USA > Iowa > Calhoun County > Pomeroy > The story of a storm, a history of the great tornado at Pomeroy, Calhoun County, Iowa, July 6, 1893 > Part 2
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On the Moody & Davy farm, occupied by William I. Webb, was a cave which would have afforded protection for the family had they taken warning of the approaching storm. But they were all at the supper table when the house was torn in pieces over their heads. Mr. Webb received a bad wound in the leg, while Mrs. Webb was seriously hurt in the back, and their little daughter had her foot crushed.
A half-mile farther east Charles Perkins and family saw the storm in time to take refuge in their cave. Their house and its contents were totally destroyed. On the Weidauer farm, south of Perkins', the buildings were taken, but no one was hurt.
VIEW OF RUINS FROM THE NORTHWEST.
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STORY OF A STORM.
At the Dalton farm, three miles west of Pomeroy, everything was swept clean. When Mrs. Dalton saw the storm approaching she ran to a neighbor's and escaped injury. Mr. Dalton remained at his house and came out with a broken leg. Fred Parker, who was stopping at the Dalton place, had a narrow escape. He ran to get out of the storm's way, but, seeing it was going to over- take him, dropped flat on the ground. Before the storm had passed, however, something impelled him to move on a little way. In making the move he left his hat where he had first lain, and upon returning afterward for the hat found it being held quite firmly to the ground by an 8 by 8 timber. Directly after the storm young Parker went to his father's place, two miles north, for help. J. F. Parker returned with him, with team and vehicle, and conveyed Dalton to Pomeroy for surgical treatment, not knowing, of course, that hundreds in the town were maimed and many killed. After things had cleared a little, following the passage of the tornado, Mr. Parker's daughter could see that the buildings on the Charles Per- kins farm had been razed, and she immediately went through the rain and hail with another team to render that family much-needed assistance in reaching a place of shelter.
The Fullers, living south of Dalton's, saw the tornado approaching. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller went to the cellar, but Mrs. Fuller's brother, Luther Perkins, went upstairs after his money. The house was taken before he had time to accomplish his mission, but he escaped injury. Mrs. Fuller was badly bruised by timbers thrown into the cellar.
The buildings on the Gedke and Parker farms were considerably damaged, but, after leaving the Dalton place, the storm seems to have been not doing its worst
2
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STORY OF A STORM.
until the home of Jacob Foster was reached, a half-mile west of Pomeroy. Here everything was ground up fine again. Mrs. Foster, her sister and the children went to the cellar, and all escaped serious injury. Mr. Foster, who is postmaster of Pomeroy, had been home to supper, and, returning, had just entered the postoffice when the building - a two-story brick-collapsed. The front caved in and the roof and second floor came down, but were upheld at the rear end by the postoffice cabinets, and thus, doubtless, was Mr. Foster's life saved. Imme- diately after the destruction of her home, Mrs. Foster and the eldest son trudged to town through the terrible rain and hail storm which followed the tornado, fully expect- ing to find that the husband and father had been killed. Their joyful surprise to find that he had escaped unhurt can be imagined.
21
STORY OF A STORM.
The reporter of the Sioux City Journal, who went over the track of the storm soon after its work of devastation had been accomplished, in the issue of that paper of July 9, said :
" From the narratives of more than a score of intelli- gent observers it is evident that the storm was a tornado of the compound sort - that is to say, it varied from the true balloon tornado in that it had several stems or fun- nels. From a survey of the ground over which the storm
3
A.S.
FIG. II .- TWO AND A HALF MILES EAST FROM FONDA.
cloud passed and the statements of those who observed its approach, there appear to have been four of these destructive vortices. The country between Fonda and Pomeroy is almost perfectly checkered with tall willow
22
STORY OF A STORM.
hedges running with the compass. These hedges, most of them sixteen feet or more in height, give the best material evidence as to the general progression of the storm. They are nearly uniform of growth.
FIG. III .- AT THE DALTON FARM, THREE AND A HALF MILES WEST OF POMEROY.
