18
Colima (Sem.)
Leon. ................. Magdalena (Sonora). Yazatlan (Cinaloa).. Yerlda (Yucatan) ... Mexico (Obs. Cent.).. Yorelia (Seminario).. Oaxaca ............... Puebla (Col. Cat.) .... Parros (Coahuila) .... Saltillo (Col. %.Juan) San LUIS Potosl ...... Silao (Ouaua unto)..
Dnrango (Sem) .......
Torreou (Coadulia) ..
MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW.
...................... 6,241 24.04 5,934 24.31 4 ,W ....... 25 29.98
50 30.05 7,479 23.08 6.401 23.99
5,164 25.10 7,112 23.36 3,986 ...... 5,399 %.EA
6,#n 24.16 6.063 24.30 %?’Lo .....
JANUARY, 1898
73.9
56.8
57.7 50.5 67.3 75.2 65.0
58.8 61.2 56.3 66.6
61.0
56.8 59.5 59.2 61.5
Mexican data for January, 1898.
.......... 5s 0.00
44 0.00
...... 7.56 75 0.00
63 0.28
49 0.00
57 0.00
54 0.00
54 0.00
...... T. 46 0.00
56 0.00
55 0.00
...... T.
...... 0.00
Prevailing direction.
Vaqueris.. .... Zaoatecas ............ ......
-
w
4 -
0 F. 75.7 77.4 80.2
80.6 78.6
SA. 1 95.4 73.9 80.1 84.9 74.5 76.6 79.2
$3.8
74.5 81.1 78.3 78.8
64.4
....
....
-
-
d
’ii -
0 F. 31.5 24.8 24.3
31.5 21.0
66.3 51.4 28.4 34.2 36.1 26.1 38.5 26.4 28.4
38.5 27.5 29.3
es. 4 39.0
.....
.....
-
I ,
57.4 ...... 0.00 58.5 ...... 0.00
$1 2 a
I
B V
8. I w. ......... ......... ......... ......... BW.
nw. ne.
ese. e.
ne.
8W.
nw.
.......... .......... ......... W.
.......... ne.
88.
ne.
sw.
8.
W.
.......... ,~w:. .... l.w;.. .... RW.
W. ........ ........
SW.
me.
W.
.......... .......... W.
8W
THE TORNADO OF JANUARY 12, AT FORT SMITH, ARK.
By J. J. O’DONNELL, Weather Bureau Observer.
(Dated February 21,1898 )
From the very full notes on this tornado reported hy A h .
O’Donnell, the Editor has made the following extracts :
On Janunry 8, over the central Pacific Slope, an area of
high pressure extended eastward over the southern Plateau
and the Platte Valley to the Missouri River, southern Iowa,
and Kansas. By the morning of the 10th a low area ex-
tended over the southern Pacific Slope, the Salt Lake, and
Rio Grande valleys, and a secondary low prevailed in the
neighborhood of Dodge City, Kans. The latter continued
deepening, and on the morning of the 11th appeared as a
storm center over southern New Mexico, inclosing the iso-
therms of 40 and 50, the path of movement of the center
being about halfway between the inclosed isotherms. I n the
Northwest a low also appeared ; there were thus two areas of
low pressure with an intervening high. North and west winds
with falling temperature prevailed on the west, but south and
east winds with rising temperature on the east side, with
cloudy weather and some rain. By 5 p. m. of the 11th the
barometer had fallen 0.30 in front of the advancing storm
center, but a t Fort Smith the fall was only0.12, and a t Little
Rock 0.10. The minimum a t Oklahoma occurred a t 5:30 p.
m., and then rose until 8 p. m., but at this same time the
barometer was falling rapidly a t Fort Smith and a t Little
Rock. It is probable that the area of falling barometer
either remained stationary or moved eastward, as Shreve-
port reports a maximum wind velocity of 36 miles at 7:55
p. m., whereas the maximum at Fort Smith, up to 8 p. m.,
was only 13 miles from the east. The change of wind at
Oklahoma, from south to north, was probably contempo-
raneous with the rise in pressure, the beginning of the fall in
temperature and the development of the thunderstorm. At
this time, 6 p. m., the echelon movement of the clouds, with
the bluish-green color, was first observed at Fort Smith;
probably similar contemporaneous phenomena occurred else-
where along the axis of the storm center. At 8 p. m. all sta-
tions in front and on the east of the storm’s center or axis
reported precipitation, and a t many of them thunderstorms
with masimiim wind velocities of over 25 miles per hour,
but at Fort Smith (and within 50 miles distance, EO far as
could be ascertained) no rain whatever had fallen. At South McAlester, Ind. T., on the Choctaw Railroad, 80 miles west-
southwest of Fort Smith, rain began about 9 or 9:30 p.
m., according to Judge Clayton, with lightning, which con-
tinued into the night; the air was then very sultry. About
11 p. m. the tornado cloud was observed in the air between
Hartshorne and Alderson, Lid. T. (therefore 20 miles nearer
Fort Smith), by persons who fled to their tornado cellars.
