Part I: The Law of Storms Summary and Analysis

Somewhere, a Butterfly

The storm began gathering over the African highlands east of Cameroon. In the United States, temperatures were in the 100s. Thirty people had died during the heat wave. The heat and high-pressure zone stretched from the Midwest far into the Atlantic. The air was stagnant over the majority of the nation. August 1900 was the warmest on record from the upper Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley. The heat was unbearable but what was worse was the persistence of the heat wave. Springfield, Illinois suffered from twelve consecutive days of 90 degree temperatures or above. During the time, Galveston suffered from the heat and pouring rain. Lightning was damaging trees and the streets were flooding. The humidity was near 100 percent.

Low pressure lingered over Niger and the air was heavy...