing as you ought (or probably will) the terrible power you have to deal with. Do not, with an overweening sense of fancied security or an inclination to a superstitious feeling that your life is mysteriously over-shadowed by a peculiarly beneficent power, think and act leisurely about the matter of self-protection. A tornado-cloud never sends forward a flag of truce or even solicits the "right of way." There are certam indications which we have heretofore spoken of that frequently, if not always,
47
manifest themselves from half an hour to two or three hours in advance of the tornado-cloud.
Many foolhardy acts have been committed, perhaps through fear and excitement or positive ignorance, which have resulted in death or dread- ful injuries, because persons have tried to run in front of the tornado- cloud, thinking they could outstrip it in such a race. Others have at-= tempted to cross the path just ahead of the advancing cloud, feeling that they could reach a safe distance on the opposite side before the funnel-shaped monster passed. In one of our late storms a person es= sayed this trip with two horses and a lumber wagon, confident that he could at least rush his horses across the apparently narrow path of a storm which seemed to progress within such circumscribed limits. Not so. He was instantly killed, one of his horses dreadfully mangled, the other seriously injured, and the wagon a total wreck. The work of an instant. An ignorant, reckless rush into eternity.
Protection of Property, — What can be done to in any way lessen the actual damage (present or prospective) to property, especially buildings ? In the first place it is impossible to move your buildings from the path of the advancing tornado-cloud. Secondly, it is impos- sible to stop the tornado-cloud after it has started on its course of death and destruction, or in any way prevent its formation. Thirdly, it is impossible to construct any building strong enough to completely resist the extraordinary violence of the tornado-cloud. To sum up, this is all equivalent to saying that you can never expect to save your build- ings. This is the truth as I comprehend it, and it is that to which all thought upon the subject will sooner or later conform. It is advisable that, under all circumstances, you should avoid any labor especially directed to the construction of any building whatsoever, for the express purpose of resisting the violence of the tornado-cloud. Build your houses, bams, and stores as you would without the knowledge of a tornado. Other things being equal, a frame building is better than a brick oi stone one. The former will hold together longer, is more elas- tic (if you will permit the term), and persons seeking refuge within its walls are much less liable to injury. There has at times been evidence to show that, of all frame buildings, those constructed with a hip-roof and a story and a half in height were the best able to resist the vio- lence of the tornado. But where there are cases reported of this class of buildings^ being saved there are as many, if not more, where they were destroyed precisely as any other frame building would have been under similar circumstances.
It matters not how you construct or of what material, if your building rises above the surface of the earth, which it must necessarily do, it
48
thereby offers obstruction to the advance of the tornado-cloud, and it will go, either from the foundation, or into kindling-wood and a dis- tracted mass of bricks and mortar, in spite of the propagation of any theory on the possibilities of architectural skiU. In conclusion I would finally say, that you must take every precaution to avoid or remove from, rather than attempt to fight against or any way resist, the power of this formidable adversary. The question now suggests itself, what can be done ? That which remains to be done can be accomplished in an unostentatious and quiet, but secure manner. Every man can and should construct a tornado-cave at some suitable point, within a conve- nient distance of his housCc If a person is situated within a town or city, let him select some portion of his yard for the purpose, but if re= siding in the country he will not be confined to narrow limits in the selection of a desirable location. Where a person living in the village has no yard, he must, if he has a cellar, construct a cellar tornado-cave to be described further on. With respect to the tornado-cave, in no event should the roof be other than level with the surface of the earth; in fact it is highly desirable that the retreat should be so constructed that the ordinary surface of the earth would form the roof or covering, and that all preparation of the domicile proceed by way of excavations and supports from beneath. As to location, the most important points are, excavation of cave to the westward of house or other building; con- venient distance ; a high, dry place, and possible opportunities to exca= vate into the northern or eastern slope of a knoll or hill. In the latter instance the entrance way would suffer less from the violence of the storm, providing, perhaps, that it did not entirely envelop your re- treat, for in that even t,] in the whirl of the flying debris, all sides alike would be at the mercy of the winds. Having decided upon the location, as regards your house or other buildings, sink a shaft, say, four to six feet square, the entire depth of yom* tornado-cave. From either the northern or eastern (better the former) wall of this shaft, make the necessary preparations for purposes of ingress and egress. On the west side of the shaft commence the excavation for the in- closed retreat. The size of the room will of course depend upon how much you may at any time wish to secure from injury. Better have the excavation too large than not large enough. The slight difference in the expense of time and labor may, perhaps, be the means of saving you a great deal when you least expect it. The entire room should be be» low the surface of the ground a distance of at least three feet, and the overhanging roof of earth should be supported from beneath by heavy timbers, to provide against any emergency, like the dashing of heavy debus upon it or the tramping of horses and cattle.
49
In the event of a tornado your retreat (lornado-cave) may be entirely buried beneath huge piles of debris. Everything mubt be made as se- cure as possible. The entrance door should be made, either of sheet iron or of the heaviest timbers and supported between casings of similar strength of construction. Arrangements should be made to secure the door by heavy fastenings. In order that ventilation may be provided- for, a box spout, of hard wood or vitrified tile, squaring about eight inches, can be let through the roof. The top of this spout must be level with the surface of the ground and protected by iron gratings. Ventilation may be provided for by openings through the upper por- tion of the door, but these also should be protected by iron gratings. The question of how to provide the most approved form of tornado- cave, with every detail of cost, material, and method of construction, is very fully considered a few pages further along.
If you are not possessed of the tornado-cave or cellar tornado-cave, your best plan is to move from your house or wherever you may be at the moment, as directed concerning the various motions of the tornado- cloud. If not able to benefit by these directions, retreat instantly to your cellar and place yourself, face forward, against the west walL This is the best position in any cellar. If, for any reason,- you cannot get to the west wall, take your position (the next best) face forward against the south wall, but as near the southwest corner as possible. In these positions the building, if removed from the foundation, will always be carried above and over you, or if torn to pieces, the debris will be instantly re- moved to the eastward. Under no circumstances^ whether in a building or a cellar^ ever take a position in a northeast room, in a northeast cor- ner, in an east room, or against an east wall. Remember that the tor- nado-cloud invariably moves in a northeasterly direction. I have not space here in which to relate to you, how many and in what manner, persons have been instantly killed or terribly crippled, for no other rea- son than that they ignorantly threw themselves within the very grasp of the monster cloud. The lives of most, if not all, of the people de- stroyed in tornadoes might have been saved by a clear understanding and a strict adherence to the simple rules herein set forth.
The rule prohibiting movement to the northeast must be obeyed. The northeast quarter is a fatal position, and I care not what you may tell me about destruction to life or property in any other. If you can get out of your house never remain in it or any other building that is at all likely to be torn down or removed from its foundation. If through some misfortune you are closely pressed by the advancing cloud, never remain standing and attempt to weather the storm, but throw yourself prone (face downward) upon the ground, head to the
so
east, and arms thrown over the head to protect it. If you should chance to be near a large stone ur stump, or some heavy object low down and firmly imbedded in the ground, take a position directly to the east of it, lying prone upon the earth, head toward the object, protecting the former with your folded arms. This advice is given in the event of extreme exigencies where other and better opportunities have been forfeited. It is better, if possible, never to trust yourself be- hind or about any object located within the center of the storm's path ; by all means not a tree or any object that rises some distance above the surface of the ground. If forced to remam in your house and where you have no cellar, always take a position against the west or south wall (better the former) either prone (face downward) upon the floor or standing with your back to the wall.
In any building always take your final position on the first or ground floor. Never stand or lie in front of a door or window, or near a stove or heavy piece of furniture. Make every effort to get into the west room, and if possible before the onslaught remove therefrom all furniture, at least from the western portion. Always shut tightly every window and door in your house or other building in which you may be located at the time of the storm. You should never let doors and windows remain open during any violent storm. Never take refuge in a forest, in a small grove of trees, in an orchard, or near a fence of any kind, unless all these obstructions are entirely out of the line of the storm.
If possible, always open your buildings and let your stock out, driv- ing them to the north. In this matter of caring for stock (which should not be neglected if otherwise possible) always drive them from your buildings to the (as a rule) northward. Try and perform this duty on the first indications of the character of the storm, though not until you have assured yourself of the probable course of the tornado-cloud. Of course it is quite possible that the tornado- cloud may pass to the north of your buildings; in that event your stock should be driven southward, and vice versa*
SI
PRIZE TORNADO-CAVE.
Through the courtesy of the Burlington Insurance Com- pany, of Iowa, we are the first to publish the design of John R. Church, architect, of Rochester, New York, which was the one selected by the author (empowered by the Burlington Company to adjudicate the claims of competitors and award the prize) from 122 designs submitted in competition for the $200 prize offered by that company.
These plans and specifications, and all that pertains to them, are protected by special copyright, and are the property of the Burlington Insurance Company.
DESIGN FOR A TORNADO-CAVE, BY JOHN R. CHURCH, ARCHITECT, ROCHESTER, N. Y.
The general design of the cave is indicated by the accom- panying drawings.
The cave is designed for two different methods of entrance. In design A " the entrance is from the cellar of dwelling. In design B " the plan is intended for a dwelling without cellar, the entrance to cave is from a room in the rear part of dwell- ing and through trap-door in floor.
The drawings indicate walls of stone 18 inches in thickness; it is intended that they should be laid up in mortar of good quality cement and clean, sharp sand. The excavation should be made large enough to allow the walls to be pointed and plastered on the outside with cement mortar, to prevent water from coming through them. The walls should be started on a bed of cement mortar i inch thick.
In a country where stone is more expensive than brick, an 8-inch brick wall can be substituted for the stone wall, plas- tering the wall on the outside with cement mortar and laying the brick in same kind of mortar.
The floor of the cave and passages to be paved with one course of hard-burned" brick, these to be laid on a bed of cement
53
mortar 2 inches thick, and the joints to be thoroughly grouted with cement.
The construction of the roof to be with iron beams and 8-inch arches of " hard-burned" brick as shown, the brick to be laid in cement mortar, top to be leveled up and sloped as indicated with concrete, and the whole to be covered with a coating of best roofing pitch ; this to be applied hot and the roof made water-tight. Roof of the passage to be constructed in same way.
Iron beams indicated should be 6 incheS; 40 lbs. per yard, with 4x6 inch angle-irons laid on the walls as shown - to pro- vide skewbacks for the arches — angle irons to weigh 30 lbs. per yard. The bolts to be i inch in diameter, and to be fixed as indicated. Roof of the exit ''to be covered with flag-stone 6 inches thick.,
For ventilation two lines of 12-inch, salt-glazed, vitrified tile are provided, these to connect with outer air as indicated, tile to run up above the ground about 6 inches and to have cast-iron grating in top.
The doors to be made of 2-inch matched plank, hung with strap hinges, battened, and provided with bolts, latches, etc.
An exit to open air is provided in addition to the entrance to cave from dwelling ; this can also be used for an entrance if desired
SPECIFICATION
Of materials and labor required in the construction of a *' tornado- cave " for Mr. to be located on the west side of his dwelling,
situated , in accordance with accompanying drawings prepared
by John R. Church, architect, 54 Osburn House Block, Rochester, N. Y.
DIMENSIONS.
The size of the cave to be seven feet by twelve feet inside, and the height to be six feet six inches in the clear, passages, etc., all to be as shown on the drawings, which consist of —
(i.) Plan of the cave at ground.
(2. ) Plan of cave below ground.
(3.) Four sections of cave on different lines.
(4. ) Perspective sketch of entrance.
(5.) Perspective sketch of interior. Drawings have the scale indi- cated on them.
55
EXCAVATION.
Excavate for the cave, the passage from cellar or house, and for the exit-passage, all as shown on the drawings. The excavation to be made large — at least eighteen inches outside of the walls on all sides — so that the walls can be plastered on the outside.
The excavation to be carried down to seven feet below the surface of the ground, as indicated on the sectional drawings. After the walls have been plastered as hereinafter specified, and the mortar is dry, pack the earth in against the walls, and after the roof is on cover the same with earth, as shown by the drawings, and slope it from the top of cave as indicated.
STONE-WORK.
The walls of the cave to be of stone, eighteen inches thick; these to be built with good, flat, building stone, the walls to be laid by and full to a line both faces, and the walls to be properly flushed and pointed; the walls must be filled solid, leaving no empty spaces in them.
The stone walls are to start four inches below the finished line of floor of cave, lay the footings of same on a bed of cement mortar not less than one inch thick, the same extending well outside of the walls.
All of the stone work to be laid in mortar made of clean, coarse, sharp sand and a good quality of cement, mixed in the proportion of three of sand to one of cement ; all to be mixed dry, and only wetted up as fast as used.
The outer face of the walls to be plastered with a good coat of ce- ment mortar, the same to be carried down to the mortar under the wall, the mortar made in same manner as specified above for the stone- work.
If brick is used for the walls instead of stone, substitute the follow- ing for the above : —
BRICK WALLS.
All brick used in the construction of the cave must be *' thoroughly hard-burned brick," no soft brick to be used in any part.
Start the brick walls on a bed of cement mortar at least one inch thick, and four inches below the finished floor of cave ; this mortar to be made of clean, coarse, sharp sand and a good quality of cement, in parts of three of sand to one of cement.
Construct the brick walls in the best manner, all to be eight inches thick, built of hard -burned brick laid in cement mortar; the walls to be properly bonded with headers every sixth course, every course to be flushed solid, leaving no empty spaces in the walls — the inside of the walls to have the jomts neatly struck, and the outer faces of the walls
57
must all be plastered with a go©d coat of cement mortar, the same to be carried down to bottom of the walls. All brick must be well wet before laying.
IRON-WORK.
