Kansas In the Heart of Tornado Alley
Back in 1915, Snowden D. Flora of the US Weather Bureau wrote, “Kansas has been so commonly considered the tornado state of the country that the term ‘Kansas cyclone’ has almost become a part of the English language.” Flora’s words still seem to ring true. Whether called a twister, a tornado, a vortex or cyclone, these catastrophic events have shaped lives in the Sunflower State for generations.
Just a few destructive moments forever changed places such as Irving, Udall, Topeka, Andover and Greensburg. Even before Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz helped equate the tornado with Kansas, the turbulent nature of local weather seemed to parallel an equally turbulent history with the fury of people such as John Brown compared to a cyclone.
Even if they have never seen a funnel cloud themselves, those who live in Kansas have come to accept the twister as a regular and always unpredictable neighbor.
Highlights of the book include:
• Tornado Alley
• “The Sky Just Didn’t Look Right”
• Living with the Monster
• An Ongoing, Turbulent Relationship
Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.
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With more than 7,500 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.
Photo:
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