Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-23

path but 500 miles wide.
Enormous Rainfall.
The amount of rain which falls as an
accompaniment of these hurricanes is enor-
nous. being frequently upward of ten inch
es. The wind movement in hurricanes is
seldom over fifty or sixty miles an hour,
hut the furious gusts of wind must have
velocities of eighty or ninety miles an hour
in order to create the havoc caused by these
storms
The time which it takes for hurricane
to pass over a given place lying within it's
path depends. of course upon the diam
eter Of the hurricane and its velocity of
translation, and varies from few hours to
a day or more. it must be remembered. on
the contrary, that tornadoes seldom last
more than few minutes.
AS the hurricane approaches any one sta
toned in its path there is to be noticed a
falling of the barometer slight lowering
of the temperature and rapid increase in
the wind ve'oci:y- But the direction of the
wind remains quite constant This may
&C ntinuc for four five hours: then sud
denly the wind dies down and there is a
calm for from half hour to an hour.
which signifies the passage of the center of
the storm; then. at the rear of this center,
the barometer rises, the temperature in
creases and the wind blows with great vio-
lence from direction nearly opposite to
that in which it was blowing before the
calm. After three four hours the wind
dies down. the clouds dispense and serene
weather prevails over the storm-devastated
country.
The successful prediction OF the West
Indian hurricanes iS matter of great diff
ficulty account of their limited extent
especially in their incipent stages for then
no characteristic signs of their approach
precede them at any very great distance
y his condition is thus in great contrast
TO that existing In the ordinary cyclones
in the United States. 1t is true that cir
thus clouds appear all around the central
region Of the hurricane, and as far west
Havana these cirrhus clouds precede this
center by four or five hundred miles, but
even in the most favorable cases they
might not give days warning in advance
United States it is necessary that tele-
graphic news of their actual existence be
received. and 1t will not do to rely on the
observation of the natural forerunners of
the hurricane. the clouds and the ocean
swell.
New Order of Things.
This condition IS abundantly fulfilled by
the new order of things which has given
US the necessary Geographic communica-
ton After the storm center has once been
located. 1t usually moves slowly that it
may be several days after its announce
ment before it reaches the coast waters Of
the United States. The successful predc-
ton of the storms movement, after 1t has
entered the region covered by our daily
weather maps. is a matter of great diff
Guilty. for its exact direction of motion is
too uncertain and its rate of progress too
variable 10 foretell its exact location a any
future time. These last points have been
very practically illustrated in the case Of
the hurricane now in progress. The general
prediction of these hurricanes is of meal
culable value to the naVigators of our coast
waters. and this is very distinctly shown
by the appalling loss of life which accom-
panies the appearance of the corresponding
typhoons on the unprotected shores of
China and Japan.
Sixty or seventy years ago the West In
dian hurricanes had been very carefully
studied, and their attendant phenomena
formed the basis of original theories pro-
pounded by such meteorologists Dove.
Piddington, Redfield and others and called
forth the violent and then celebrated con-
troversy between Rcdfield and Hare. Padre
Vines of Havana devoted long years to
their study, but probably the most import
ant recent contributions to our knowledge
of West Indian hurricanes are the mono
graphs of Lieutenant Hayden. L. S. N
There can be no doubt. however that.
with our increased interest in the East and
West Indies, a more careful study than has
vet been made of these storms will be con-
sidered necessary for the protection of our
shipping and other interests in those coun-
tries.