Provide iron-work for the support of the roof, as shown by the draw- ing of same.
Support the roof of cave with two six-inch I beams weighing 40 lbs. per yard, to form skewbacks for the arches ; place 3x5 angle-irons on the walls, and connect the whole with three lines of iron bolts one inch in diameter, the bolts to have nuts, etc.
Support the roof of the passage as shown, using 3x5 angle -irons on walls to form skewbacks for the arches, place one-inch iron bolts as in- dicated, the angle-iron to weigh 30 lbs. per yard.
ARCHES.
Construct the arches forming the roof of the cave as shown by the sectional drawings, using only hard, well-burned brick, no soft brick to be used; the arches to be two '* row-locks," as indicated, and to be built on proper centering. The brick must all be soaked in water be- fore using, to be laid with cement mortar, and the joints to be made close, and filled solid, leaving no empty spaces in them. All joints to be well slushed up with cement mortar.
Fill in on top of the roof of cave and passage, as shown on the sec- tional drawings, with concrete made of clean, coarse, sharp sand, broken stone-chips, or coarse gravel, and a good quality of cement; the top of the cave and passage to be of convex form as indicated, so that it will shed water. Top to be made flush and smooth.
PITCH.
The whole top of cave and passage to be covered with a good heavy coat of good roofing pitch, this to be applied hot and the roof to be made water-tight thereby.
FLAG-STONE OVER EXIT.
Provide and place over the exit-passage, as indicated on the draw- ings, a flag-stone not less than five inches thick ; set same in cement mortar, and pitch the joints to make water-tight.
Provide a stone sill to the outer exit-opening ; this to be four inches thick.
FLOOR OF CAVE.
Spread a bed of cement mortar two inches thick on the ground in the cave and the passages; this to be leveled off true and smooth, and covered with one course of hard-burned brick laid flat, the joints of which are to be thoroughly grouted in cement.
59
VENTILATION.
For ventilation of the cave provide two lines of twelve-inch, salt- glazed, vitrified tile; provide 1-4 bends as shown, and carry tile up to six inches above the finished grade, as shown by drawings; the joints must all be made tight with cement, and the outer openings of the tile to have iron gratings as shown.
DOORS.
Construct two doors as indicated on the plans, these doors to be of two-inch planed and matched pine stuff; the same to be battened on the back, the same put on with screws, and to be hung to the frames with large, heavy T hinges.
The door-frames to have sills of oak, the jambs to be of pine two inches thick, the same rebated for the doors; the jamb to which the door is hung to be four inches wider than the others; this to project into the cave, so as to secure the hinges to it. Provide the doors with heavy thumb-latches, iron bolts, staples, and a padlock to each door.
The head-jamb of the door-frames and the sills of same to project three inches into the walls at sides.
Provide lintels of segment form, as indicated on the drawings, over door-openings on which arches of brick are to be turned as shown.
SEAT AND STEPS.
Construct seat and steps as shown on the plans; all of sound dry pine, two inches thick, to be planed and constructed and put up in a good, substantial manner.
OPENING IN CELLAR WALL.
Cut opening through the cellar wall of the dwelling as indicated, for the passage to cave, properly fill out the jambs of the opening and fin- ish plumb and true.
FOR A HOUSE WITHOUT A CELLAR, INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING :—
The wall of the passage to be carried under the house as shown on the plan.
Cut out the floor-timbers, floor, etc., in the house, and frame trim- mers, headers, etc., as required for the proper support of the floor.
Construct trap-door as indicated, with flooring same as in the room, the door to be battened on the back, the battens to be put on with wrought nails, the door to be hung with heavy 8-inch T hmges and trimmed with ring and staple to open.
Construct a flight of stairs leading to passage, as indicated on the plan ; the stringers to be of two-inch pine plank and the treads of 1 i -4
6o
inch pine stuff, the edges chamfered 3-8 inches, the treads to be housed into the stringers, and the whole well nailed and put together in a sub- stantial manner.
For the construction of the walls of wood in the place of brick or stone.
Construct all the walls of cave and passages with 2x4 inch pine stuff, laid the flat way, all well spiked together, the joints to be prop- erly broken at the angles and corners; the stuff to be placed horizon- tally and to make walls four inches thick without exterior covering. This stuff should all have a good coat of coal-tar, applied hot, and same to cover all four sides of the stuff'; this to preserve the wood.
Cover the outside of the above walls with 7-8 planed and matched pine stuff, this also to be coated on both sides with coal-tar; these boards to be placed vertically, and all well nailed.
Construct the roof with 2x8 stuff, placed on edge and close together, forming a solid roof eight inches thick in the center; the ends of same to be cut down to six inches, so as to form a pitch for the roof, which will slope from the center to either side. Cover the top of roof with 7-8 matched pine stuff, all well nailed; the above roofing to be covered with coal-tar, same as specified for the side walls. Cover the roof-boards with a good coat of roofing pitch. Construct the roof of the passages in the same manner, using 2x6 stuff and cutting down to 4 at ends. The floor, arrangement for ventilation, doors, etc., to be the same as specified for cave built with stone or brick.
Of cost of tornado-cave, in accordance with design for same pre- sented by John R. Church, architect, Rochester, N. Y.
Note. — Estimates are based upon following prices for materials and labor : —
SPECIFICATION
WALLS.
ROOF.
ESTIMATES
Excavation
Building stone
Brick
Sand
Cement
Iron
Pine lumber (rough)
Tile
Pitching roof
Labor, mason
Labor, laborer
.30 per cubic yd.
6.00 per cord.
8.00 per thousand. 1.50 per cubic yd.
18.00 per thous. ft.
1.25 perbbL .03 Vi per lb.
.40 per ft. lin.
.05 per sq. ft. 3.00 per day. 1.50 per day.
6i
Estimate for cave connected with house having cellar. Walls of cave of stone. Includes labor.
100 cubic yds. excavation $ 30.00
Stone-work, 50 perches (of 16 ^ cubic ft.) 112.50
Concrete and plastering 30.00
Flooring, 600 brick 8.40
Roof, 2,700 brick 37.80
Flag-stone over exit 12.00
Stone sill at exit 2.00
Pitching roof, 300 feet 15.00
Iron- work, 750 lbs 24.38
Tile for vent. .\. 10.00
Laying same 3.00
Gratings for vent opening (2) 2.00
Doors, seats, etc 12.00
S299.08
Where the cave is to be used independent of any building, and passage to house is omitted, deduct from the above figures the sum of $62.30, making the estimated cost of cave under those conditions I236.78.
Estimate of the cost of cave with brick walls connected to house having cellar. Labor included.
85 cubic yds. excavation $ 25.50
8,100 brick in walls 113.40
600 brick for floor 8.40
2,700 brick for roof 37.80
Flag-stone over exit 12.00
Stone sill at exit 2.00
Pitching roof, 300 feet : 15.00
Iron- work, 750 lbs 24.38
Concrete and plastering 30.00
Tile for vent 10.00
Laying tile and trenching 3.00
Gratings for vent 2.00
Doors, seats, etc 12.00
$295.48
Where the cave is to be used independent from any building, and the passage to cellar is omitted, deduct from the above figures the sum of $60.88, making the estimated cost of cave under those conditions $234.60.
Estimate of cost of cave v/ith brick walls, connected with house having no cellar. Labor included.
110 cubic yds. excava^tion $ 33.00
10,200 brick in walls 142.20
600 brick for floor 8.40
2,700 brick for roofing 37.80
Concrete, plastering, etc 32.00
Flag-stone over exit 12.00
Stone sill at exit 2.00
Pitching top of roof, 300 feet 15.00
750 lbs. iron in roof - 24.38
Tile for vent, 23 feet, 3 bends 10.00
Laying tile and trenching 3.00
Gratings for top of tile 2.00. .
Doors, seats, etc.. 12.00"^
Stairs, trap-door in house, etc , 10.00
1344.38
62
Estimate of cost of cave having stone walls,, connected with house
having no cellar. Includes labor.
126 cubic yds. excavation $ 37.80
Stone-work, 62 perches (of 16^ cubic feet). 139.50
600 brick in floor 8.40
2,700 brick in roof 37.80
Concrete and plastering 32.00
Flag-stone over exit 12.00
Stone sill at exit 2.00
Pitching roof 15.00
Iron-work, 750 lbs 24.38
Tile for vent 10.00
Laying and trenching same 3.00
Gratings for vent 2.00
Doors, seats, etc 12.00
Stairs, trap-door, etc 10.00
$345.38
Section of Cave. Woodconstruction.
Estimate of cost of cave, walls constructed of wood, and connected
with house having cellar.
Excavation, 85 cubic yds $25.50
3,000 feet rough pine 54.00
1,000 feet matched stuff 20.00
Labor on above 35.00
Tarring roof and lumber 20.00
Floor, brick and cement 12.00
Tile for vent, laying same and giating 15.00
Doors, seat, etc 12.00
$193.50
Where the cave is to be used independent from any building, and the passage to house is omitted, deduct from above figures $39.00, making tine estimated cost under those conditions $154.50.
For walls constructed of wood as above, connected with house having no cellar, add to above figures the sum of $25.50.
63
Remarks upon the Construction and Use of Tornado-caves, BY Lieut. Finley.
The importance of securing absolute protection against bodily injury from the violence of tornadoes cannot be questioned, and there are few people who now speak lightly of the necessity of resorting to extraor- dinary means in the presence of the king of storms. The word extra- ordinary " is used advisedly, because ordinarily man obtains immunity against the fury of the elements by refuge in the usual forms of habita- tion; but the dreadful force of the tornado compels us to ignore all places of security ^here the structure rises above the surface of the ground.
Let us take an example, illustrating the force of the wind. Assume the progressive velocity of the storm to be twenty-five miles per hour. Suppose a house 24 x 30 feet on its foundation exposes a plane surface to the wind of 720 square feet. Twenty-five miles per hour is equivalent to about two pounds pressure upon each square foot of sur- face, presented at right angles or perpendicular to the direction of the wind. On 720 square feet of surface the pressure exerted at right angles to it would be 1,440 pounds. This is not enough force to move the building, because it is much less than the actual weight of the structure, and therefore insufficient to overcome its point of stability. But twenty- five miles per hour is simply a brisk wind.
Air moving with a velocity of 100 miles per hour against the building here referred to would exert a pressure of 21,600 pounds upon its ex- posed surface of 720 square feet. With a velocity of 500 miles per hour the pressure would be increased to 486.000 pounds, or 243 tons. This enormous pressure is but about one-half of that which would result in the case of a perfect vacuum in the tornado's vortex. In a perfect vacuum, the air rushing into it would move at the rate of about 1,400 feet per second, which would be nearly equivalent to a velocity of 1,000 miles per hour. The pressure upon each square foot of surface exposed to such a velocity would be about 2,700 pounds per square foot, or if thrown upon the entire building, that is, 720 square feet of surface, i,- 944,000 pounds, or 972 tons.
The force here assumed is force acting only in right lines. But when it is understood that in the actual tornado the forces in play are ex- erted both in right lines and in curved lines, the destructive power is seen to be of almost incalculable fury and energy. In the majority of instances the determinations as to the force of* the wind in a tornado have ranged between 100 and 500 miles per hour. Theoretical veloci- ties of over 2,000 miles per hour, based upon certain assumed atmos-
65
pheric conditions, have been deduced. Such velocities are mathemati- cally possible, but not meteorologically 'probable. What has now- transpired shows the absolute and undeniable necessity for an under- ground retreat to secure protection from the tornado.
Hints.
1st. Locate the cave west of the house, so that if the building is de- stroyed the debris will not be as likely to be thrown upon it, the storm always coming from the southwest quadrant.
2d. The entrance and exit to the cave should be east of the cave proper and connected with it by a tunnel or chamber, and securely pro- tected from mjury.
3d. It is preferable that the entrances should connect with the cellar of the house, or if there is no cellar, then by means of a trap-door within the house leading by a stairway to the underground chamber, which finally connects with the cave proper.
4th. The entrance way should have two doors, one at the beginning of the chamber or tunnel, and the other at the end opening into the cave, as precaution agamst the intrusion of fire and smoke, where the debris of the house might be destroyed by fire.
5th. The entrance and exit should be independent of each other, and the latter lead out to the open air by a short chamber with two doors, one exterior and the other interior, the latter opening into the cave proper.
6th. The roof of the cave should always be arched, because offering more resistance to the force of the wind and falling debris than a plane surface. The upper surface of the roof should be at least three (3) feet below the earth resting upon it. This precaution gives additional pro- tection against driving timbers thrown by the force of the wind.
7th. The excavation for masonry work should be of sufficient depth to permit the upper surface of the roof of the cave to rest about one foot below the surface of the (surrounding) undisturbed earth. This arrange- ment, hy allowing three feet of earth to cover the roof, will raise a mound of about two feet, which, while serving as a protection to the masonry, will also serve to turn the surface-water away from the roof of the cave.
8th. The earth covering the roof should be well pounded. It may be mixed with broken stone. The surface should be sodded or sown with blue grass. Every precaution must be takeu to render the earth above the roof of cave proof against flying missiles and timbers, which are frequently driven several feet into the solid earth.
66
Qth. Stone or brick, with Akron or Portland building cement, is the best material for purposes or construction.
loth. It is folly and false economy to build a cave without taking every precaution to prevent decay of materials used.
nth. Drainage. Particular attention should be paid to constructing the cave in such a manner that it v^^ill keep dry. If possible, a dry cave should be constructed by laymg all masonry in cement mortar and carefully pointing the exterior of all w^alls, and then plastering on the outer faces with cement mortar.
The roof should take the convex form suggested, and should be cov- ered with a good coat of coal-tar or roofing pitch.