"Just south of Fonda is the farmhouse of John Sang- strom, and to him first the Journal reporter, who followed the path of the storm, applied for information. At 6:40 o'clock, according to his reckoning, the storm was heard approaching. He saw two huge masses of white cloud approaching, one from the southwest and the other from the northwest. Between them was a mass of inky black vapor from which trailed four elongated trunks that swayed and twisted and bounded up and down as they swung along. Only one of these points touched the ground in passing his place, and that was the one farthest south. The lower part of it had a grayish-black appear-
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STORY OF A STORM.
ance, and twisted and swung about like the trunk of an elephant. Everything in its path was raised or thrown into the air. The point of the vortex second from the north passed within 100 yards of his house. At that time the point reached within twelve or fourteen feet of the ground, while the other two spun high up in the air and gave out a horrible humming that inspired more dread than the roar and crash of the southernmost tongue that was tearing a path through trees and fields, farmyards and dwellings, and everything else that came in its way. The cattle and horses crouched to the ground in terror, and even the hogs tried to bury themselves in a haystack
0
FIG. IV .- AS IT STRUCK POMEROY.
near the house. Within and along the surface of the storm cones there was an incessant play of electricity, and fearful, jagged bolts shot out from the white clouds on either side of the black mass from which the tongues hung
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STORY OF A STORM.
down. The tall willow hedge running north and south along the western border of the farm bear out Mr. Sang- strom's statement. Where the southernmost vortex passed there is scarcely a blade of grass left standing, while where he shows the second from the north to have passed the tops of the trees are twisted off, while the lower foli- age is undisturbed.
" Two and a half miles farther east, tongues Nos. I and 3 from the north seem to have darted toward the ground. That their vertical motion was sudden is shown by the fact that the grove surrounding Alexander Elstone's house was left undisturbed on the side from which the storm approached, while the house and barn and the part of the grove beyond them were scattered for rods across the fields. It was the third tongue from the north that wrought the destruction.
"At the Dalton farm, three and a half miles west of Pomeroy, the storm had much the same general appear- ance, save that the second tongue from the north was now trailing the ground. It struck the farmstead and landed every board of it - barns, pens, corncribs and dwelling - in a slough 200 yards to the east. The fourth tongue cut the trees of the hedge 400 yards south, leaving the trunks . eight or ten feet above the ground. Tongues Nos. 2 and 4 were both trailing, while the northernmost one seemed to have made a single dive into the livery yard and set the hearse on end, as already related. No. 2 was the one that wrought the terrible destruction. When it reached Pomeroy it seemed to be bent almost at right angles at the lower end, thus producing the rotary motion on a horizontal axis that threw the débris in a direction squarely in the face of the general progression of the storm. To the south of the city the fields and groves show the trail of tongue No. 4.
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STORY OF A STORM.
" Between Cherokee and Storm Lake the face of the country shows the same general character of scoring.
" That electricity played a large part in the work of destruction is evident from the fact that the bark of the willows, wherever the vortices struck them, is seared as brown as if they had been baked in an oven."
THE WEATHER BUREAU'S REPORT.
This work would not be complete without giving the opinions and observations of the highest authority in the state upon the subject treated, and we therefore repro- duce, almost in its entirety, in the succeeding pages of this chapter, the report of Director J. R. Sage, contained in his " Monthly Review of the Iowa Weather and Crop Service " for July, 1893 :
"THE POMEROY TORNADO.
" On the evening of July 6, 1893, a tornado originated near the center of the southern half of Cherokee county, and moved on a general line about fifteen degrees south of east a distance of nearly fifty-six miles. After leaving Cherokee the storm swept through the southern town- ships of Buena Vista county, across the southwest corner of Pocahontas county, and thence two-thirds of the distance through Calhoun county, crowning its career of devasta- tion by destroying the larger part of the residence portion of the thriving town of Pomeroy. This tornado caused greater destruction of life than any storm that ever visited Iowa, and in respect to destruction of property it ranks second only to the noted Grinnell tornado of June 17, 1882.
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STORY OF A STORM.