At Fort Smith, a t 5:15 p. m., the cumulo-stratus clouds
were moving rapidly from the south and southwest, mingling
in the usual manner of such clouds, while the eastern horizon
was obscured by stratus. Shortly after 6 p. ni. these cumulo-
stratus had changed somewhat in color, from dark gray to
bluish-green, being inky black on the edges and but slightly
mottled in the center. As the night approached the bluish-
green became deeper, the inky spots became larger, the tex-
ture was Inore compact, the movement and direction re-
mained the same, and there was no appearance of a funnel
at t h a t time.
At 8 p. m., while observing the clouds, the wind vane
veered to the south with a jerk that almost wrenched i t from
its support, but imliiediately backed slowly to east and re-
m:hed steady; the clouds were a sheet of unbroken stratus
moving from the west, and seemingly lower than before.
At 9 p. m., when changing the thermograph sheet, the wind
was still steady from the east; intense darkness prevailed in
the west and north ; some stars were to be seen in the east,
showing that the sky in that quadrant was lightly obscured;
not a trace of lightning anywhere.
At 9:35 p. m. the first lightning was observed, very low in
the southwest horizon ; i t spread toward the south and the
west, and by 10 p. m. reached an altitude of 50°.
A t 1 1 :l O p. m. the first thunder was heard, coming from
the southwest; then, a t intervals of six or seven minutes, i t
was repeated until the tornado struck the city. At no time
was the lightning fierce nor the thunder loud; the lightning
was always weak and distant, considering its quantity.
About 11:30 p. in. the lightning became more concentrated in
the southwest, the flashes, radiating fan-shaped from a center
in luminous heanis, reaching to the zenith. Until midnight
frequent sheet lightning illuniinated the whole southern and
western sky, sshibiting dense masses of broken cumulo-stratus
clouds, meeting a d uniting as they passed rapidly eastward.
As the clock was striking midnight and the office was about
to be locked up, the barometer reading 28.846, actual, the wind.
south, not a drop of rain having fallen, the air feeling sultry
and very damp, a d while the book of mean pressures was
being examined for comparative harometer readings, a gurgling
noise was heard, like water rushing out of a bottle, followed
immediately by a rumbling, such ns that made by a number
of heavy carriages rolling rapidly over a cobblestone pave-
ment, and finally like a railroad train. These three noises
appeared in this order of succession ; each was distinctly dif-
ferent and clearly distinguishable from the other. This noise
or roar is entirely peculiar to itself, though resembling those
just mentioned, and is always recognizable as the “tornado
roar.” About two seconds elapsed between the first roar and
the rattling and quivering of the ofice window by the wind
and the terrific driving rain which a t once forced itself in
between the frame and the sash, a t the top, the bottom, and
the sides, and flooded the office. The book of means was laid
aside and the observer went to the landing in the large sky-
light on the roof of the observatory, whence he saw the tor-
nado cloud 450 feet distant to the southward, a twisted black
mass of two clouds, accompanied by lightning from the upper
parts of the clouds. The lightning was a continuous series of
flashes of a pale yellow color ; the noise of the thunder sounded
like the muffled beating of a number of drums within the cloud.
The clouds appeared like inverted siphcns, each curved over
downward from the right or left hand side of the cloud,
respectively, to the center, where they came in contact with
each other and twisted about one another downward to the
ground, being narrowest about 40 feet from the ground and,
probably, about 100 feet high.
JANUARY, 1898. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 19
The tornado cloud was see11 emerging out of the National
Cemetery and passing by the United States post office and
the county courthouse. I n its passage through the cemetery
i t uprooked forty trees, lifted the iron flagstaff, although eni-
bedded in solid granite, snapped to pieces the I-inch wire
cable guy of the staff, lifted bodily from its base 500 feet of
12-inch brick wall 4+ feet high, and demolished the keeper's
residence. I n its passage through vacant property to the
principal business street i t passed over the residence of Mrs.
Mivelaz, the brick walls of which burst outward with a loud
explosion, undoubtedly due to the low air-pressure a t the
center of the toriiado; a similar fate befell a frame building.
Farther on, and on the left-hand side of the tornado track, a
two-story stone building was demolished and a three-story
brick building was carried entire 25 feet away from its
foundation. Thirty-three persons were killed outright and
nineteen subsequently died from their injuries ; forty-four
others were seriously injured.
As far as can be learned, the tornado descended to the
ground first in the nionntainous country near Sail Bois, in the
Choctaw Nation, 100 niiles southwest of Fort Smith ; crossed
the Arkansas River three times, viz, a t the mouth of Cache
Creek, a t a point near Fort Smith, a t n third point beyond
Fort Smith, four miles east of Van Buren. A t Belinont in
the eastern part of Crawford County, 30 miles northeast of
Fort Smith, i t was observed ascending and disappearing in
the air.
