282 Tornado in N. E. part of Ohio, Feb. 4, 1842. 



tance of forty four paces — where it struck a tree ; the bottom 

 fell ; the upper timbers were carried various distances, the clap- 

 boards were broken to shivers and lie mostly strewed on the hill- 

 side, which rises on the northeast, some lying loose upon the 

 ground, and others sticking fast in the soil. Clapboards of the 

 usual size and pieces of flooring with square ends were driven 

 obliquely into the ground from six to twelve and even eighteen 

 inches, and some with sharp ends to the depth of two feet. The 

 soil is chiefly of clay, was at this time drenched with rain and 

 was almost entirely free from frost. The land was not ploughed 

 but covered with the usual turf. Other fragments of clapboards 

 from this building, easily distinguished by their red color, are 

 found strewed through the woods to the north and east, and some 

 are said to have been discovered at a distance of seven or eight 

 miles. The chimney of the house was carried N. 40° E., the 

 ridge N. 30° W. A number of apple trees near by were almost 

 entirely stripped of their bark, probably in consequence of the 

 cudgeling they received from sticks flying in the air. Four geese 

 were found dead in this vicinity without any material loss of 

 feathers. A large barn, containing ten tons of hay and a ton of 

 straw, was unroofed and carried N. 25° E. six feet. A corn 

 house, containing two hundred bushels of wheat and corn and 

 three barrels of salt, was also unroofed and moved from its foun- 

 dations northward, — the west corner four paces, the east corner 

 two paces. It ploughed into the ground, throwing up earth to 

 the height of a foot or more, particularly at the northwest angle. 



The school-house M was lifted entire from its foundations, car- 

 ried N. 10° W. twelve paces, and dashed upon the ground. The 

 fragments were scattered as usual. The hill towards the north- 

 east was covered with a very heavy growth of timber, — hemlock, 

 beech, oak, &c. of vast size. Scarce a tree of any importance 

 now stands entire. The breadth of the track at this place was 

 measured with a chain, 230 rods. Two waggons were carried off 

 in the tornado, and only one wheel has since been found. 



The following data will enable us to estimate the velocity of 

 the tornado's progress. I requested Mr. Gates to follow in imagi- 

 nation the smoky column as he saw it advance from its first ap- 

 pearance to its disappearance ; and with a watch in my hand 

 noted the time. The mean of three such trials, which were tol- 

 erably consistent with each other, was fifty two seconds. Dis- 



