99 Years Ago and Still the Deadliest Tornado in U.S. History

 

March 18, 1925:  The Tri-State Tornado killed nearly 700 people

Estimated later to be an EF5 with winds topping 300MPH at times, it ripped through southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and southwestern Indiana following this track.

More:

A small tornado that touched down near Ellington, Missouri gained momentum over the course of the afternoon. In the three-and-a-half hours that followed, it ballooned to record widths and speed. At one point, observers calculated that it was a full mile wide, and it maintained an average speed of 62 miles per hour and a top speed of 73 miles per hour.

The devastation in Illinois in particular is on a scale that is difficult to comprehend. 

• Murphysboro:  243 dead, 623 injured (total of 866) and much of the town destroyed 
• 541 dead and 1423 seriously injured in one 40 minute stretch in Murphysboro, De Soto, Hurst-Bush, and West Frankfort 
• Multiple communities wiped completely off the map 

695 total dead, still the deadliest tornado, with the longest track (over 200 miles on the ground), 99 years later.

A collection of sobering photographs can be found at the NWS site for the 1925 Tri-State Tornado, like these:

Why So Many Conifers Up North?

 

I’ve always wondered about this… obviously the short answer is “because they adapt to the northern habitat better than deciduous trees”, but why is that, exactly?

A good short intro on the differences between the two types.

More nerdy details in this one.

Conifers are cone-bearing seed plants …

The great majority are trees, though a few are shrubs. Examples include cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews. [...]

Although the total number of species is relatively small, conifers are ecologically important. They are the dominant plants over large areas of land, most notably the taiga of the Northern Hemisphere, but also in similar cool climates in mountains further south. Boreal conifers have many wintertime adaptations. The narrow conical shape of northern conifers, and their downward-drooping limbs, help them shed snow. Many of them seasonally alter their biochemistry to make them more resistant to freezing. While tropical rainforests have more biodiversity and turnover, the immense conifer forests of the world represent the largest terrestrial carbon sink. Conifers are of great economic value for softwood lumber and paper production.

Deciduous meanwhile…

In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous means "falling off at maturity"and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit. The antonym of deciduous in the botanical sense is evergreen.

Generally, the term "deciduous" means "the dropping of a part that is no longer needed or useful" and the "falling away after its purpose is finished". In plants, it is the result of natural processes. "Deciduous" has a similar meaning when referring to animal parts, such as deciduous antlers in deer, deciduous teeth (baby teeth) in some mammals (including humans); or decidua, the uterine lining that sheds off after birth.

So … How Did We Ever Turn to a Groundhog … to Predict Weather?

 

Well if you guessed “newspaper stunt adapted from a Christian holiday but with ancient pagan roots too”, award yourself 10 points.

It’s complicated.

The first Groundhog Day in America was a newspaper stunt in 1887:

The first Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney was the brainchild of local newspaper editor Clymer Freas, who sold a group of businessmen and groundhog hunters—known collectively as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club—on the idea.

Who knew that there were groups of “businessmen and groundhog hunters”? I sure didn’t.

In any case German settlers in the area brought it with them from the homeland, where the Germans had adapted it from an ancient Christian celebration called Candlemas.

What is Candlemas?

Wikipedia says it’s about bringing the baby Jesus, just a few weeks old, to the temple for purification:

It is based upon the account of the presentation of Jesus in Luke 2:22–40. In accordance with Leviticus 12, a woman was to be purified by presenting a lamb as a burnt offering, and either a young pigeon or dove as sin offering, 33 days after a boy's circumcision. It falls on 2 February, which is traditionally the 40th day (postpartum period) of and the conclusion of the Christmas–Epiphany season. While it is customary for Christians in some countries to remove their Christmas decorations on Twelfth Night (Epiphany Eve), those in other Christian countries historically remove them after Candlemas. On Candlemas, many Christians (especially Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists) also take their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year; for Christians, these blessed candles serve as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the World.

If you’re now wondering how in 1400 years a Christian holiday evolved from purifying the baby Jesus at the temple to “let’s use a rodent to predict the weather”, you’re not alone. 

But wait, there’s more!