The cave should never be connected with the house-drain, cess- pool, or sewer, receiving waste from the house, on account of the diffi- culty of so disconnecting same as to prevent the entrance of sewer-gas into cave — as during the dry season the water-seal of the trap would be likely to be broken from evaporation and other causes.
The cave should not be connected with a cesspool receiving waste from the house, on account of the possibility of same overflowing into the cave.
1 2th. Where practicable, the entrance and exit doors which open into the cave proper should be of iron, or oak covered with sheet iron.
13th. Careful attention should be given to secure complete and un- disturbed ventilation of the entire cave.
14th. During the season when tornadoes are most likely to occur, the cave should be provided with all things necessary to place it in readi- ness for occupation at any moment of night or day. Every precaution should be taken to keep the entrance and exit ways free from all obsta- cles that might prevent or delay the immediate use of the cave. The cave should always be provided with the means of lighting it, say, safety-lamps or lanterns.
15 th. Every one constructing a tornado-cave should bear in mind the necessity which may occur of their being compelled to use it as a home for a considerable time while repairing or building anew from the ruins of the storm. Therefore, where it is possible, it is of the utmost im- portance to erect the tornado-cave with care, thoroughness, and a due regard to comfort. The poor man, if he must build slowly for lack of funds, should build exceedingly well, while the rich can con- struct rapidly, thoroughly, and with every regard for comfort and adorn- ment. But in either case the absolute protection from injury and loss should be the same, because the poor man cannot afford to waste money and time, and subject himself and family to great danger, by reason of a hasty and improperly constructed cave.
67
1 6th. During that season of the year when tornadoes are not likely to occur, the tornado-cave may be turned to practical account for the storage and safe keeping of many thmgs necessary for household use.
17th. The cave proper may be constructed in circular form, with con- vex roof, as perhaps being more durable and economical of space than the angular form with convex roof, but whatever the particular fancy of the builder may dictate, let the work be done thoroughly and with the best materials.
With regard to the protection of life and property in the many small towns, and even cities, liable to be visited by the devastating tornado- cloud, what has already been suggested in the manner of north and south movements, dug-outs, and cellar-caves will, of course, apply here. Where, as in a village or city, a large number of persons are congregated, each intent upon his or her particular business, it is hardly to be ex- pected that they will have the leisure to observe, or be inclined to give any attention to the face of the sky. Should it chance that any per- son watched the atmospheric changes and received indications of the approach of a tornado-cloud, he might not think it his duty (probably forget it in his excitement) to warn others of the impending danger, or provide for the safety of more than his own family. Of course, in any event it is natural to suppose that he would first secure his own household. This supposed case is a very probable one; at least nine times out of ten we find that towns are devastated without apparent warning, and the un- fortunate people, startled from their imagined security, are killed in their struggling efforts for escape. Some provision should be made for the mass of inhabitants who are performing their various duties in and out of doors, and who by reason of their peculiar situation or labor could not, if they would, ascertain the prognostics of the sky.
With regard to this matter we will offer a few suggestions which may not be amiss. On any day when there is presaged in the weather condi- tions evidence of the probable approach of a violent wind -storm, it should be the duty of those in authority to deputize certain intelligent persons to watch the character and approach of the storm and, if a tor- nado, to give timely warning of its advance to the various families in their respective wards, and take charge of the removal of persons and property to places of safety. The church and school bells might be rung in a peculiar manner as a signal of warning. These men should be cool, brave, active, and judicious. They should understand the situ- ation, know precisely what is needed and how to supply it. All per- sons should at the proper time appreciate the situation of those in authority and avoid confusion by a strict compliance with orders.
68
The signs (as before described) ot tornado-cloud formation and ap- proach are distinct and sufficiently suggestive to afford opportunity for timely and concerted action. The time for action will necessarily be limited, and the watch need not commence until there is every reason to believe that such a course is absolutely necessary. Some persons may be disposed to smile at the novelty and minuteness of this arrangement, or at the idea of employing weather-guards at Western towns. I will venture to say that these smiles will not appear on the faces of persons who have experienced the irresistible and overwhelming violence of a tornado. I have never detected levity or indifference among those who were left to tell the tale of distress in any of the many almost annihilated towns of the West. You may smile or wonder at the thought of hardy, brave men who have, without flinching and in support of their country's honor, faced the red-hot belchings of a score of batteries, who now at the sight of a threatening cloud or the experience of a brisk wind, make a bold dash for places of safety, or, throwing themselves upon the ground, clutch at the first object within reach. Such is the abject terror which possesses all alike after the experience of a tornado.
Immediately following and for some weeks after the occurrence in Kansas and Missouri of the violent tornadoes of 1879, hundreds of people along the tracks and in the vicinity of the storms hardly went to bed, but remained dressed and, with their lanterns trimmed and burning, watched intently every foreboding appearance of the sky. Every dark cloud or sudden increase of the wind was calculated to affect them with an indescribable terror which could not be allayed until every vestige of the supposed danger had vanished. This is not the pitiful tale alone of Kansas and Missouri sufferers, but wherever the dreaded tornado makes it way, be it in Michigan, in Mississippi, in Georgia, in Massachusetts, or in Minnesota, the awful roar and power of its march strike all life dumb with fear. A great deal can be accomplished towards allaying this fear by a dissemination of practical knowledge concerning storms and by a general effort among intelligent people to appreciate such information. All intelligent persons can and should become familiar with the various classes of storms and be qualified to detect their formation and approach.
There is no country on the face of the globe where meteorology can be studied with so much advantage, practically and scientifically, as in North America. The elementary principles of meteorology, especially in regard to storms, should be taught in every school, country, town, and city. In the colleges and universities an advanced course should be prescribed. Speculation regarding the weather is exceedingly rife, affecting every branch of the science and in a manner quite without precedent in the line of methodical knowledge.
69
Tornado prediction is no longer a mere possibility, but in many re- spects may be considered an accomplished fact. By this I do not mean absolute perfection, but reasonable success. The system of preparation and study which leads to the result is subject to improvement, both as to manipulation of charted data and the verification of forecasts; but it is believed that the work now in hand with the above end in view, will greatly enhance the present measure of success. Tornado predictions have been made daily, largely as a matter of study, but in part for the information of the public, through Signal Service official bulletins, since March 1st, 1884.
That all people may know and become impressed with the excep- tional power and awful grandeur of the tornado, illustrations of its work in particular instances will be opportune at this time.
REPORT ON THE TORNADOES OF MAY 29TH AND 3OTH, 1 879, AT SALINE COUNTY, KANSAS. PROFESSIONAL PAPER OF THE SIGNAL SERVICE NO. IV., BY LIEUT. FINLEY.
On the 30th of May, 1879, about 3 p. m., a tornado passed over a portion of Saline County, Kansas, concerning which the following graphic description was prepared by an eye-witness : —
''It rains so gently this afternoon that the weather is really enjoyable. Plants grow and flowers bloom as they never do when it is dry. The Solomon Valley seems almost a second Garden of Eden. A short time before the clock strikes three, hailstones begin to fall, which rapidly increase in size. We gather some of the largest and find that it takes six of them to weigh a pound. But notice that hail-cloud south of us ! What wonderful contortions, evolutions, and twistings.
Note. — Pictures of the identical storms described are not obtainable, and, per contra, descriptions of the storms photographed are not at hand; but as one tornado is essentially the counterpart of another, we have adopted such pictures as we could get to illustrate the destructive force of these terrible meteors. There is no pretense that the pictures represent the events narrated other than in their characteristics. With this explanation no one need be misled by the juxtaposition of text and plate, which are in reality foreign to each other.
70
The hail that is falling from it is plainly visible from here, although it is four miles to the southwest. A few strips of cloud like whip-lashes hang from it.
Tornado at Griiuiell, Iowa, June 17, 1882. View near tho residence of Mr. Graham, looking northeast. From a Photograph.
71
''The cloud now revolves rapidly from right to left. We gaze at the magnificent scene with awe and wonder. The center becomes lower and lower, until it resembles a funnel
Tornado at GrinneU, Towa, June 17, 1882. Debris of Dr. Ford's dwelling, ^
looking east. From a Photograph. \
The truth now bursts upon us. // is a tornado! We hear its |
awful roar like an earthquake or distant thunder. The fun- i
72
nel rapidly descends till it reaches the earth. It moves rap- idly northward. It rises, a dark cone ascends from the ground to meet it, and it descends. It strikes the river. All the water is drawn from the channel, perceptibly widening the cone. From the first the tornado has had the appearance of a waterspout at sea. We think it is coming near us. We can now see its fury. It is not far away. Shall we leave the house ? No, for we are not certain on which side it will pass. We are apparently as safe here as elsewhere. We can only trust in Providence. The windows are nailed fast. Three of us lean against the door which is nearest the storm. The rest go into the cellar. It is about 4 p. m. A moment of breathless suspense and the storm strikes us. The timbers creak, the sides of the house sway in and out. Surely, they cannot outlast it. We hear no well-defined roar now, for on the outside, boards and other debris are fiercely clashing. All is dark within. In about fifteen minutes the storm is over. We leave the house. The center of the storm has passed to the west of us and we can see its dark form moving away in a northeast direction. "
After leaving this point a neighbor was visited, and with what awful results! It makes the blood chill in the veins to rehearse the horrors of the scene. Wild and dreadful was the carnage of that hour. The buildings, the hard earnings of many years, were swept from the earth. A large, two-horse sulky plow, weighing 700 pounds, was carried a distance of thirty-five rods, breaking off one of the iron wheels attached to an iron axle if inches in diameter. Two stoves were found broken into small pieces, not any of them larger than six or eight inches square. Wagon hubs without a single spoke in them, wagon tires curled into fantastic shapes, pieces of clothing and bedding wound about sticks and tim- bers or scattered over the prairie, were the only signs of a once thrifty home. Upon the destruction of the house one of the daughters was ca^rried by the wind 200 yards to the
73
northwest, and thrust head foremost into a barbed-wire fence. She was almost instantly killed, the clothing was stripped from her body, which was found covered with black mud and her hair matted with it. The posts along the fence for a
Tornado at Grinnell, la., June 17, 1882. General view looking in direction taken by the storm. From a Photograph. Dr. Grinnell's house in background. Shadow under the floor shows the place from which he took his wife and four children unharmed.
distance of twenty-five rods were covered on the south, side with mud, straw, chaff, and bits of rags to a depth of nearly three inches, and near the bottom of the posts it was one
74
foot thick. It was plastered on as if thrown with the greatest velocity, requiring a sharp instrument and considerable phys- ical exertion to make an impression upon it. Five of the posts were literally pulled out of the ground from a depth of twenty-eight inches. The wire was stripped from the posts and wound up into a ball. The eldest son was carried thirty rods to the northeast into a wheat field, his clothing torn into shreds, and his body covered with black mud. Another daughter had a piece of board driven nearly through the fleshy portion of her thigh, cutting a gash about seven inches wide; the board was pulled out of the flesh during the storm, probably by the violence of the wind. The ghastly wound, upon being examined by the attending surgeon, was found to contain pieces of nails, straw, mud, and splinters of wood. In all cases women suffered the most, as they were divested of their garments and left perfectly at the mercy of the flying debris that filled the air. The hair of all persons caught in the midst of the storm was so matted with mud that their heads had to be shaved in order to clean them. It seemed as if the mud belonged there naturally, and that the hair was but a mere usurper. Eyea and ears were also filled with mud, preventing the natural use of these senses. All of the wounds received were torn and 'jagged, and found mostly upon the back of the body and running upward. Two strangers passing by at the time of the storm stopped at the barns to seek shelter. One of them was repeatedly dashed to the ground and rolled about until death came to release him from his sufferings. The other took refuge in a straw-stack which was turned over upon him, and then finally scattered in every direction. When completely left to the mercy of the elements he was lifted in the air, how high he did not know, but while above the ground he came in contact with the tail or mane of a horse, which he grasped, but was finally separated from, coming down to the earth, with hat in one hand and hair in the other. A light, two-horse wagon, with
7S
one horse attached, the other being killed by flying debris, was observed at a height of about loo feet in the air. A large barn forty feet square, with sixteen-foot posts, v/as com- pletely demolished, and every timber carried away from the
Tornado at Grinnell, Iowa, June 17, 1882. General view looking east. Wrecked buggy with spokes blown out of hub. From a Photograph.
foundation. Six horses were killed, two outright, and the others so seriously injured by flying debris driven into their bodies that they had to be shot. One animal was badly mangled about the body, and bad nearly all of its bones
76
broken, having fallen from a considerable height, making a large depression in the tough sod of the prairie. Eighteen fat hogs, weighing from 300 to 500 pounds each, were killed outright, and six others died afterwards from their injuries.
Tornado at Grinnell, Iowa, Juno 17, 1882. Ruins of Geor^re Parse's resi- dence. From a Photograph. Six wounded. Mrs. Parse blown 50U feet.
One hog weighing 300 pounds had a scantling seven feet long and six -inches square driven lengthwise through its body. Another had a fence-board driven through it in the same manner, and still another had a sharp-pointed post
77
driven through the body from side to side ; one was carried 300 yards out on the prairie. Two new lumber wagons were carried from thirty-five to fifty rods in different direc- tions and torn to pieces. One of the wheels was carried a distance of one mile to the northwest. In other instances wheels were broken from the axles, the spokes twisted from their sockets, and the large, heavy, iron tires twisted into the most fantastic shapes. A log twelve feet long and ten inches
Tornado at Grinnell, Iowa, June 17, 1882. Ruins of Dr. Grinnell's resi- dence. From a Photograpli.
in diameter was carried 320 rods to the northwest. The front iron axle ( inches in diameter) of a top buggy was found bent double, the two ends crossing each other, and both wheels were torn off even to the hubs. The rear axle, with wheels attached, was carried one quarter of a mile to the northwest. A wooden sill eight by ten inches and sixteen feet long was carried twelve rods to the northwest. A cat was found half a mile northeast of the house in which she
78
was seen just before the storm, with every hone broken and the body crushed as flat as if it had been passed through a cider-press. Chickens were stripped of their feathers and carried long distances, one being found three miles to the northeast.