" EVIDENTLY A TORNADO.
"Judging by the débris and other visible effects at Pomeroy, and the descriptions of observers at other points, the storin bore all the characteristics of a tor- nado. The width of its path was variable, ranging from 800 to 1,800 feet. A number of intelligent observers dis- tinctly saw the whirling and writhing pendant, which they variously describe as funnel-shaped, like an ele- phant's trunk, etc. Others, who were very near the patlı of the storm, saw only a great mass of densely black or greenish vapor rolling over tlie ground like a swirl of Mis- souri river waters, accompanied by electric flashes and an indescribable roar or humming sound, unlike any noise ever heard before. The scene was quite different at various points of observation, the mass of clouds alter- nately lifting and falling, changing form continuously as it advanced. One observer says he saw two huge masses of white clouds approaching, one from the southwest and the other from the northwest ; between them was a mass of inky, black vapor, from which trailed four elongated trunks that swayed and twisted and bounded up and down as they swung along, and only one touched the ground in passing his place. Making due allowance for an excited imagination, there is doubtless a measure of truth in the many seemingly conflicting reports as to the appearance and behavior of the storm. They all attest the fact that it was a genuine ' twister' of the most virulent type.
" THE STORM'S TRACK.
"The path of the tornado is quite accurately outlined in Fig. V, giving a sectional map of the territory through which it passed. Through the first half of its journey
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STORY OF A STORM.
the storm lifted at frequent intervals, bounding and swaying slightly north and south of its general path ; but after passing Storm Lake it gathered new force and kept more continuously to its work of destruction, making a line nearly as direct as the flight of an arrow toward the fated town of Pomeroy. On the north side of its path are seen occasional indications of lateral currents, some of which left wreckage in their course, giving apparent ground for the statement that the main storm pursued a zigzag pathway.
"TIME SCHEDULE.
" According to the various reports as to the hour of the evening when the tornado passed the different points on the line of its travel, its progressive movement east- ward was quite slow. It began its work in Cherokee county at about 5 P.M. Observer Hadden states that it passed south of Alta at 5:20. Observer Bond, of Storm Lake, reports it as having passed by that place at 5:30. Postmaster Blair, of Newell, gives the hour of its appear- ance at a point about a mile south of that place at 6. And all accounts agree that it struck the town of Pom- eroy between 6:30 and 7 P.M. The Herald of that place states that it was just 7 o'clock when the storm began its work. The writer saw a pendulum clock among the débris, which had been stopped at 6:40. So, making due allowance for the variation in timepieces, the storm must have occupied an hour and forty minutes in traveling fifty miles, making about the usual speed of an express train. Evidently the tornado could have been handled or scheduled quite easily by a good train dispatcher, and people in the towns along its line could have been warned to sidetrack before it reached their stations. In this there is at least a suggestion of the possibility of estab-
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STORY OF A STORM.
lishing a system of warning whereby lives may be saved. Though the storm traveled quite slowly eastward, its whirling and uplifting movements must have been incon- ceivably rapid, and there is no evidence that it was wast- ing any time on its way.
" SOME NOTEWORTHY POINTS.
" The fact has been stated that the general direction of the tornado was a little south of east. The first twenty miles of its course was almost due east, and if it had held steadily to that line it would have struck the thriving and handsome city of Storm Lake. But on approaching the northwestern point of the lake it deflected slightly southward, that body of water evidently offering the line of least resistance. After reaching the more level region beyond the outlet of the lake its path was very nearly on a direct air line, about parallel with the Illinois Central track.
" The weather records show that fully eighty per cent of tornadoes move from the southwest to the northeast. It is a noteworthy fact, however, that the three longest and most destructive storms of that character that have visited Iowa, namely, the Camanche tornado of 1860, the Grinnell tornado of 1882 and the late Pomeroy storm, all moved on a line trending toward the southeast. There appears to be something more than coincidence in the fact that these three major storms have pursued the same general course, apart from the line of minor disturbances. The suggestion may be offered that the more powerful northwest currents not only give direction but also add to the intensity of the whirling columns.
