44 



"A." This "low" was of more than ordinary significance in that its 

 passage was simultaneous with the stranding of a French fishing 

 vessel on the southern coast of Newfoundland, 3 miles west of Cape 

 Race. Its untimely appearance unfortunately caused strong south- 

 erly winds which quickly broke this vessel up on the rocky shore, thus 

 making her a total loss. The passing of this storm brought the wind 

 around to the westward and we again enjoyed clear visibility. 



It was apparent from the examination of the file of daily meteoro- 

 logical maps that there was tendency for low pressure to spread over 

 a large portion of the northern tier of the United States. In fact a 

 depression stretched all the w^ay across the northern part of the coun- 

 try with a "high" resting over the ocean in the region of Bermuda. 



Fig. 11.— June cyclone tracks 



Thus the stage was all set for the normal summer-time distribution of 

 pressure, prevailing southerly wdnds, and much fogginess. Such con- 

 ditions actually persisted from the 7th to the 14th instant, a situation 

 similar to that which prevailed May 11 to 17 (see p. 41). On the 

 12th instant a high-pressure area was observed to be accumulating 

 over the western plains and consequently we looked forward to a 

 respite of clear weather. 



The Modoc on June 13 was called eastward to the fortieth meridian, 

 nearly mid-Atlantic, by a medical case and returning to the Grand 

 Banks encountered a strong westerly gale. On the 14th the wind 

 blew so forcibly that it was necessary to reduce speed to bare steerage- 

 way. The great wind velocity was due to a disturbance northeast 

 of Newfoundland, which deepened and intensified. No sooner had 