February 2 is basically (almost but not quite) the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, and so of course there was a pagan ritual associated with it: Imbolc dates back to the 10th century BC among the Celtic people, celebrating both the the midpoint of Winter and a Celtic goddess Brigid who later became a saint in the Catholic church.

In Case You’re Wondering About the Weather in Chicago in August

... “sweaty and uncomfortable” describes it well.

Also “gross”.

“Sticky” works too. 

Feels like 108°F is not really ever what you’re looking for when you check the weather.

So it’s Indoor Weather, for those of us who have that choice. For me this gets in the way a little bit for things like riding the bike, but I did one of those anyway on Tuesday evening and today I plan to do some walking and stadium stairs despie the weather.

Fortunately this patch of hot and humid weather — did I forget to mention stormy, with loud thunderstorms, thunder and lightning, high winds, and a few tornado warnings for some extra fun — is due to end tonight with much more pleasant weather for the weekend.

Nighttime lows over the next few days: around 60. Turn off the AC, open the windows, feel some cool night air, good for sleeping.  

It’s amazing how different the day can feel depending on something we have zero control over: the weather. 

But as I have to remind myself often during the warmer months, “it’s Summer in Chicago”, and you do what you gotta do despite the weather, and despite these warnings they issue for hot weather, as if nobody ever had to deal with it before. I strongly reject such pandering to fear, a very noticeable trend in weather reporting over the last 20-30 years (and all types of news, really). It’s exhausting and I will not be a party to manipulaion like that.

There’s a fine line between sensible adaptation and living in fear. Most of us used to know where that line is, and didn’t need weather scolds screeching at us to avoid dying on any given day.

I’m very fatalistic about such things. Bring it on. We’ve seen it all before, right? Yes we have. And life has always presented challenges to everyone who ever lived, in fact, far more challenges than we face in our pampered existence in the 21st century. There’s nothing special about our time here as opposed to any other people at any other time, and it’s pure hubris to imagine otherwise.

When it’s hot, drink more water and just don’t be foolish. Know the warning signs for heat exhaustion and then go live your life. Take control of your choices because ... they’re yours. 

Here are the symptoms of heat exhaustion — didn’t you already know most or all of these?

• Clammy skin
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Muscle cramps
• Extreme thirst
• Excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis)
• Dehydration
• Fainting
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Weakness
• Decreased urine output

Besides, as the old saying goes about the weather around here, “if you don’t like the weather, just wait, it’ll change”.

Now go face the day.

It’s Tuesday July 20th and It’s Foggy ... Which Is Never Ideal

That means the dew point is higher than (or equal to) the air termperature ... which means it’s humid.

But then you knew that already ... because it’s foggy. 

Anyhoo yesterday was Boat Day which is always fun but we had a bit of rain mid-day so we had to dock the boat for two hours and wait it out. Some days are like that. 

By 7pm it was perfect evening boating weather, calm waters and ideal temperatures and very little wind, but we had to race back to return the rental by 8pm. Some days are like that, too. 

Today is chock full of leisure time activities like sitting by the pool sipping cold beverages, with some driving range mixed in there somewhere. 

Tough gig but someone’s gotta do it. Pray for us. 

[update] 

Turns out it was not humidity at all but haze from smoke drifting aloft. Kinda gross. Smells like there’s a campfire everywhere. 

Friday Art & Music for the Last Friday in June

 Mark Knopfler & Chet Atkins “Instrumental Medley”

Masters at work. They made an excellent album together, “Neck and Neck”, worth checking out if you like the above. Here’s the cover art.

Here’s their version of “Just One Time”, a Don Gibson classic.

Don Gibson’s version.

I know that I also had Chet Atkins in last week’s Friday Art & Music but it’s not because I’m senile — not yet anyway. 

Hopper, Read Pavillon de Flore, 1909

Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942

Hopper, Adobe Houses, 1925

Let’s Look at the Weather 

Rainy today, although that big moisture system at lower left might miss us later ... let’s hope, I wanted to do some walking and maybe stadium stairs in late afternoon ... 

This is from Weather Underground, the best weather app I have tried yet. Highly recommended.