" Another point may be noted here. Intelligent resi- dents at Pomeroy who took note of the approach of the storm from the west, state that it appeared to have origi-
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STORY OF A STORM.
nated at that place. The Pomeroy Herald says : 'The sky was a fearful sight to behold, clouds of inky black- ness filling the entire west, rolling and surging in wild commotion. One cloud came from the northwest and joined a second from the southwest, then whirled and sucked its resistless passage toward the fated town. The air was filled with flying débris and the roar of the storm was above all.'
" Observers at the various stations along the line relate that they saw two clouds approach each other, and then the work of destruction began. At every point of obser- vation it looked as if the meeting of these clouds of vapor - visible air currents -caused the disturbance. Evi- dently these were lateral currents drawn into the central vortex, possibly serving as feeders of the devastating mon- ster. In nearly all descriptions of tornadoes in the papers, and by local observers, we note the same account of clouds meeting clouds. In a study of this class of storms, this fact is deserving of consideration.
"REPORT BY DAVID E. HADDEN, OF ALTA.
" From the very full detailed report by Prof. David E. Hadden, of Alta, Buena Vista county, we make the fol- lowing extracts :
" On July 5, the day preceding the tornado, the wind blew briskly from the southeast all day, with increasing cloudiness and a moderately heavy thunderstorm toward evening. The sky had a very threatening appearance, heavy dark clouds and very vivid lightning. The morn- ing of the 6th opened with a light east wind, partly cloudy sky, which gradually increased, the wind bearing to south- east and almost calm. The morning was 'close,' and murky, and the sultriness greatly increased, becoming very oppressive during the afternoon. About 4 P.M.
Miss Ida BattelI. Mrs. Hurd. Mrs. Thomas.
Aunt Becky Young.
Miss May Webber. Mrs. Read.
Dollie A. Church.
GROUP OF NURSES.
RUINS OF GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH.
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STORY OF A STORM.
"Chickens were found alive and completely stripped of all feathers.
" Near the Hetrick farm the fence running north and south was plastered with mud on the northwest side of the posts to a depth of many inches.
" Large trees over a foot in diameter were twisted in all conceivable forms, as if they were mere twigs.
" The direction of motion of the funnel cloud was from south to west by the east. In some places débris was so scattered as to indicate a straight blow, while in others the 'twister' was plainly seen.
" In some instances an expansive force was evident, the sides being blown outward in all directions ; in others, the 'uplift ' was tremendous.
" The sky became exceedingly dark just before the storın struck.
" Charles Anderson, on the Joseph Boulting farm, found one of his horses lodged in a tree, while its mate was carried clear over the grove and deposited in a field.
"A reaper wheel of solid iron was carried from the Slater place and dropped in the field, half a mile away. A board was forced edgeways half through a tree, and so firmly imbedded that it could not be broken off.
"REPORT BY A. J. BOND, STORM LAKE.
" Observer A. J. Bond, of Storm Lake, sent notes and newspaper clippings, from which the following extracts are made :
" The time of beginning was about 5:20 P.M .; time of passing, nearly ten minutes ; direction, S. E. E. Breadth of track, 20 to 40 rods. The bounds of its track are well defined on ridges, but the storm did not make a clean sweep, and many fields of grain in the track are left standing, apparently uninjured. The storm evidently
3
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STORY OF A STORM.
passed most easily over the valleys, and was apparently turned from its course by high ridges or strong buildings surrounded by dense groves, as at Lakeside and beyond. At the Lakeside farm it whirled through an opening where are the cattle yard, sheds and cribs, which were demolished, but left the strong buildings, and was borne over the dense grove beyond, taking the tops of the scat- tering tall trees only. So Storm Lake may have escaped, the lake surface being taken as a course of less resistance.
" The tornado did not hug the ground closely, but there are many places both west and east of the lake where the effects of the irresistible whirlwind are evident, and the currents were strong enough to lift and carry away light buildings, particularly such as stood in the openings or on the edge of a heavy grove, around which the storm curved in great violence. In several places the groves seem to have borne up the storm and carried it over by their density and elasticity, and they are now standing green and unscathed, while scattering trees are destroyed. The stormn as it passed over the lake is de- scribed as a rolling cloud of dense blackness.