The passage of the tornado cloud was actually observed
during about six seconds by the observer a t Fort Smith, dur-
ing which time i t traveled about 'io0 feet, passing in front
or south of his office a t 12:08 or 12:09 a. m., a t which time
the extreme wind velocity was 60 miles from the southwest,
while the maximum or average velocity during five minutes
was 48 miles. The rainfall lasted four minutes, from 12:07
to 12:11 a. m., January 12, and amounted to 0.35, as found in
the gauge. At 12:40 a. m. not a cloud remained visible in
the sky except a bank of stratus in the western horizon.
The directions in which the debris were thrown are given
by Mr. O'Donnell in detail. Nearly everything within 300
yards of the central path was thrown from either side
toward the center. The only niovement that was not fre-
quently shown was from the northwest. The general trend
of the central path was almost exactly from west to east, in
its passage through the city of Fort Smith. The area of de-
struction, and apparently the force of the wind, was greater on
the south or right-hand side than on the north or left-hand
side. The damage to property was very light a t distances ex-
ceeding 400 feet on the south side and 250 feet on the north
side. The total damage to property is estimated a t $450,000.
The Weather Bureau Observer, standing within the skylight,
on the roof of the Observatory, 54 feet above the ground and
450 feet north of the central portion of the track, could see
on a level with his eye and higher up, objects flying out of
the cloud toward the north and west. The testimony of
those who live on either sido of the tornado path confirms
the conclusion that the precipitation was heavier on the south
than on the uorth side.
The readings of the barometer were: l l t h , 8 p. m., 28.846,
and the same a t midnight. At 12:45 the barometer read
29.010. The lowest pressure, as deduced by correcting the
barograph record, was apparently 28.67, but as the barograph
clock had unfortunately become disordered a few days before
there is no record of the time of this minimum. This de-
pression could not have lasted more than a minute ; it occurred
in the midst of a general depression of about 0.30 which had
continued since 4 p. ni. of that date. The collapse of the
dwelling of Mrs. Nivelaz, which was about 200 feet south of
the center of the path, is the principal evidence of a decidedly
sudden local diminution in pressure.
The anemometer record sho\vs that the extreme velocity of
60 miles within a minute also occurred a t 13:OS or 12:09.
The corrected thermograph record shows a fall from 7 3 O at
midnight to 6 2 O a t 13:lO a. 111. of the 12th, but this fall may
easily have been clue to the wetting of the dry bulb by reason
of the high winds a t that moment. On the other hand, this
may also represent the lower temperature of the rain and va-
por within the cloud, a few hundred feet north of the central
tornado. Some of the debris from the tornado seems to have
been found the next day a t Ozark, Ark., 30 or 35 miles dis-
tant, toward the east-northeast. Another tornado occurred an
hour previous, i. e., a t 11 p. m. of January 11, st Alma,
Crawford Co., Ark., 20 miles northeast of Fort Smith.
- -
NOTES BY THE EDITOR.
MOUNTAIN STORMS.
A correspondent, Mr. L. D. Woodfill, Highhouse, Fayette
Co., Pa., asks the following questions. Any information will
be thankfully received :
In this part of the country, near Uniontown, Pa., we always hear a loud roaring, as of great winds, from six to twelve or sixteen hours preceding a mountain storm. During this roaring, which appears to be in the mountain, 6 miles off, it is almost a perfect calm here. What
is the cause? I am told that this phenomena only occurs in the south- west part of Fayette Co., Pa.
DR. WALTEMATH'S MOON.
A circular letter addressed to the Editor of the MONTHLY
WEATHER REVIEW by Dr. George Waltemath of Hamburg,
requested that observations be made on February 3 for the
purpose of discovering whether or no any small, round, black
spot could be seen crossing over the sun's disk, correspond-
ing to the hypothetical small moon or large meteoric body
which Dr. Waltemath thinks must exist, circulating around
the earth in about one hundred and seventy-seven days or a
little less than six months. Although there could be no
rational expectation of the existence of such a body, yet, as
the observations were easy to make and would afford an ab-
solute confirmation of refutation of this new theory, the
Editor requested Professor Bigelow to allow the use of his
4-inch telescope, for the purpose of the search. The same
glass had been used by hlr. R. H. Dean in observing the
transit of Mercury, Noveinber 10, 1891, when, as now, it was
arranged so as to cast a well-defined image of the sun about 5
inches in diameter, upon a sheet, of white paper, a t the rear
of a photographic camera box. The definition was suffici-
ently clear to allow an object, whose apparent diameter is 6
seconds of arc, to be distinctly seen. I n addition to cursory
observations by Professor Bigelow and the Editor, a more
careful examination was made a t 13 noon, 1,2,3, and 4 p. m.,
by Mr. Dean. The day was clear and the atmosphere very
favorable but no sunspots or other objects were seen on the
projected image of the sun.
With regard to the corresponding observations of the tran-
sit of Mercury, November 10, 1894, Mr. Dean had at that
time reported-
The first xp earance of the image as a clearly defined black spot on the west limf: of the sun's projected image was at 10h. 57m. 50s.. seventy-fifth meridian mean time. The entire image was visible at 10h. 59m. Os. At the close of the transit there wvna no light between the edge of Mercury and the edge of the sun at 4h. 9m. 15s., but it wavered until 4h. 10m. Os., when the two edges were clearly in contact