The iron mold-board of a heavy, wooden-beam plow was found driven into the ground so firmly that it had to be dug out. Osage hedges were filled with debris that defied re- moval without digging the bushes from the earth.
THE lee's summit TORNADO, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI. MAY 3OTH, 1879.
''At a little past 7:00 p. m. I saw the funnel-shaped cloud whirling terribly and approaching from Mr. Hutchins. I was standing near the center of the south frame part of the house, and rushed to the south door to hold it, but before I could pull a chest to the door from a distance of ten feet the storm-cloud was upon us. The wind struck the south end of the house first, raising it from the foun- dation ; then the log and frame parts to the north were struck upon the east side, also raising them from the foundation, when the top of the entire house fell in, and the whole confused mass was turned over twice to the northwest. It was left there but for a moment, apparently to give the whirling current time to pass around the barn to the west and south, which it did without injuring it, but throwing down the surrounding trees."
Returning to the house, \yhich it did almost instantly, the violent southwest current carried all but the west side back to the north, a distance of several hundred yards, smashing everything into kindling-wood. No part of the roof and upper floors could ever be found. Mr. Warden, Jr., was carried with the house to the north- west, and while the current passed to the barn, was held between two of the floors and badly bruised, and on the
79
return of the current was carried to the north 200 yards. His father and younger brother pursued about the same course, except that the former was blown to the northwest
Tornado at Kansas City, July 17, 1880. Ruins of Carrigan's barn, cor. 17th St. and Madison Ave. From a Photograph.
and there remained with the west side of the house, while the latter was carried to a point within a few feet of his elder brother.
8o
All of the parties were covered with mud from head to foot ; eyes, mouths, and ears filled, and clothing torn into shreds. The elder son had his head and face cut, and shoes torn from his feet, one of them being found at the house, and the other carried one-fourth of a mile to the northeast. His trousers and shirt were torn into strips, hair matted with black mud, his face bruised, and dirt driven into the flesh.
The mother and two small children were left in the rubbish, the former having her head crushed, and her long hair, which reached below her waist, was partly cut and partly torn from the scalp, twisted into a rope, and found several feet from her body. That portion of the hair left upon the scalp was twisted into little wisps and mixed with mud. The baby was thrown to the southeast about twenty yards, and another child was carried to the west 112 feet, and two large splinters driven through its thigh, one of which came from Mr. Hutchin's house, one-fourth of a mile to the southwest, it being identified by the pecu- liar color of the paint upon it. A little girl was thrown six rods to the northwest and uninjured. In all cases cuts were made only upon the heads, and bruises upon the body. All the members of the family had their hair matted with mud and their clothing so filled with it, that it was impossi- ble, even after a number of washings, to render the gar- ments fit for use.
The bodies of most of the children, after having been washed daily for four days, were still covered with specks of fine dirt and bits of leaves, which seemed to be driven into the flesh.
The following will indicate some of the peculiar freaks of the storm : A carpet upon the floor of the log part of the house and securely tacked about the edges was taken up and carried out of the house without being torn. A new sewing machine was broken into forty or fifty pieces.
8i
Fine feather beds were torn into strips, and the contents scattered broadcast over the country. Several garments were carried five or six miles to the northeast. An iron kettle holding fifteen gallons was broken into six pieces,
Tornado at Kansas City, JtQy 17, 1880. Mr. Doggett's house, cor. IGtli and Dripps Sts. From a Photograph.
and scattered about in several directions. A ten-gallon keg filled with vinegar was carried to the northeast forty rods. A large iron-bound trunk, fitted with an extra heavy lock, was torn to pieces and the lock found a half mile to the
82
northeast, sticking into one of the rails of a fence. Several photographs, which were known to have been securely placed in an album* which was packed in the trunk, were found on the ground, a distance of over four miles to the northeast. A vest belonging to i\Ir. Warden and containing his watch, was carried out of the house. The watch, becoming sepa- rated from the vest, was carried by the wind fifty yards to
Tornado at Kansas City, Jtdy 17, 1880. Mr. Post's house, 19th and Mercer Sts. From a Photograph.
the northeast, and found covered with mud. The vest was carried to the east a distance of twenty yards. Several chickens were carried to the northeast, a distance of about one mile, and entirely stripped of their feathers. Two stoves were broken into small pieces, but one standing near the middle of the house escaped uninjured.
84
Heavy bed-quilts were so filled with mud that when dry they were as stiff and hard as boards. A lumber wagon was carried to the northwest ten rods, the box torn to pieces, and nearly all of the spokes taken out of the wheels. An iron-beam plow, standing twenty-five feet west of the house, was not moved or injured, and a seed- drill and harrow, near the barn, were also untouched. The debris from the house was scattered over a region of coun- try one mile wide by five miles long. The path of great- est destruction was eighty rods wide, but fences were torn down for a breadth of nearly two miles.
Another dreadful disaster in the course of this storm occurred at the house of the ill-fated Harris family. It was situated in a little ravine near one of the branches of Sni-a-bar Creek, one-half mile east of Blue Springs, and sixty feet west of the storm's center. The family, consisting of father, mother, and four children, ran out of the house on the approach of the storm, the former and one or two of the children first moving to the northwest, but thinking that the cloud was coming directly towards them in that position, they turned back to the east, and by the time they had reached a point about on a line with the storm s course, they were struck by it.
The father and baby were carried into a field northeast of the house, a distance of 150 yards, coveied with mud and bruises, and found in the agonies of death.
The mother, who had not succeeded in getting as far away from the house as the two former, was carried to the east seventy-five yards, and lodged against a small tree, around which her body was partially twisted. Her skull was crushed, and she died in a few minutes after being found. Her clothes were stripped from her body, which was bedaubed with mud from head to foot. One girl, eight years old, was found dead and mangled in the center of the storm's path, a distance of fifty yards northeast of the house. One boy was blown into a straw-stack, a distance of forty-five yards to the
86
northeast. A little girl was found eighty yards to the north- east, lying in the center of the storm's path. The two latter were not dangerously injured.
Those who examined the bodies of the dead, among them a physician, stated that after they were washed the entire sur- face was found to be ecchymosed ; or, in other words, they had been so severely bruised and dashed about by the vio- lence of the wind, that the flesh was nearly black by the settling of the blood in the tissues of the skin.
The ground upon which the house stood was swept as clean as if scourged by fire. There was hardly a vestige of clothing anywhere to be found. Now and then a small rag could be seen fluttering from some tree-top, caught upon a rail fence, or wound around some broken piece of timber.
The creek, about half a mile southeast of where the house stood, was found choked up with a mixture of straw, rags, feathers, kitchen utensils, rails, boards, household furniture, and pieces of farming implements. Wagon hubs were to be found with every spoke gone, some broken ofl" and some pulled out. Two heavy quarter-inch wagon tires were twisted into knots. The iron mold-board of a plow, one-half inch in thickness, was broken in two, and one of the parts driven into the ground a depth of 9^ inches. There was not a single farming implement or article of furniture that was not rendered unserviceable.
TORNADO AT MARSHALL COUNTY, KANSAS, MAY 3OTH, 1 8 79.
The following relates chiefly to some of the dreadful experi- ences in the great tornado of May 30th, 1879, at Irving, Marshall County, Kansas.
'*The funnel-cloud now swept on a mile and a half over the valley beyond the town, scattering fences and twisting off small trees until it reached the Big Blue River at a point about 800 feet south of the large iron bridge. In crossing the river the clouds struck the heavily wooded bluffs on the eastern bank, rising from 75 to 150 feet, and turned imme-
87
diately up the river, striking the bridge squarely from the south, which it lifted bodily from the two stone piers and one abutment, and dashed it into the river. So completely
Tornado near Connersville, Ind., May 14, 1883, about 7:00 P. M. Ruins of an iron bridge lifted from abutments and dashed into the river below. From a Photograph.
twisted into shapeless ruin was the large mass of iron rods and stringers that it entirely disappeared from view in a few
88
feet of water. The superstructure rested upon a heavy stone abutment at the east end, and upon two stone piers rising 22 feet above the water, one in the center and the other at the western extremity of the first iron span. From this pier to the western bank of the river, 140 feet, a wooden trestle-
Tornado near Connersville, Ind., May 14, 1883. See also page 87, anotlier view of same bridge. From a Photograph.
work completed the structure. Thirty feet of the eastern end of this trestle was carried away with the iron spans and deposited in the river. Where the wooden portion separated, timbers lo to 15 inches square, fastened with heavy iron
89
bolts, were broken asunder as if they had been pipe-stems. The iron portion of the bridge consisted of two spans of 125 feet each, and four chords with a rise each of 1 8 feet, weigh- ing twenty-seven tons to the chord. Several of the large iron
Tornado at Gi iimell, Iowa, June 17, 1882. Portion of train on Iowa Central, east of track. From a Photograph.
rods, 2 J inches in diameter, sticking out of the water upon the sandy beach were found broken square in two; smaller ones, and broad, flat strips of iron were twisted into fantastic shapes.
go
So easily and yet so completely was the great structure lifted from its foundation that but two of the top stones were moved from the eastern pier. This was perhaps the most terrific manifestation of force ever exhibited by any storm in
Tornado at GrinneU, Iowa, June 17, 1882. Portion of train on Iowa Central west of track. From a Pliotograpli.
this section of country. The structure was practically new, having been built but a few years before at a cost of $20,000. The cloud from this point passed up the river, following the bends to the north and northwest for a distance of about
91
i,200 feet, when it reached a small 'draw ' from 250 to 300 feet wide, cutting up through the bluffs to the east and reach- ing the high prairie beyond. Up this opening the cloud ascended with terrible fury, uprooting and breaking off large oaks and hickories 18 inches to three feet in diameter, and plowing up the earth in deep furrows. While passing up the river the water was subjected to the extraordinary violence of the whirling currents of air and forced backward on either side to the banks, exposing to view the bed of the stream for a considerable distance. The violent uprush of the air in the center of the cloud carried the water in spray above the tops of the highest trees. "
A further description of this storm, in the vicinity of Irving, Kansas, presents a thrilling account of the terrible devasta- tion wrought by it. A heavy westerly wirfd, causing consid- erable damage, prevailed at Waterville and Blue Springs, eight miles to the northwest. This current passed eastward to Irving, reaching the town after the first storm had disap- peared on the high prairie beyond the river. In the wake of the first tornado a warm southerly wind passed over the town accompanied by rain. The sun, now partially exposed beneath the heavy clouds lining the western horizon, threw its warm rays upon the terror-stricken inhabitants, who, at this welcome invitation, assuring them as they thought of peace and^ protection, emerged from their cellars and dug-outs to witness the destruction already committed and relieve their suffering neighbors. Hardly had the people recovered from the first shock, when there appeared in the West a cloud of inky blackness and enormous dimensions, present- ing a square front of apparently two miles in width and a perpendicular height from earth to sky. It moved along slowly, but with the most inconceivable majesty of force, an nihilating everything within its reach. The cloud is now at the outskirts of the town, and as it begins to execute its frightful mission of death and destruction the earth fairly
92
quakes and trembles. All nature stands aghast, and every living thing seeks, but in vain, to find security from the im- pending danger. Many people actually believe that the Judgment Day has come, and offer fervent prayers and loud appeals for preservation. But the hand of mercy stays not the dreadful carnage. It begins. The awful roar, like the belchings forth of a thousand Columbiads, drowns the most piercing cries of the wounded. The cloud strikes into a cluster of eighteen houses and other buildings filled with human beings and the accumulations of years.
In an instant everything is swept from the earth in terrible ruin. Death is experienced in its most dreadful forms. At the house of a Mr. Keeney, the father, mother, and grandfather were blown two hundred yards to the northeast, where they were f6und lying within a few feet of each other mangled and dead. Mrs. Keeney was dashed head foremost into the soft ground up to her shoulders, entirely stripped of her clothing, and covered with black mud. The other two were partially stripped of their garments and also covered with mud, which was fairly beaten into their clothes. The three children of this family were carried by the wind several hundred yards, stripped of their clothing, their bodies cov- ered with mud, but they were not killed.
The house of a Mr. Sheldon was crushed to the earth and portions of the debris carried for miles in the air. A daughter, twenty-two years of age, was blown to the southeast a distance of two hundred yards, into a low, wet piece of ground. Nearly every bone in her body was broken, and the flesh in many places terribly lacerated by flying debris. The body was found in a perfectly nude condition and almost unrecog- nizable, because of the grass and mire beaten into it. Mr. Leddy's house was surrounded by a grove of cotton- wood trees and a picket fence. The building was lifted bodily above the tops of the highest trees and dashed to pieces upon the earth. The east and south fencing was car-
94
ried away, and those of the trees left standing were stripped of every portion of bark and foliage and most of the limbs. Wound about their trunks and fluttermg from the bare limbs were fragment of garments, strips of long prairie grass and scraps of paper. On that portion of the picket fence not destroyed, there hung shreds of every article of clothing common to the household; and within a radius of thirty to forty rods lay portions of chairs, sofas, bedsteads, stoves, tins, and crockery-ware, mingled with shingles, lath, shedding, clap-boards, sills, doors, window-frames, etc. The utter des- olation was dreadful to behold. A few moments before, health, happiness, and plenty made these homes the scene of comfort, where now grim death and absolute waste reigned supreme.