" The trailing appendages, which news reporters have pictured, were not observed here, and I am of the opinion that there may be tornadoes without them. And if in future I see a black cloud approach against the wind, with roaring and thunder, followed by a moment of calm, I shall be apt to drop into a hole, or flee to a cellar, and not wait to look for a tail.
" As the storm approached all low clouds, east and north, seemed driven rapidly toward the point of loudest thunder. The thunder was heard first in the northwest, then as the storm cloud passed in the southeast, and last very distant in the east. At about 5:30 observer went indoors, listened to the thunder and roaring, noted the
35
STORY OF A STORM.
hail and rain, and the changes of wind from brisk east to calm, then quickly to strong gusty southwest, west and northwest, and back to light east. But we did not know there was a tornado till later.
" The scorched appearance of trees, attributed by one writer to electricity, I observed carefully on some maples standing in a fence row. The trees were not broken, but twisted and bent so as to loosen the outer bark, which had been taken off by the wind and carried away, the inner bark left presenting a yellowish brown, which is its natural color, while the leaves of the trees were whipped and torn to shreds and dried, the stems still adhering to the tough, unbroken twigs, and the whole tree, body and . top, presenting the appearance at a distance of having been singed, though on close inspection it was evident that nothing of the kind had happened. Many other trees which had received a sand-blast from the lake beach presented a similar appearance.
"At Lakeside farm the tornado encountered the hill, grove and buildings, and was turned from its course to nearly southeast, passing the east lake bluff through the valley of the lake 'outlet.' In crossing this bluff ridge the whirlwind seems to have been raised and passed over the corn fields on the east side, doing little damage, but only moved one barn, which stood on a high point, and trimmed some trees on another ridge.
"In many places along the line the storm seemed to have changed its course to avoid obstacles for other lines of less resistance, and then to have returned to its general direction. And I would suggest that a survey might be made of the whole track for the purpose of determining the safest locations for buildings in general, and what artificial safeguards may be placed around them and used in their construction.
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STORY OF A STORM.
" If a tornado can be lifted up and passed safely over a farmhouse by a proper arrangement of groves, it would be well for the public to know it.
" No doubt there are many ways of protecting our buildings from the devasting tornado, which we may learn only by carefully observing and respecting and act- ing upon God's laws as shown in natural phenomena.
"The Stormn Lake Pilot says : ' The storm as viewed at Storm Lake was about forty rods wide and almost black darkness enveloped its patlı, while a few miles south or north the sun was shining. James De Land sat in his buggy in the sun four miles south and watched the cloud pass between him and the city. F. M. Curtis reports that he stood near Fisher's Casino and watched the cloud until it reached the Chamberlain place, and then hastened to the cellar, the death-dealing tornado passing a few rods north. The storm began near Quimby, in Cherokee county and its course was east by a little southeast. There several people were killed. It entered Buena Vista county on the line between Nokomis and Maple Valley townships, but did no extensive damage until it reached the farm of George Baker, Section 33, Nokomis ; here it swept away his barn and killed some stock.'
"OTHER REPORTS.
" Postmaster Blair, of Newell, writes that the storm passed about one mile south of that place, at 6 P.M., destroying buildings, groves and crops in its path, and injuring several people.
"W. L. Thompson, of Manson, writes that the storm began in the southwestern part of Cherokee county and ended about four miles west of Manson, in Calhoun county (about four miles east of Pomeroy). The day was close and sultry, no air stirring, the mercury at 2 P.M. at
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STORY OF A STORM.
90°. About 4 P.M. heavy clouds showed up in the west and northwest. The dark bank was preceded by scud clouds. As the cloud bank advanced, the center of it, northwest of Manson, and about on a line with Pomeroy, took on a green color. The tornado struck that place at 7 P.M., and spent its force there in three to five minutes. A light rain preceded it about five minutes.
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