Tetsuya Fujita,78, the meteorologist who devised the scale used to measure the fury of tornadoes and discovered the microburst phenomenon in thunderstorms, died Thursday at his Chicago home.

Mr. Fujita traveled in the United States examining the aftermath of tornadoes, devising a six-point scale to measure their strength. An F-0 tornado has winds of 40 to 72 mph, while an F-5, the most powerful, has winds of 261 to 319 mph.

In 1976, he discovered microbursts -- blasts of air that descend rapidly and spread in all directions when they reach the ground. Microbursts have been shown to cause aircraft crashes.

Dr. William Douglas,76, who tended to the health of the original seven Project Mercury astronauts, died in Dallas on Sunday of complications from a viral infection and pneumonia. He had traveled to Florida to watch John Glenn return from space Oct. 29. He became sick while driving back from Cape Canaveral to Albuquerque, N.M.

Pub Date: 11/21/98