The effect upon those who were left to mourn the tragical death of friends and relations was pitiful in the extreme. This prosperous community had been scourged by a fell de- stroyer more dreadful than either flood or fire, epidemic or war. It came in the twinkling of an eye and all was gone ; life, property, happiness crushed and annihilated; swept with lightning speed into eternity. The little graveyard was dotted with many fresh mounds. The power of the tor- nado-cloud for a few moments had sufficed to accomplish what disease and accident had not done in years. The terrible storms of May 29th and 30th, 1879, will never be forgotten in the States of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska. Night after night following the storms, hundreds of people never went to bed ; but, with lanterns trimmed, peered into the darkness watching for a recurrence of the dreadful scenes through which they had just passed. Every dark cloud or sudden freshening of the wind filled them with evil forebod- ings which could not be allayed until every vestige of sup- posed danger had vanished. The terror depicted upon the countenances of the bravest men at the sight of a dark cloud, though it might be perfectly harmless, was something beyond
95
description or realization, except by those who could witness their excitement. Persons were preparing to quit the coun- try; business of every kind succumbed for a season except that of generously supplying the wants of the sufferers by well-organized relief committees. Many acts of self-sacrifice and devotion redound to the glory and honor of Kansas people.
THE SOUTH CAROLINA TORNADO OF APRIL i6tH, 1 879.
The following information relates to the tornado of April 1 6th, 1879, near Wakerborough, South Carolina. The data are taken from the Chief Signal Officer's report for 1879.
VELOCITY AND FORCE OF THE WIND IN THE CLOUD VORTEX.
A pigeon-house exposing 24 square feet of surface to the action of the wind, and weighing 1,000 pounds, was carried
Tornado at Kansas City, July 17, 1880. Mr. Post's liouse, 19tli and Mercer Sts. From a Pliotograph.
96
8o feet and demolished against a house. By adding to this one-third of its weight for friction , the least possible wind velocity required to move it is 105 miles per hour. It may have been twice that velocity. — A one-story house exposing 200 square feet to the wind and weighing 15,000 pounds was carried a distance of six feet. Least required velocity, 142 miles per hour. — A church exposing a surface of 1,000 square feet to the wind and weighing 50,000 pounds was carried 20 feet from its foundation and demolished. Velocity required, 116 miles per hour. — A house exposing 360 square feet of surface and weighing 25,000 pounds was moved 20 feet from its founda- tion. Least required velocity, 136 miles per hour. — ^A store- room weighing 10,000 pounds and exposing 128 square feet of surface, tilted to an angle of 45°. Velocity required, 144 miles per hour. — A piece of timber weighing 600 pounds, its greatest surface exposed to the wind being 20 square feet, was carried 440 yards. Least velocity required, 90 miles per hour. — A buggy weighing 150 pounds was carried up in the whirl, and the pieces hung on a tree at the height of 60 feet from the earth. Distance carried, 300 feet. — Two panels of fence weighing 150 pounds were carried a distance of 300 feet. — A weather-board was found to have been carried a dis- tance of six miles, it being recognized by the paint ; weight, six pounds. — A chicken-coop, strong box, 4 by 4 feet, was carried a distance of four m.iles; weight, 75 pounds. — A hick- ory tree 54 inches in circumference at butt, and weighing 3,000 pounds, was lifted out of the ground and moved up a bank ten feet. — A cart weighing 600 pounds was carried up in the whirl, torn to pieces, and the tire of one wheel found 1,320 yards distant. — An iron chisel weighing four pounds was carried 90 feet, and driven into a piece of pine timber a distance of 2 inches. — Two large hubs of a road-wagon, with- out spokes, but attached to an iron axle, and weighing 175 pounds, were carried a distance of 750 feet. — A basket of books weighing 50 pounds was carried a distance of 2^
97
miles, and found hanging on a tree with the contents intact. — A cart weighing 400 pounds was carried a distance of 125 feet and demoUshed. — Geraniums in pots were found by the owner one mile from town uninjured. — A buggy left at a shop near the center of the town to be repaired, could never be found. — Letters and books were carried a distance of 6 miles.
Tornado at AuTtJum, Ala., April 15, 1884. EXUBS of a. dwelling. From a Photograph*
98
Pieces of matting and dresses *were found lo miles away. Dead sheep were found shorn of their wool to the bare skin, by the force of the wind. — Fowls were plucked of their feathers as if picked by hand. — Birds were killed, and none were seen in the neighborhood for several days after the storm.
Tornado at Racine, Wis., May 18, 1883. House twisted from its fonndation. From a Pliotograph.
On February 19th, 1884, the States of Virginia, North Car- olina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Ten- nessee, and Kentucky were visited with the most terrible de- vastation by wind ever experienced in this country. From 10 o'clock in the morning until 1 2 midnight sixty tornadoes occurred in different parts of the above-named States. Rough estimates placed the loss of property at from $3,000,000 to
99
$4,ooo,ooo; the loss of life at 800, and the number of wounded at 2,500. The number of people rendered home- less and destitute numbered from 10,000 to 15,000, many ot whom were left in a starving condition. The number of buildings destroyed was about 10,000. Cattle, horses, hogs, and other domestic animals were destroyed in great numbers.
Tornado at Springfield, Mo., April 18, 1880. Ruins of Catholic cliurcli. From a Pliotograph.
The tale of distress, ruin, and death might be readily aug- mented by reciting the horrors of the Grinnell tornado, which desolated a large section of central Iowa on the afternoon and night of June 17th, 1882. The town of Grinnell, with its fine college buildings, was nearly swept from the earth, and 130 human souls dashed into eternity in less time than it takes to relate it.
lOO
The great tornadoes of April i8th, 1880, in southwestern Missouri, destroying the town of Marshtield, and kilUng over 100 people.
The tornadoes of August 3d, 1885, in Maryland, Dela- ware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, destroying over two millions worth of property and many lives.
The tornadoes of April 14th, 1886, in Minnesota, destroy- ing the towns of Saint Cloud and Sauk Rapids, with a loss of over $500,000 and nearly 100 lives.
Each year sw^ells the record of death and destruction, and makes the contempladon of these dreadful events, which oc- cur W'ith so much certainty and regularity, a source of the deepest concern to those who live in the tornado districts; and, naturally, turns the mind towards the means for the pres- ervation of life and indemnification for property loss.
CHART NO. 2.
Chart No. 2 refers to the very remarkable tornadoes of February 19th, 1884.
On the upper portion of the chart there is delineated the course of progressive movement of the main storm-center, or the central area of barometric minimum. By this is meant the path pursued by the general storm which prevailed over the northern portion of the United States on the day above indicated. It is usual to represent the direction of movement of the center of a great storm by a line. In the cartographical study of storms by the Signal Service the position of the center is described at three distinct times during the 24 hours, viz.: At 7 A. M., 3 p. M., and 10 p. m. To illustrate the direc- tion of movement and the day and hour of observation, the following symbol is used, similar to that shown on the accompanying chart.
18 ' IH 18 19
@ — ^ — © — ^ —
1 2 3 1
The upper figures indicate the day of the month, and the
I
loi
lower figures show the hour of observation, i is equivalent to 7 A. M., 2 to 3 p. M., and 3 to 10 p. m. The track of the general storm is shown for the i8th, 19th, and 20th. On the lower portion^f Chart No. 2 is shown the position and direc- tion of movement of the various tornadoes that occurred on the 19th of February, 1884. The tracks are indicated by the
following symbol : X X X X X X ^ —
The principal object of this chart is to show that a definite relation exists between the location of the center of the general storm and the place of tornado action and development. It is now established beyond question that no tornadic action ever takes place without the presence (always north and west of the tornado region) of a general storm or 'Mow/' as it is technically called, and that, too, of marked intensity and peculiar form. Now, it is of great practical import- ance for the public to bear this fact in mind when they are watching the daiJy bulletins and weather indications of the Signal Service, which are published broadcast throughout the country. Whenever a general storm is known to be moving eastward over the United States in the season of year favorable for tornadoes, the following deductions, which have resulted from a long and careful consideration of the subject, should be thoughtfully studied and clearly understood.
1. There is a definite portion of an area of low pressure within which the conditions for the development of tornadoes are most favorable, and this is called the dangerous octant.
2. There is a definite relation between the position of tor- nado regions and the regions of high contrasts in temperature (temperature gradient), the former lying to the south and east.
3. There is a similar definite relation of position of tornado regions and the region of high contrasts in dew-points, the former being as before to the south and east.
4. The position of tornado regions, or the area of tornadic action, is to the south and east of the region of high contrasts
I02
of cool northerly and warm southerly winds — a rule that seems to follow from the preceding, and is of use when obser- vations of temperature and dew-point are not accessible.
5. The relation of tornado regions to thof^movement of upper and lower clouds shows that the former indicate the presence of the cold northwest current, and the latter the warm southwest current of air, which ultimately lead to the
|
4/^ / ^ / a 1 //nrizon |
|
|
Iw "§ \ ^ |
|
/ Ma/or ® |
N |
|
Iw ' is |
I03
development of the high contrasts of temperature so essential to the birth of tornadic action.
6. The study of the relations of tornado regions to the form of barometric depressions shows that tornadoes are more frequent when the major axis of the barometric trough trends north and south or northeast and southwest, than when it trends east and west.
ILLUSTRATION. SEE OPPOSITE PAGE.
The forms of barometric depression, as shown in diagrams Nos. I and 2, are favorable to tornado development; those shown in diagrams Nos. 3 and 4 are unfavorable to such de- velopment. These facts should be carefully considered when examination is made of the storm conditions as shown on the daily weather-map of the Signal Service, which is now dis- played in all of the principal cities of the country and is placed in the hands of many private subscribers.
The following table, prepared by Prof H. A. Hazen, of the Signal Service, presents very interesting and valuable informa- tion concerning the relation of the region of tornadic action to the position and intensity of the area of barometric mini- mum or general storm-center.
The general average of this table gives the mean distance of tornadic action from the 'Mow," or storm-center, as 453 miles. The mean direction is south 39° east. The mean temperature fall is ten degrees in 259 miles. The winds are almost uniformly from the south and southeast, and if from any other quarter, all are from that direction. The distances to the nearest north winds are variable, and in many instances there were no north wijids on the map near the ''low ''or near the tornado. The mean distance of north winds in thirty-one cases was 407 miles.
I04
•eailonT
iiiiil ill i|i iiiaipi
•B9iTai ai oOT
i
>o »rt r/^ fvi r<i rri ^ ift r<i r<i >o >o »o !("' r*^ rTi
illiillillllltligl
Itei
CKilSKSBGlSEaKiSfe
I05
01 aoa^ieid
OOOOOOOOOOOOO • 'OOO 'OO
OkooooicoiooirtHiot-oocD ; :(Nocci :cth
rjH O lO iH CO t1< cocoes cocoon . .-^iXiCO .COtO
OQ H CQ f4 CQ ^ 02 02
•eQiTui m oOI
ooooooocooooooooooooooi oocqd(M-<#(Mcooo:iocdoicOthO'^»ool^io
O (M t1< (M tH tH t> tHr-( rH tH 00 rH CO 03
CD O ®
^0202'
00
(MO
00©
CO(M(M
0000
00000
OiOOOtNCD (Mrt^COCO
0202 ~^.aim<y^ ^ 02
OOOOOOOCC
^ 03 (M CO CO CO (M 10 0300^0^ C3'^tJ<
a sa a a aaa
Ph fl ft P< d ^ d d d ^ d d ^ ^ d ^ ^ d d d o ^00 ^.o ^. H Ro ^ *^oo ^.1000 ^ ^ H
CO ftCO-O C^rH ftP^ftCO ftftCO'* ft-^f^COCO ftftft rHI>Ti5o4t>'^ COC^I>OCOTt<0 0iOQCOCO»OTHCOCO
x"^^o^coooco"co"co"coco"o''^"oo"•^">o"cD"o^o"o"^^
iHrH OQiHOQr-iO? rH rH tH tH 03 CO CO iH
^ ^ g g O ^ ^ g ^ j»
03 O O CO Oi 03 rH tH 00 0^ Oi Oi Ol O GO l> GO CO 00 1> O
03 tH t> CO O O O 03 CO CO Kt) C- 03 1> GO Oi 03 Ci CO Ti< 0^
c30
dHdd^ . d^^-ga^M
|w o
Sh 05 o
oS)X
rt'^ <^ a
g TO (J) o
oTM o
g ^ ft®
d^
io6
LIST OF TABLES GIVING CONDENSED INFORMA- TIONS CONCERNING TORNADOES; GEO- GRAPHICAL, FINANCIAL, CHRON- OLOGICAL, DESCRIPTIVE, ETC.
The following tabulations present in a comprehensive and concise manner the very foundation upon which the super- structure of this work has been reared.
Tornado study as submitted in these pages was pursued by inductive methods. Investigation was made in the field, subject to all the inclemencies of the weather.
The tornado's peculiar formation and dreadful violence were carefully observed and actually experienced, no effort or sacri- fice being spared to secure the unvarnished facts without pre- disposition to any theory.
We have then as the outcome of such methods of study, a compendious summary of tornado observation and research, which has been conducted unremittingly for the past ten years and which will form the ground-work of all future investigation into this class of meteorological phenomena.
The data used in these tables are matters of official record, but their presentation and arrangement conform to the ideas of the author and exhibit a classification which it is thought will best serve for the information of those interested.
Table No. i. Total number of tornadoes observed, 1682 to 1886, inclusive.
Table No. 2. Violence of tornadoes ; relatively by States.
Table No. 3. Violence of tornadoes ; by States, including loss of life and property.
