154 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



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." 



The peculiar aciion of the clouds while they are forming is another interest- 

 ing and significant feature which should be carefully watched. Under ordinary 

 circumustances clouds form, move about and disappear without causing the 

 slightest remark or perhaps thought, from the casual or even the interested ob- 

 server. In the event of a thunder-storm or hailstorm the movement and disposi- 

 tion of the clouds are not looked upon with fear or as possibly possessed of a power 

 to create great havoc. But on the occasion of a tornado the formation and move- 

 ment of the clouds strike most persons almost 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 threaten- 

 ing forms. 



As they approach from opposite directions they are suddenly 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, 

 now rushing upward to considerable heights like the ascension of a sky-rocket, 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 north- 

 west 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 con- 

 dition, 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 tor- 

 nado cloud advances these scuds continue to play about its top and sides, consti- 

 tuting 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 tornado cloud advances. This roar- 

 ing is compared to the passage of a heavily loaded freight train moving over a 

 bridge or through a deep pass or tunnel. To the roaring of a railroad train such 

 as is heard on damp mornings when the sound is very clear and loud. It is also 

 likened to the rumbling of a long train of empty freight cars. The sound coming 

 from the rapid movement of a large number of empty box cars is accounted 

 rather peculiar and quite noticeable. 



At times the roaring has been so violent that persons have compared it to 

 the simultaneous "rush of 10,000 trains of cars." Of course there is no import 

 ance 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 represent- 

 ed is, in the main, due to the lack of uniformity in the positions of the various 

 observers with respect to the advancing tornado cloud. Those situated nearest 

 the cloud, other things being equal, experience the loudest roar, while to those 



