8 DEPAKTMENTAL REPORTS. 



from the West Indies, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and those to be received 

 from the Azores, Portugal, France, and Great Britain when the cable 

 sj^stem connecting Lisbon, the Azores, and New York City shall be 

 completed. The transoceanic and coastwise commerce of all nations 

 Avill doubtless receive as much benefit from this important extension 

 of the weather service as the commerce of the Caribbean Sea, the 

 Gulf of Mexico, and our South Atlantic States has received as a result 

 of the action of the United States in extending its meteorological 

 reporting stations over all the important islands of the West Indies. 



Whenever possible a forecast will be made of wind force and wind 

 direction for the first three days of the route of all outgoing steamers, 

 and for an equal jjeriod for such as place themselves in communica- 

 tion with the Bureau before leaving European ports. We view with 

 much satisfaction the consummation of an object so long sought, both 

 by the meteorologist and the mariner. 



This extension of the forecast service is an inevitable outcome of 

 that study of the meteorolog}'^ of the whole Northern Hemisphere 

 which was inaugurated bj^ the Weather Bureau in 1873. 



The Bureau lias arranged to send by the new cable daily messages 

 containing observations from the eastern part of the United States to 

 Capt. F. A. Chaves, director of the meteorological observator}^ at St. 

 Michaels, Azores, thereby enabling him to issue storm warnings for 

 his vicinit3\ 



Eastward of the meridian of Bermuda, the Bureau is especially 

 interested in obtaining all possible knowledge of the conditions of the 

 so-called North Atlantic area of high pressure, which extends from 

 the Atlantic coast eastward to the coast of Africa and southern Europe. 

 It is believed that the development of and the paths taken by West 

 Indian hurricanes, the intensity and duration of hot waves, and to 

 some extent the movement of cold waves, depend upon this great area 

 of high i)ressure, which covers a region larger than the United States. 



HURRICANES. 



In view of the importance of the forecast work of the Bureau, and 

 as a matter of record, I append an extract from the report of the 

 official in charge of the forecast division, which gives in some detail 

 a history of each hurricane that occurred during thej^ear, with copies 

 of a few statements from persons not connected with the Bureau 

 regarding the efficiency of the storm-warning service: 



The most destructive storm of the year appeared east of the Island of Martinique 

 on the morning of August 7, 1899, and moved thence north of west to Porto Rico 

 by the morning of the Nth. devastating the more southern of the Leeward Islands 

 of the Lesser Antilles during the afternoon and night of the 7th, and causing the 

 loss of hundreds of human lives and the destruction of millions of dollars' worth 

 of property m Porto Rico on the 8th. Continuing a north of west course, the 

 storm crossed the northern portion of Santo Domingo during the night of the 8th, 

 caused a considerable loss of life and property in the Bahama Islands during the 

 11th and 12th, and from the 13th to the 17th' skirted the South Atlantic coast of 

 the United States, attended by gales of almost unprecedented severity on the 

 North Carolina coast. 



From the time this hurricane appeared within the region of observation until it 

 disappeared off the Virginia coast, accurate advices r<-gavding its character and 

 course were telegraphed along the line of its advance and preceded its arrival by 

 periods which varied in length from a few hours in the Leeward Islands to thirty- 

 six and forty-eight hours along the South Atlantic coast. 



The following- reports from points along the path of the storm contain data 

 regarding its character and effects and indicate the action taken by the Weather 

 Bureau to disseminate warnings of its approach. 