Table No. 4^ Actual years of tornado records.
Table No. 5. Periods of development in different portions of the country.
I07
Table No. 6. Tornado record of the last seventeen years.
Table No. 7. Time of occurrence, hour of day and night.
Table No. 8. Direction of progressive movement of the cloud.
Table No. 9. Form of tornado-cloud.
Table No. 10. Temperature before the tornado.
Table No. 11. Temperature after the tornado.
Table No. 12. Valuation of property destroyed; by States.
Table No. 13. Periods of observation; by States.
Table No. 14. Relative frequency ; by months.
Table No. 15. Relative frequency ; by States.
Table No. 16. Relative frequency; by months and States.
Table No. 17. Monthly frequency expressed in percentages; by States.
Table No. 18. Relative frequency, days of the month.
Table No. 19. Combination table, maximum frequency, etc.
Table No. 20. Consideration of States by quarters.
Table No. 21. Relations of tornadoes to forests and cleared land.
Table No. 22. Combination table ; occurrence by months, States, etc.
Table No. 23. Hour of occurrence, months and States.
io8
Table No. 1.
A table showing the total number of Tornadoes observed in the United States during a period of 205 years, from 1682 to 1886, inclusive.
Statks and Territories.
Missouri,
Kansas,
Georgia,
Illinois,
Iowa,
Alabama,
Ohio,
Indiana,
Minnesota,
Texas,
Michigan,
New York,
Pennsj'^lvania, .
Wisconsin,
North Cai olina, South Carolina,
Nebraska,
Mississippi,
Dakota,
No. of Storms.
156 153 128 127 118 102 92 84 78 73 71 67 61 59 59 57 52 49 46
States and Territories, j g^^jij^s
Arkansas,
Tennessee,
Kentucky,
Massachusetts,
Louisiana,
Virginia,
Maryland,
Connecticut,
New Jersey,
Florida,
New Hampshire,
Maine,
Indian Territory,
Vermont,
Colorado,
West Virginia
Rhode Island,
Delaware,
District of Columbia,.
34 31 26 22 19 18 16 13 12 10 8 7 6 4 4 2 1 1 1
Total number observed, 1,867
Table No. 2.
The Violence of Tornadoes expressed relatively by States in the order named. By A^iolent in this sense is meant the most completely developed stoi ms, with perfect conditions longest sustained.
|
States. |
States. |
States. |
States. |
|
Missouri, Iowa, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, Michigan, |
Dakota, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio, Indiana, Mississippi, Texas, New York, |
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Massachusetts, Indian Territory, New Jersey, Louisiana, Connecticut, |
Vermont, Maryland, New Hampshire, Maine, Khode Island, Delawaie, Colorado, Florida, West Virginia. |
I09
Table No. 3.
Violence of Tornadoes by States, embracing the destruction of property, reportedln definitely as "much," " great. " etc.; loss of life, reported definitely and indefinitely : and numher of people wounded, reported definitely and indefinitely.
|
Destruction property. |
OF |
Lives |
Lost. |
Persons Injured. |
|||||||
|
STATES. |
ery ctive," cases. |
uch erty," cases. |
Town troyed," of cases. |
ruction at," cases. |
c 2 CP ^ |
m i-^ |
eral," cases. |
dreds " cases. |
i-l |
eral," cases. |
|
|
P 6 |
^® - 6 |
o o |
â– o |
||||||||
|
dest I iM O. |
- CO . " <v o |
^ 6 |
6 |
Q !!; |
|||||||
|
'A |
" A |
||||||||||
|
Alahama, |
6 |
28 |
68 |
1 |
6 |
117 |
5 |
b |
|||
|
Arkansas, |
2 |
7 |
29 |
229 |
|||||||
|
Connecticut, |
3 |
34 |
48 |
1 |
|||||||
|
Dakota Ter., |
7 |
6 |
29 |
42 |
1 |
||||||
|
Delaware, |
|||||||||||
|
Florida, |
i |
2 |
"'6 |
"i |
'"6 |
||||||
|
G eorgia, |
7 |
30 |
150 |
2 |
7 |
192 |
6 |
||||
|
Illinois, |
19 |
23 |
368 |
1 |
1 |
161 |
3 |
9 |
|||
|
Indiana, |
4 |
21 |
39 |
2 |
35 |
1 |
6 |
||||
|
Indian Ter., |
1 |
1 |
21 |
1 |
43 |
1 |
|||||
|
Iowa, |
15 |
34 |
175 |
4 |
424 |
2 |
6 |
||||
|
Kansas, |
27 |
23 |
76 |
2 |
204 |
4 |
4 |
||||
|
Kentucky, |
4 |
7 |
46 |
107 |
1 |
1 |
|||||
|
Louisiana, |
5 |
12 |
55 |
1 |
1 |
||||||
|
Maryland, |
2 |
2 |
4 |
||||||||
|
Mass. |
2 |
2 |
' 3 |
8 |
|||||||
|
Michigan, |
14 |
17 |
34 |
'i |
70 |
4 |
|||||
|
Minnesota, |
13 |
12 |
164 |
1 |
567 |
"i |
4 |
||||
|
Mississippi, |
5 |
11 |
i |
935 |
3 |
471 |
3 |
||||
|
Missouri, |
22 |
28 |
1 |
247 |
5 |
1050 |
5 |
4 |
|||
|
Nebraska, |
5 |
14 |
14 |
31 |
|||||||
|
New Hamp., |
1 |
4 |
7 |
i |
|||||||
|
New Jersey, |
1 |
9 |
lil |
||||||||
|
New York, |
14 |
13 |
15 |
29 |
"i |
3 |
|||||
|
N. Carolina, |
5 |
17 |
30 |
i |
3 |
142 |
1 |
4 |
|||
|
Ohio, |
18 |
16 |
i |
154 |
3 |
252 |
4 |
11 |
|||
|
Penn., |
7 |
14 |
1 |
142 |
2 |
2 |
23 |
2 |
3 |
||
|
Rhode I 'Id., |
1 |
||||||||||
|
S. Carolina, |
'2 |
13 |
104 |
"i |
91 |
i |
5 |
||||
|
Tennessee, |
1 |
5 |
11 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
|||||
|
Texas, |
18 |
12 |
102 |
'2 |
146 |
3 |
6 |
||||
|
Vermont, |
|||||||||||
|
Virginia, |
2 |
i |
"i |
"i |
|||||||
|
Wisconsin, |
6 |
14 |
"i |
141 |
"i |
2 |
382 |
1 |
2 |
||
|
Totals, |
233 |
384 |
12 |
1 |
3165 |
12 |
42 |
1 |
5049 |
40 |
95 |
Note.— This table is only approximate in its values, for in many cases of Torna- do occurrence no reports could be obtained as to loss of life and injury to persons and property. " Destruction of property" referred to in this table is entirely independent of the money value given in table No. 5.
Table No. 4.
Actual years of tornado Records represented in the charts and tables.
|
1082 |
1804 |
1818 |
1830 |
1840 |
1850 |
1860 |
1869 |
1878 |
|
1728 |
1805 |
1819 |
1831 |
1841 |
1851 |
1861 |
1870 |
1879 |
|
1720 |
1807 |
1820 |
1832 |
1842 |
1852 |
1862 |
1871 |
1880 |
|
1761 |
1808 |
1821 |
1833 |
1843 |
1853 |
1863 |
1872 â– |
1881 |
|
1787 |
1809 |
1822 |
1834 |
1844 |
1854 |
1864 |
1873 |
1882 |
|
1788 |
1810 |
1823 |
1835 |
1845 |
1855 |
1865 |
1874 |
1883 |
|
1791 |
1811 |
1824 |
1836 |
1846 |
1856 |
1866 |
1875 |
1884 |
|
1794 |
1814 |
1826 |
1837 |
1847 |
1857 |
1867 |
1876 |
1885 |
|
1795 |
1815 |
1827 |
1838 |
1848 |
1858 |
1868 |
1877 |
1886 |
|
1797 |
1816 |
1829 |
1839 |
1849 |
1859 |
Total uimilDer of years, Eighty-Seven.
Length of Period (1682-1886), Two hundred and five years. The Tornado for 1682 occurred at New Haven, Conn., June 10, at 2 30 P. M. and was exceedingly destructive.
Table No. 5.
Time of Tornado Development with respect to Region of Country. Average results.
In considering tliis question the application of the rule is made in a general sense, and a somewhat arbitrary geographical distribution of time over tliat section of the United States east of the Rockj^ Mountains is matle. Tliere are four periods of time, and therefore four separate regions of tor nadio action, which are described as follows :—
First Period.— December to March, inclusive, comprising the region embraced l)ythe following States: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississipi)i, Tennessee, and Southern Kentucky.
Second Period.— April to .Tune, inclusive. Region : Texas, Louisiana, Arkan- sas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota, and Miunesota<>
Third Period.— June to August, incl-isive. Region: Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Northern Kentuckj-, Western Penusj^lvania, \Vestern New York, and West Virginia.
Fourth period.— August to November, inclusive. Region: Maryland, Dela- ware, New .Tersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Eastern New York, and the New England States.
Ill
Table No. 6.
Tornado Record of the Seventeen Years last past.
Year.
Storms. Ot)served.
9
Year.
Storms. Observed.
1879 .
1880 .
1881 .
1882 .
1883 .
1884 .
1885 .
1886 .
.137 -114 - 88 .161 .200 -136 .280
1870
1871 9
1872 13
1873 12
1874 21
1875 ---- 80
1876 66
1877 70
1878 81
Total number in seventeen years, 1566.
A comparison of the data presented in this tahle with that shown in Nos. 1 and 8, reveals the fact that over 80 per cent of the observed tornadoes belong to less than 9 per cent of the length of period. This fact, combined with a cursory- review of table No. 12, might lead one to the conclusion that tornadoes were on the increase. This would certainly be erroneous, and for the following reasons :
1st. A careful study of tornado development and distribution, shows that there are as many considerations to justify the belief that tornadoes were quite as frequent a hundred years ago as now, and that this degree or frequency will not be diminished for a hundred years to come.
2d. The means of observation and record for 1886 surpassed those of any other year, because the Signal Service had greater facilities for collecting reports, and the rapid growth of the conntry, with a greater zeal of the press, brought to light many occurrences which, before, would have been lost sight of.
3d. A stady of tornado development and distribution appears to indicate that there are periods of maximum occurrence, alternating with those of minimum occurrence, but the truth of tlie supposition remains yet to be determined, when more complete and extended records are obtainable.
4th. Tornado records are not yet sufficiently full and complete to permit the deduction that they are or are not on the increase.
5th. The conditions, atmospheric,topogTaphical, and geographical,under which tornadoes are peculiar to the United States, or certain sections of it, have remamed the same for ages, and there is no likelihood of a change in this direc- tion to prevent or increase the occurrence of tornadoes.
|
'P8AJ8S -qo sia.iois JO o >c li?;ox |
112 Table No. 7 |
1,867 |
|
•yapjoD . -a.i joa Qini; JO -ox: |
i |
|
|
•sasBO JO -ox |
CO ^ ^ o 1 ^ ^ |
1 |
|
1 |
Wfhiiii IP ^ 1 f r ^ f f = |
|
|
•S9SB0 JO -OX |
1,039 |
|
|
TIME. |
\. to 12.80 p.m. 111. to 1.00 " ' " 1.80 " c u 2.00 '« ' " 2.80 " ' " 8.00 " ' 8.80 " ' " 4.00 " ' " 4.80 " ' " 5.00 " ' " 5.80 " ' " 0.00 " ' " 0.80 " ' " 7.00 " ' " 7.80 " ' " 8.00 " ' " 8.80 " ' " 9.00 " ' " 9.80 " ' " 10.00 " ' " 10.80 " ' " 11.00 " ' " 11.80 " ' " 12.00 mid |
|
|
JO -OJSr |
iH |
|
|
TIME. |
Totals, |
|
113
Table No. 8.
•p9AJOsqo
JO -o^ moj.
•pQp.IOOOJ ^Oa KOI^.39Jip
JO -ox
m m m xfi ^Ji m m m m
•sasEO JO -ojsj
(M
CO 00 00
•sasBO JO -ojs^E
i-O CO
^ C<l O
(M O (v^
•89S^0 JO -o^ST
^ ^ J
W
^ ^ ^
t ^ ^
114
|
•paA.iasQo eaopBiLiox JO osL mo I |
1,867 |
|
|
•papjoDOj 10 II UIJOJ sasuo JO 'Oisi |
00 lO |
|
|
JO "OK |
Ti^ Oq iH tH iH tH rH iH |
|
|
) rmation. |
"Whirlwind." " Inverted funnel." " Elephant's trunk." " Ball." "Whirl." " Local Whirlwind." "A grayish, fluffy J mass." 5 "Immense dark ) whirling mass." S "Large revolving ] cloud sent fun- [ nel roots to the ( ground." ) |
|
|
•sasBO JO "Oisi |
C CO CO rH tH iH iH tH tH |
|
|
Formation. |
"Balloon." "Waterspout." " Cylindrical." " Pear." "Twister." " Huge Serpent." " Dense rolling mass" "Dense cloud of ^ scowling hlack- > ness." ) "Two funnels small ) ends together." 5 |
|
|
•sas^O JO 'OK |
T}<OrJlTHHr-lrH rH iH (MiH |
|
|
Formation. |
" Inverted cone," " Cone." "Serpent." "Turnip." "Hogshead." "Heavy rolling." "Dense rolling "Streams, 20 in ) number." S " Large masses, a if white sprf fell to the earth |
|
|
•sasBO JO -OSL |
I— 1 r-i Ti< iH iH iH tH iH iH rH OOrH Ci |
1,003 |
|
Formation. |
"Funnel." " Hour-glass,". "Basket." "Acorn." ''Column. ' "Dark mass." " Boiling cloud." "Black circular cloud. "Clouds rolled like a barrel." "A long streak like a spout reaching from bottom of cloud to earth." |
Totals. |
"5
saop^ajox JO -OK mojL
•888^0 JO "O^
C^rHrHtHTHrH(>JrHrHrMiHC<lrHC<lrHrHrHiHC^t>tHrHCCrHC^rHrHrHOTHi-HrHrH^
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooor^c<^clc^l(^lcocoT^^Tflo^Oloco^>c350000(^^'^l(^^»clClOco^>xoi»oo
X CO GO (X) GO 00 (X) 00 (» (X) 00 (X GO CO OO X (X) GO Oi 05 Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi Oi O: CS 05 o: o: Oi O tH
â– sas-BO JO *ojsr
rHrHTHrHrHrHrHrHr^iHrHC<JrHrHTHrHrHHrHrHrHtHrHrHrHrHC^iHC<lC^iHrHiH
o o o o
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo OC<J»OiOXXXOOOOOOOO(M<MC^^Tj<iOOiOiC<X>XXOO (X><:o:DCDiXiOiXit>t>t>t>t>t>'Xit>L^I>L^t>t>l>l>t>t:^t>t>t>XX
â– S88B0 JO -o isT
eas-BO JO -OK
JHiHrHrHrHrHrHOOiHrH
g I o q © o
s â–¡ ^
^ ^ o
02 P
O O
ft^«2'^ ft®
i P r fl". "-^ s
o ftb"t^4^
ii6
Table No. 11.
