The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-03-31
THE WINGED WINDS.
They Have Their Laws, Being
Like Man.
HURRICANES IN THE ANTILLES.
Suggested That Better Weather
Charts be Provided.

WASHINGTON, March 30-The terrible
disaster at Samoa will give special interest
to the following statement furnished for
publication by Lieutenant G. L. Dyer of
the United States navy, photographer to
the bureau of navigation. One of the divi-
sicns of the photographic Office, the division
of marine meteorology, has charge of all
data received by the department relating
to the meteorolOgy of the various oceans of
the globe, but the facilities for publication
are such that not one-tenth of the informa-
ton at hand can be published, and almost
all of the division is taken up in the pre-
paration of monthly pilot chart of the
North Atlantic
THIS GREAT DISASTER LENDS
redoubled force to the urgent recon-
mendatiOns on the April chart published
to-day for the establishment of more com
prehensive system of Geographic weather
reports from the West Indies during the
coming hurricane season, (July to October),
for the benefit of our gulf and Atlantic
seaboard and the commerce of every
nation frequenting these waters.
THE SAMOAN ISLANDS,
Lieutenant Dyer says, are in the southern
hemisphere, and the hurricane months are
therefore the summer months of that hem
isphere; that is, December to March in
elusive. In the West Indies, the terrific
cyclones that originate there are gigantic
whirlwinds rotating in the direction against
the hands of a watch las you look at a
watch laid down with the face up, move
bodily westward, then northward
into the temperate zone and east
ward again in the higher ATTITUDES.
In the southern hemisphere about Samoa
forlnstance) tropical cyclones that originate
near the equator have an opposite rotary
motion revolving in the direction with the
hands OF watch and move bodily west
ward, urve to the southwark away from
the equator, and then eastward again to the
south temperate zone.
THE HURRICANE THAT STRUCK SAMOA
with such furious intensity on the 18th in
slant, originated probably some 300 miles
to the nOrtheastward of the islands, in
about latitude 10 degrees south, longitude
1900 west, and moved rapidly southwest
ward, directly towards them. If the signs
characteristic of the approach of a hurricane
were observed, long feathery, cirrus clouds,
a thlckening veil of cirrus clouds, halos and
fiery tints at dawn and sunset would be
seen. No doubt all possible precautions
were taken to ride out the storm at anchor
The centre of the hurricane must have
etN@SSea
Dor, and in case of a very severe tropical
cyclone las this must have BEEN, absolutely
nothing can resist its fury.
In the great hurricane that crossed the
island of Cuba in October, 1884, for
example, seventy-two vessels foundred at
their anchors in a few hours in the land
locked harbOr of Havana.
Lieutenant Davenport, United States
navy navigating officer of NipSic, was on
duty at the photographic office in Wash
ngton as late as 1887, and the recent report
made by him from Samoa contains the fol
lowing information, quoted in part from
Nineteen years in Polynesia" by Rev
George Turner, L. L. D.
The climate is variable, and there is much
bad weather. particularly during the win
ter months, when long and heavy rains.
attended at times with high winds and
nOrtherly gales, are frequent The nor
NAL temperature is about so degrees in
summer, and Is degrees in winter, maxi
mum, in seven years observations only
reaching SO degrees and a minimum Of %
degrees.
UNIFORMITY OF TEMPERATURE Is ALMOST
UNKNOWN
in the temperate zone, where the extremes
of temperature will daily range very
greatly. The weather is often cloudy and
rainy, with frequent squalls, accompanied
by thunder and lightning, particularly at
night Between the months of December
and April cyclones are expected if the
barometer falls and winds come from the
north. Hardly year passes without
hearing of one of these gales in the neigh |
borhood, their course being generally |
towards the south by southeast. In April |
1850, one swept over the centre of Apola. In |
April, 1855, another Skirred, as the natives |
call 1t, everything along the east coast, but |
between 1855 and 1859, no cyclone visited |