Science: Hurricane's Way

The long suspense was terrific. As Hurricane Ione whirled across the tepid ocean between Puerto Rico and the Carolinas, she was billed as "a very dangerous hurriane" with a bright blue central eye surrounded by dreadful winds.

On she came—slowly, gathering force.

The U.S. Eastern seaboard, badly hurricane-hit last year, braced itself. The prose of the press and the voices of radio newsmen rose to a high pitch. Weathermen warned everyone to take precautions.

There was every reason for pessimism; about a month ago Hurricane Diane, her winds stilled deceptively, slipped ashore almost unheralded and...