TEMPERATUKE AFTER THE TORNADO.
|
05 |
03 |
|||||||||
|
« |
Condition. |
Condition. |
coo; |
|||||||
|
Condition. |
OfC |
(Thermomet- |
o |
(Thermomet- |
o o |
of C uper reco |
||||
|
6 |
rically.) |
d |
rically.) |
d |
d o-^ |
|||||
|
" Cooler and cliilly." |
||||||||||
|
*' Cooler (next day)." |
||||||||||
|
( Nov., ) < next J> / morn S |
66° |
t April.) |
- 1 |
|||||||
|
" Chilly." . |
45 |
8° |
||||||||
|
68° |
1 |
|||||||||
|
"Cool." |
188 |
|||||||||
|
" Cooler." |
49 |
45° |
(May.) |
]^ |
68° |
(May.) |
1 |
|||
|
" Slightly cooler." " Much cooler." |
5 |
|||||||||
|
50° |
(June.) |
69° |
(May.) |
1 |
||||||
|
" Probably cooler." "Cold." |
1 |
|||||||||
|
123 |
54° |
(April.) |
1 |
70° |
(July.) |
1 |
||||
|
"Very cold." " Suddenly very cold.' " Colder." |
8 |
|||||||||
|
1 |
56° |
(April.) |
2 |
72° |
(June.) |
1 |
||||
|
8 |
||||||||||
|
" Much colder." |
1 |
56° |
(June.) |
2 |
73° |
(Aug.) |
1 |
|||
|
" Gradually cooler." |
28 |
|||||||||
|
"Gradually cold." " Gradually cool." |
6 |
58° |
(May.) |
1 |
75° |
(July.) |
1 |
|||
|
2 |
||||||||||
|
" Gradually colder." |
16 |
60° |
(June.) |
2 |
75° |
(June.) |
1 |
|||
|
" Suddenly cooler." " Suddenly cool." " Suddenly cold." " Suddenly cold(sno'w after, next day)." |
11 |
|||||||||
|
3 |
60° |
(April.) |
2 |
80° |
(Oct.) |
1 |
||||
|
34 |
||||||||||
|
1 |
60° |
(Aug.) |
2 |
81° |
(June.) |
1 |
||||
|
i |
||||||||||
|
" Suddenly colder." |
8 6 |
62° |
(May.) |
1 |
||||||
|
" No change." |
||||||||||
|
" No decided change." " No great change." |
3 |
64° |
(May.) |
1 |
||||||
|
3 |
||||||||||
|
" Not much change." |
1 |
65° |
(June.) |
1 |
||||||
|
" No sudden change." |
1 |
|||||||||
|
" Warm." |
8 |
65° |
(Sept.) |
1 |
||||||
|
" Intensely hot." " Suddenly cool, tem- |
1 |
|||||||||
|
66° |
(Sept.) |
1 |
||||||||
|
perature falling sev- |
1 |
|||||||||
|
eral degrees in a few minutes. " |
66° |
(July.) |
1 |
|||||||
|
Totals, |
565 |
21 |
11 |
1,270:1,867 |
117
Table No. 12.
Reporled Valuation of Property Destroyed by Tornadoes. The values here given are in the main largely underestimated, owing to imperfection of re- ports, and in many cases failure to give any mention of the loss. It is estimated that these values give, on the average, about 10 per cent of the actual loss sus- tained.
Length of
Tornado record in years.
63 46 205 12 12 92 52 68 44 28 77 18 27 54 78 64
Valuation of property destroyed.
$142,000 535,000 272,000 540,000 2,500 600,000 675,000 787,000 1,553,000 520,000 25,000 120,000 2,000 20,000 50,000 226,400
Minnesota,
Mississippi
Missouri,
Nebraska,
N. Hampshire,
New Jersey,
New York,
North Carolina.
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
South Carolina,
Tennessee,
Texas,
Vermont,
Virginia,
Wisconsin,
Length of
Tornado record in years.
32 64 46 16 70 65 99 61 83 76 125 79 34 58 71 43
Table No. 13.
A table showing the period of observation and record of the occurrence of Tornadoes for each State from which they have been reported. States arranged alphabetically.
Alabama,
Arkansas,
Colorado,
Connecticut,
Dakota,
Florida,
(Jeorgia,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Iowa,
Kansas,
Kentucky,
Louisiana,
Maine,
Maryland,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
1823 to 1886 1840 " 1886
1877 ' 1682 ' 18T5 ' 1875 â– 1795 ' 1835 ' 1818 ' 1843 ' 1859 ' 1810 ' 1869 1860 1833 1809 1823
1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886 1886
No. of Years.
63 46 10 205 12 12 92 52 68 44 28 77 18 27 54 78 64
Minnesota,
Mississippi,
Missouri,
Nebraska,
N. Hampshire,
New Jersey,
New York,
North Carolina,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin,
PERIOD.
|
1855 to 1886 |
32 |
|
|
1823 ' |
' 1886 |
64 |
|
1814 ' |
' 1886 |
46 |
|
1871 ' |
' 1886 |
16 |
|
1807 ' |
' 1886 |
70 |
|
1822 ' |
' 1886 |
65 |
|
1787 ' |
' 1886 |
99 |
|
1826 * |
' 1886 |
61 |
|
1804 ' |
' 1886 |
83 |
|
1811 ' |
' 1886 |
76 |
|
1761 ' |
' 1886 |
125 |
|
1808 ' |
' 1886 |
79 |
|
1853 ' |
' 1886 |
34 |
|
1829 ' |
' 1886 |
58 |
|
1816 ' |
' 1886 |
71 |
|
1880 ' |
' 1886 |
7 |
|
1844 ' |
♦ 1886 |
43 |
ii8
Table No 14.
KELATivK Frequency of Tornadoes, by months.
|
No. of Storms |
MONTHS. |
No. of Storms |
g Or-: III |
Total No. of Toriuuloos observed. |
|
|
January, |
22 |
JULY, |
232 |
||
|
FEBRUARY, |
89 |
August, |
147 |
||
|
MARCH, |
152 |
September, |
114 |
||
|
ArRH>, |
313 |
OCTOBER, |
41 |
||
|
MAY, |
339 |
NOVEMBER, |
55 |
||
|
June, |
285 |
December, |
27 |
51 |
1,867 |
Table No. 15.
A table showing the relative frequency of Tornadoes by States according to the area of each in square miles, and to the length of record of observations dur- ing a period, in the total, of 205 years, from 1682 to 1886, inclusive.
Relative frequency in this table is expressed decimally in terms of the unit of value for each State, which is taken, for convenience of comparison, at 10,000 square miles.
|
h of record rs. |
1 num- year State. |
o ® 2^ |
hof record irs. |
1 num- year. State. |
iiimiber vnv for sq. miles. |
||||
|
STATES. |
fcJDO O |
STATES. |
^ tj |
||||||
|
Aiea in 10,000 mi |
O} f-f |
m |
Area in 10,000 mi |
Tornad in 5 |
S <y > S ^ |
< iH |
|||
|
Alabama, |
5.1 |
63 |
1.62 |
0.32 |
Minnesota, |
8.4 |
32 |
2.44 |
0.29 |
|
Arkansas, |
5.3 |
46 |
0.74 |
0.14 |
MississipiJi, |
4.7 |
64 |
0.76 |
0.16 |
|
Colorado, |
10.3 |
10 |
0.40 |
0.04 |
Missouri, |
6.5 |
46 |
3.39 |
0.52 |
|
Connecticut, |
0.5 |
205 |
0.06 |
0.12 |
Nebraska, |
7.6 |
16 |
3.25 |
0.43 |
|
Dakota, |
14.7 |
12 |
3.83 |
0.26 |
N. Hampshire |
7.9 |
70 |
0.11 |
0.01 |
|
Florida, |
5.4 |
12 |
0.83 |
0.15 |
New J ersey, |
0.8 |
65 |
0.18 |
0.22 |
|
Georgia, |
5.8 |
92 |
1.39 |
0.24 |
New York, |
4.7 |
99 |
0.68 |
0.14 |
|
Illinois, |
5.5 |
52 |
2.44 |
0.44 |
N. Carolina, |
5.1 |
61 |
0.97 |
0.19 |
|
Indiana, |
3.4 |
68 |
1.23 |
0.36 |
Ohio, |
4.0 |
83 |
1.10 |
0.27 |
|
Iowa, |
5.5 |
44 |
2 67 |
0.49 |
Pennsylvania |
4.6 |
76 |
0.80 |
0.17 |
|
Kansas, |
8.1 |
28 |
5.46 |
0.67 |
S. Carolina, |
3.4 |
125 |
0.46 |
0.13 |
|
Kentucky, |
4.0 |
77 |
0.34 |
0.08 |
Tennessee, |
4.6 |
79 |
0.39 |
0.08 |
|
Louisiana, |
4.1 |
18 |
1.05 |
0.26 |
Texas, |
26.2 |
34 |
2.14 |
0.08 |
|
Maine, Maryland, |
2.9 |
27 |
0.26 |
0.09 |
Vermont, |
0.9 |
58 |
0.06 |
0.07 |
|
1.1 |
54 |
0.30 |
0.27 |
Virginia, |
4.0 |
71 |
0.25 |
0.06 |
|
|
Massachus'tts |
0.8 |
78 |
0.28 |
0.35 |
W. Virginia, |
2.4 |
7 |
0.28 |
0.12 |
|
Michigan, |
5.6 |
64 |
1.10 |
0.20 |
Wisconsin, |
5.4 |
43 |
1.37 |
0.25 |
119
Table No. 16.
|
MONTHLY TORNADO FREQUENCY. |
||||||||||||||
|
TOTAL NUMBER OF TORNADOES FOR EACH |
^ |
|||||||||||||
|
8TATE. |
Month, by States. |
Cases, mon not repon |
Total No Tornado per Stat |
|||||||||||
|
1 Jan. |
Feb. |
March. |
April. |
May. |
1 June. |
July. |
Aug. |
Sept. |
Oct. |
0 |
Dec. |
|||
|
Alabama, |
9 |
13 |
27 |
21 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
9 |
102 |
|||||
|
Arkansas, |
2 |
12 |
9 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
34 |
|||||
|
Colorado, |
2 |
2 |
4 |
|||||||||||
|
Connecticut, |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
||||||
|
Dakota Ty., |
2 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
14 |
11 |
4 |
46 |
||||||
|
Delaware, |
1 |
1 |
||||||||||||
|
Dist. of Colnmbia, |
1 |
1 |
||||||||||||
|
Florida, |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
|||||||
|
Georgia, |
4 |
27 |
30 |
30 |
8 |
"4 |
7 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
'5 |
6 |
128 |
|
|
Illinois, |
1 |
1 |
6 |
15 |
50 |
19 |
4 |
5 |
15 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
127 |
|
Indiana, |
2 |
7 |
6 |
25 |
13 |
9 |
7 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
84 |
|
|
Indian Ty., |
2 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
||||||||||
|
Iowa, |
2 |
1 |
31 |
18 |
37 |
15 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
118 |
|||
|
Kansas, |
4 |
30 |
45 |
40 |
18 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
153 |
|||||
|
Kentucky, |
'3 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
26 |
|||||
|
Louisiana, |
2 |
1 |
"7 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
19 |
|||||||
|
Maine, |
1 |
4 |
i |
1 |
7 |
|||||||||
|
Maryland, |
1 |
1 |
"i |
4 |
6 |
"i |
1 |
16 |
||||||
|
Massachusetts, |
3 |
9 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
22 |
||||||||
|
Michigan, |
1 |
11 |
14 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
15 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
71 |
|||
|
Minnesota, Mississippi, |
16 |
4 |
15 |
20 |
17 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
78 |
||||
|
2 |
15 |
19 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
49 |
||||||
|
Missouri. |
4 |
5 |
32 |
42 |
29 |
i3 |
5 |
'8 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
156 |
||
|
Nebraska, |
8 |
11 |
18 |
6 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
52 |
||||||
|
New Hampshire, |
1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
||||||||
|
New Jersey, |
1 |
'i |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
12 |
||||||
|
New York, |
1 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
28 |
9 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
67 |
|||
|
North Carolina, |
8 |
14 |
ii |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
59 |
|
|
Ohio, |
'2 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
32 |
15 |
9 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
92 |
|
Pennsylvania, |
1 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
12 |
9 |
13 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
61 |
||
|
Khode Island, |
1 |
1 |
||||||||||||
|
South Carolina, |
13 |
11 |
12 |
6 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
57 |
||
|
Tennessee, |
1 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
31 |
||
|
Texas, |
2 |
4 |
22 |
8 |
26 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
73 |
|||||
|
Vermont, |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
||||||||||
|
Virginia, |
2 |
1 |
'3 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
18 |
|||||||
|
West Virginia, |
"i |
1 |
2 |
|||||||||||
|
Wisconsin, |
1 |
2 |
'7 |
8 |
19 |
13 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
59 |
|||
|
Totals, |
22 |
89 |
152 |
313 |
339 |
285 |
232 |
147 |
114 |
41 |
55 |
27 |
51 |
1,867 |
I20
Table No. 17.
