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N0KFQ > TODAY 18.04.17 14:07l 45 Lines 1782 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 29907_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Apr 18
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ
Sent: 170418/1159Z 29907@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ6.0.13
1880
Missouri is ravaged by tornadoes
Missouri is hit by a string of deadly tornadoes on this day in
1880. Statewide, 151 people were killed by the twisters,
including 99 in the town of Marshfield.
The first tornado struck at about 4:30 p.m. in Springfield,
Missouri, where seven people lost their lives. It then headed
northeast toward the town of Marshfield, which had a population
of 1,100. Marshfield suffered terrible losses: nearly every
building in the town was either destroyed or seriously damaged
and almost one of every 10 residents was killed. Given the
damage, it is estimated that the tornado had winds of over 200
miles per hour.
Tornadoes are generally either funnel-shaped or look like a dark
smoky cloud reaching down to the ground. They have been known to
last from under a minute to as long as an hour. They always spin
counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere.
Although tornadoes can occur anywhere in the world, they are most
common in North America. One of the first recorded deaths by
twister was that of a pilgrim in Massachusetts, who was killed by
one in 1680. However, there were very few tornadoes mentioned in
early American historical accounts, probably because they usually
occur inland from the Atlantic coast, away from most early
settlements.
The first official public tornado warnings were not made until
the Civil War. John Park Finley of the Army Signal Corps was one
of the first people to systematically study tornadoes. His work
led to the first competent predictions of impending twisters in
the 1880s. Generally, though, warnings were not regularly issued
because authorities feared public panic.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
Winlink: n0kfq@winlink.org
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