The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-03-14
TOrssIdOes.

The regions chiefly infested by hurricanes ar'
the West Indies. TIE southern Iarts of the lndiaI
Ocean. the Bay of Bengal. and the China seas
Each eEiOn has its special hurricane season. Ia
the West Indics. cyclones occur principally il
August and September, when the southeast mon
sjOIIs are at their height. At the same time ia,
African southwesterly monsoOns are blowing
Accordingly there are two sets Of winds, bott
blowing heavily and steadily from the Atlantic
disturbing the atmospheric equilibrium, and thu,
in all probability generating the great West In
dian Hurricanes. The storms thus arising show
tfeir force first at a distance OF about six or sever
hundred miles from tie equator, and far to ia,
cast OF the region in which they attain tbeiI
greatest fury They sweep with n northwestern
c5urse to the Gulf of Mexico, pas thence north
ward, AMI - To- tire northeast, sweeping in q
wide curve (rescmbiing tie letter L placed thu:
y around tine West Indian seas, and thence tay-
cling across the Atlantic, generally expanding
their fury before they reach the shores Of Western
! Europe. This cour~c Is the storm-track (OI
STORM - n we shall call it'll OF the behavior 81
the winds n they Traverse this track, we shall
have to speak when We come t. consider the pecu-
liariiy from which these storms derive their names
Of .. cyclone and . b. tOrnadOe~."
The hurricanes Of the Indian Ocean occur al
the .. changing OF tue nOnsoons." During the
in;erreynum,'' writes Maury, 4. the Ecnds Of the
storm hold their terrific sway Reclaimed, often,
for q day OF two, scamcn hear meaning sounds in
tire air, forewarning them Of the coming storm.
Then, suddenly, the winds break loose from the
forces which have for n while controlled them
and seem TO rage with a fury that would break
up the fountains of the deep" In the North In
dian seas hurricanes Tage ut the same season as
in the West Indies.
In the China seas occur those fearful gales
known among sailors u '.typhoOns," or : white
squalls" These take place at the changing OF
tie monSoons. Generated, like the West Indian
hurricanes, nj 4 distance of some ten or twelve
--.. -. - a-..u --
similar TO that followed by the Atlantic storms
around the East Indian Archipelago, and the
shores of China to the japanese Islands.
There occur hnd-storms, also, of a cyclonic
character in the valley OF the Mississippi. al
have often observed the paths of such storms -
says Maury, through the forests of the Missis-
sippi. There the track of these tornadoes is call
cd i wind -ruad,' because they make an avenue
through the wood straight along, and as clear of
trees az If the old denizens of tie forest had been
cleared with an axe. | have seen trees three or
four feet in diameter torn up by the roots, and
the top, with Its limbs, lying next the hole whence
the root came" Another writer, who was an
eyewitness to the progress of one of these American
land-stOrms, thus speaks of its destructive effects:
81 saw, u my great establishment, that the no
blest trees of the forest were falling into pieces.
\ mass OF branches, twigs. foiIage, and dust
moved through the air, whirled EDWARDS like n
cloud OF feathers, and passing, disclosed a wide
space filled with broken trees, naked stumps, and
heaps of s~lapcleSs ruins, which marked the path
of the tempest
If it appeared, on a CAREFUL comparison of OBJ
s~eryation made in different places, that these
winds swept directly along thOse tracks which
they appear TO follow, n comparatively simple
problem would be presented 10 the meteOrologfst.
But this is not found tO DC the case. At one Iart
of n hurricanes course the storm appears to be
travelling with fearful fury along the true storm
-; ut another less iuriOusly directly across the
-for1u-tracE Mt .nDtneT- LIa with - Diminished
force, though still fcrecly, in a direction exactly
opposite to that of the stOrm-track.
Al these motions appear 10 be fairly accounted
for by the theory that the tree Path OF the storm
II n spiral-Or rather, that while the centre of
disturbance continually travels EDWARDS in a wide
Is extended curve, tine stOrn-wind SWEEPS contin-
ually around the centre Of disturbance, as n whirl-
pool around Its vortex.
And heTc u remarkable circumstance attracts
our notice, the consideration of which points to
the mode in which cyclones may be conceived to
be generated Ii IL found, 10y a careful study of
different observations made upon some of the
saInc storms, that cyclones IN tire northern hcmis-
pierre Invariably sweep round tine onward travel
ing vOtcx Of disturbance in one direction, and
southern cyclones in the contrary direction. If
we place n watch-iace upwards upon one OF the
cyclone regions in n Mercator's chart,
then the motion of the lands Is contrary To the
ia which the cyclone whirls; when the
watch Is shifted to n southern cyclone region, the
motion vi the hands takes place in the same
direction as the cyclone motion. This REGULARITY
Il converted into the following rulc-of-thumb for
sailors who encounter a cyclone, and seek to es-
from the region Of hercest storm: Fdoing
The LrlHd, Me centre or rOTter Of the Storm hes 10
The TIJht IN The HOTfhern, 10 Ahe len in The south
eTR hemisphere. Safety lies III flying from the
centre in every case save one-thIt il, when the
sailor lice in tie direct tract of the advancing
vortex. In this case. To fly from the centre would
be 10 keep in the storIn-track; the proper course
for the sailor when thus situated is TO steer for
the calmcr side of the storm-track. This is al
ways outside of the =, as will appear from a mo-
consideration of the spiral curve traced
out by a cyclone. Thus, If the seaman scld be- |
the trIHd-in all other cases "A dangerous ex-
pedient in n cyclone'-he will probably escape
There is however, this danger, that
the storrl-track may extend to or even slightly
overlap tie land, in which case scudding before
the gale would bring the ship upon u lee-shore.
And in this way many gallant ships have, doubt
suffered wreck.
The danger Of the sailor is obviously greater,
when he il Oyertaken by the storm on
The inner side of the storm -. Here he has to
the double force of the c%yclonic whirl
md OF the advancing stOrm-system, instead of the
difference of the two mOtiuns, as on the outer
'ide of the stOrm-track. His chance of escape
will depend on his distance from the central path
# the cyclone. If near to this, it is equally dan
scrous for him to attempt to scud To the safer side
II the track or TO beat against the wind by the
couIve, which would lead him out Of the
Storm = ON it's inner side. Ii has been shown by
Colonel Sir W. Reid that this is the quarter in
which vessels have been most frequently lost.
Temple Bar.
90 familiar with rhs laws q eyeioaes.go round and round
without escaping. The ship Charles HeddIs did this in the
sast IDdi=~. going round n les. than 6re lfDlr,.