|
ClT ATT |
Monthly frequency expressed in percent- age OF TOTAL Number of Tornadoes IN EACH STATE. |
Month of greatest fre- quency, per cent. |
|||||||||||
|
Jan. |
Feb. |
March. |
April. |
May. |
June. |
bb < |
Sept. |
Oct. |
> o |
Dec. 1 |
|||
|
Alabama, |
10 |
14 |
29 |
23 |
10 |
10 |
Marcli. |
||||||
|
Arkansas, |
6 |
36 |
27 |
6 |
9 |
3 |
12 |
April. |
|||||
|
Colorado, |
50 |
50 |
May Jun |
||||||||||
|
Connecticut, |
8 |
17 |
25 |
25 |
17 |
8 |
July! |
||||||
|
Dakota Ter., |
4 |
11 |
4 |
18 |
30 |
24 |
9 |
July. |
|||||
|
Delaware, |
100 |
August. |
|||||||||||
|
Dist. of Columbia, |
100 |
August. |
|||||||||||
|
Florida, |
10 |
10 |
2l) |
30 |
20 |
10 |
Sept. |
||||||
|
Georgia, |
3 |
22 |
25 |
25 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
"4 |
Men, Apr. |
|
|
Illinois, |
1 |
1 |
5 |
12 |
40 |
15 |
3 |
4 |
12 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
May. |
|
Indiana, |
2 |
8 |
7 |
30 |
16 |
11 |
8 |
7 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
May. |
|
|
Indian Ter., |
33 |
50 |
17 |
May. |
|||||||||
|
Iowa, |
2 |
1 |
26 |
15 |
3i |
id |
3 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
June. |
||
|
Xansas, |
3 |
20 |
29 |
26 |
12 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
May. |
||||
|
Kentucky, |
is |
26 |
13 |
9 |
13 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
March. |
||||
|
Louisiana, |
11 |
5 |
37 |
5 |
5 |
ii |
26 |
April. |
|||||
|
Maine, |
14 |
57 |
14 |
14 |
July. |
||||||||
|
Maryland, |
7 |
7 |
"7 |
27 |
40 |
"7 |
7 |
August. |
|||||
|
Massachusetts, |
16 |
47 |
26 |
11 |
July. |
||||||||
|
Michigan, |
2 |
16 |
21 |
12 |
10 |
8 |
22 |
6 |
3 |
May. |
|||
|
Minnesota, |
21 |
5 |
20 |
26 |
22 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
July. |
||||
|
Mississippi, |
4 |
31 |
38 |
17 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
April. |
|||||
|
Missouri, |
3 |
3 |
21 |
28 |
19 |
9 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
May. |
|
|
Nebraska, |
15 |
21 |
35 |
12 |
4 |
12 |
2 |
June. |
|||||
|
New Hampshire, |
12 |
50 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
July. |
|||||||
|
New Jersey, |
8 |
"8 |
17 |
25 |
17 |
17 |
"8 |
August. |
|||||
|
New York, |
2 |
3 |
"8 |
13 |
45 |
14 |
11 |
2 |
2 |
July. |
|||
|
North Carolina, |
14 |
24 |
ii) |
5 |
5 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
2 |
5 |
March. |
|
|
Ohio, |
2 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
36 |
17 |
10 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
May. |
|
Pennsylvania, |
2 |
5 |
3 |
22 |
20 |
15 |
22 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
May, Aug. |
||
|
Bhode Island, |
100 |
August. |
|||||||||||
|
Soutli Carolina, |
i^4 |
20 |
22 |
11 |
2 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
February |
||
|
Tennessee, |
3 |
10 |
10 |
33 |
13 |
10 |
3 |
10 |
3 |
3 |
April. |
||
|
Texas, |
8 |
6 |
30 |
11 |
36 |
6 |
7 |
3 |
June. |
||||
|
Vermont, |
25 |
50 |
25 |
July. |
|||||||||
|
Virginia, |
11 |
6 |
17 |
28 |
11 |
28 |
July, Sep. |
||||||
|
West \ irginia, |
50 |
50 |
Apl,June. |
||||||||||
|
Wisconsin, |
2 |
3 |
12 |
14 |
33 |
22 |
9 |
3 |
2 |
July. |
121
Table No. 18.
Kelative Frequency of toiinadoes. Months— Days.
|
1-5 |
Feb. |
March J |
April. |
May. |
June. |
July. |
Aug. |
Pi <V m |
Oct. |
o |
o 0) A |
|
|
1st. |
1 |
1 |
15 |
10 |
5 |
9 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
|||
|
2(1. |
1 |
6 |
2 |
7 |
10 |
2 |
||||||
|
3d. |
'i |
5 |
1 |
7 |
11 |
17 |
3 |
1 |
||||
|
4tli. |
2 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
14 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
|||
|
5tli. |
1 |
6 |
6 |
10 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
5 |
||||
|
6th. |
1 |
11 |
16 |
9 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
14 |
1 |
|||
|
7th. |
1 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
||||
|
8th. |
2 |
2 . |
3 |
11 |
7 |
10 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
'i |
|
|
9th. |
2 |
4 |
1 |
13 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
9 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
10th. |
1 |
7 |
2 |
18 |
11 |
9 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
11th. |
8 |
2 |
14 |
2 |
6 |
21 |
10 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
|
|
12tli. |
1 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
37 |
28 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
13th'. |
2 |
4 |
18 |
7 |
17 |
5 |
1 |
|||||
|
14th. |
2 |
62 |
32 |
17 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
-- |
||
|
15th |
1 |
3 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
8 |
15 |
1 |
4 |
|||
|
16th! |
3 |
8 |
6 |
10 |
15 |
4 |
21 |
1 |
"i |
|||
|
17th. |
1 |
2 |
6 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
"i |
||||
|
18th. |
2 |
4 |
38 |
31 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
|||
|
19th! |
51 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
20 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
||||
|
20th. |
25 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|||
|
21st |
'i |
1 |
9 |
2 |
13 |
8 |
11 |
1 |
"i |
|||
|
2 2d.' |
5 |
22 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
||||||
|
23d. |
2 |
2 |
12 |
8 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|||
|
24th. |
1 |
8 |
9 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
"3 |
|||
|
25th. |
27 |
13 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
"i |
4 |
2 |
||
|
26th. |
"i |
3 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
|||
|
27th. |
6 |
12 |
8 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
|||
|
28th. |
1 |
5 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
"i |
2 |
||
|
29th. |
7 |
9 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
2 |
'i |
|||
|
30th. |
1 |
5 |
26 |
8 |
10 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
"i |
|||
|
31st. |
2 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
||||||||
|
No. of |
||||||||||||
|
Days. |
8 |
18 |
27 |
30 |
31 |
30 |
31 |
30 |
26 |
20 |
17 |
13 |
|
No. of |
||||||||||||
|
cases, |
||||||||||||
|
days not |
||||||||||||
|
recorded. |
4 |
3 |
6 |
12 |
13 |
18 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
|
No. of |
||||||||||||
|
Tornadoes |
||||||||||||
|
per |
||||||||||||
|
month. |
22 |
89 |
152 |
313 |
339 |
285 |
232 |
147 |
114 |
41 |
55 |
27 |
Number of cases month not recorded, 51. Total Number of Tornadoes observed, 1,867.
122
TABLE No. 19.
CONSIDERATION OF STATES liY QUARTERS.
|
N.E. Quarter |
S. E. Quarter |
S.W. Quarter |
N.W. Quart'r |
|||||||
|
^1 . |
||||||||||
|
STATE. |
Number of Years of Tornado Recoi |
Total Nurabe of Tornadoes |
1 Total Number i of Tornadoes. |
1 Total Number i of Tornadoes. |
Total Number i of Tornadoes. | |
|||||
|
1 Total Nu of Torn a |
Month greatest quenc |
Month greatest quenc |
Month greatest quenc |
Month greatest quenc; |
||||||
|
Alabama. |
bo |
102 |
57 |
April. |
8 |
March. |
8 |
Mh.Nov. |
29 |
March. |
|
Aikaiisas. |
46 |
34 |
9 |
4 |
M^arch, |
5 |
April. |
15 |
Apiil. |
|
|
Colorado. |
10 |
4 |
1 |
May. |
3 |
June. |
||||
|
Conn. |
205 |
13 |
2 |
Jul., Sep. |
6 |
Jun., Ag. |
5 |
May, Jul. Ag., Sep. |
||
|
Dakota. |
46 |
12 |
August. |
27 |
July. |
3 |
June. |
2 |
Maich. |
|
|
Delaware. |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Aug. |
||||||
|
D.Columbia. |
72 |
1 |
||||||||
|
Florida. |
12 |
10 |
5 |
Sept. |
1 |
July. |
4 |
Ap.,May Till |
||
|
Georgia. |
92 |
128 |
33 |
Feb. |
10 |
March. |
19 |
April. |
65 |
April. |
|
Illinois. |
52 |
127 |
30 |
May |
13 |
Sept. |
55 |
May. |
29 |
May. |
|
Indiana. |
68 |
84 |
28 |
28 |
22 |
Aug. |
11 |
May. |
||
|
Indian Ty. |
12 |
6 |
1 |
May. May. |
3 |
May! |
2 |
April. |
||
|
Iowa. |
44 |
118 |
20 |
34 |
June. |
34 |
April. |
30 |
June. |
|
|
Kansas. |
Za |
153 |
87 |
May. |
39 |
June. |
1 o iz |
April. |
15 |
May. |
|
Kentucky. |
77 |
26 |
8 |
Mh., Jul. |
7 |
March. |
7 |
Dec. |
4 |
Fb.,May. Ag. Nov. |
|
Louisiana. |
18 |
19 |
2 |
Oc.,Nov. |
8 |
April. |
1 |
Oct. |
8 |
Ap., Nov |
|
Maine. |
27 |
7 |
2 |
May, Jul. |
5 |
July. |
||||
|
Maryland. |
54 |
16 |
5 |
August. |
1 |
Aug. |
Q |
Fb., Ag., Sept. |
7 |
July. |
|
Mass. |
78 |
22 |
7 |
August. |
2 |
Jul., Ag. |
9 |
July. |
4 |
July. |
|
Micliigan. |
64 |
71 |
5 |
Ap., Jun, Sept. |
34 |
April. |
29 |
May. |
4 |
Sep., Oct. |
|
Minnesota. |
32 |
78 |
2 |
Ap.,May |
45 |
Jun., Ag. |
22 |
Jnly. |
9 |
Aug. April. |
|
Mississippi. |
64 |
49 |
20 |
March. |
8 |
April. |
17 |
April. |
6 |
|
|
Missouri. |
63 |
156 |
36 |
May. |
21 |
April. |
31 |
April. |
72 |
My., Jun |
|
Nebraska. |
16 |
52 |
11 |
Sept. |
39 |
June. |
2 |
My., Jun. |
||
|
N. II amp. |
70 |
8 |
1 |
Oct. |
7 |
July. |
||||
|
New Jersey. |
65 |
12 |
6 |
Oct. |
1 |
Aug. |
4 |
Jul., Ag., Sep., Nov |
1 |
April. |
|
New York. |
99 |
67 |
7 |
August. |
19 |
July. |
32 |
July. |
9 |
July. |
|
N. Carolina. |
61 |
59 |
10 |
August. |
14 |
Feb.,Mh. May. |
22 |
March. |
10 |
April. |
|
Ohio. |
83 |
92 |
21 |
June. |
11 |
29 |
May. |
31 |
May. |
|
|
Penn. |
76 |
61 |
6 |
Oct. |
22 |
Aug. |
24 |
May. |
9 |
Jun., Jul. |
|
Khode Is, |
48 |
1 |
1 |
Aug. |
||||||
|
S. Carolina. |
125 |
57 |
8 |
March. |
8 |
April. |
15 |
Fb., Apr. |
25 |
March. |
|
Tennessee. |
79 |
31 |
6 |
Ap., Jun. |
3 |
Fb., Ap., Nov. |
11 |
April. |
13 |
April. |
|
Texas. |
34 |
73 |
51 |
June. |
14 |
June. |
4 |
April, |
3 |
April. |
|
Vermont. |
58 |
4 |
3 |
Ma., Jul., Aug. |
1 |
July. |
||||
|
Virginia. |
71 |
18 |
5 |
Sept. |
9 |
July. |
3 |
June. |
1 |
.lune. |
|
W. Virginia. |
7 |
2 |
1 |
June. |
1 |
April. |
||||
|
Wisconsin. |
43 |
59 |
4 |
July. |
30 |
July. |
21 |
Aug. |
5 |
July. |
|
Totals |
2,129 |
1,867 |
504 |
|