STUDIES OF CLOUD FORAIATIONS IN HAVANA 



By Professor Simon Sarasola, S. J. 



President Del Colegio de Belen, Habana 



'T^HE scientific value of careful observations of clouds, for the 

 J- prognostication of tropical cyclones, was strikingly attested 

 in the hurricanes of September and October, 1906. 



In the observatory of the Colleg'e of Bethlehem the direction 

 of clouds is observed regularly every two hours, from four 

 o'clock in the morning until ten o'clock at night, and this system 

 of observations has been maintained since October 1st, 1879. 

 The Director. P. Vines, who had previously made a study of 

 cloud movements, deduced from the accumulated data the prin- 

 ciples of cloud formation and direction which led to his cele- 

 brated prognostications of the hurricanes of 1875 and 1876. 



"From the ten daily observations," writes the Rev. P. Gan- 

 goiti. present Director of the Observatory, "seven, in an average, 

 are utilizable almost all the year, in determining the direction of 

 the clouds. The investigator who seeks abundant data upon 

 the atmospheric circulation of the tropics may consult with 

 profit a little work entitled "Las diferentes corientes de la 

 atinosfera en el cielo de la Habana par el P. Gangoiti, Director 

 del Ohservatorio del Colegio de Belen." In this work there is 

 a detailed study of the direction (movement) of the clouds 

 based upon observations from 1892 to 1902. covering the greater 

 part of each year and taking account of the seven daily observa- 

 tions which, as said above, are almost always available. It 

 should be noted that such a great abundance of observations is 

 of incalculable value, although to utilize the data properly re- 

 quires an attentive study of the atmosphere under the most 

 varied circumstances that can be presented, and at the same time 

 an intimate knowledge of the relations of high and low currents 

 with storm movements and the distribution of barometric pres- 

 sures. 



What has been the result of this sustained and earnest study 

 of clouds ? To the man who seeks to prognosticate hurricanes 

 an attentive and intelligent observation of clouds may be of great 

 value in indicating the direction of the storm movement, its in- 

 tensity, its attendant conditions and inherent characteristics. 

 For about thirty years this observatory, in its prognostications of 

 the hurricanes of the Antilles both from the barometer and 

 sometimes in advance of the barometer, has found no better 

 method of forecasting than the diligent observation of air cur- 

 rents manifest in clouds. 



Following is a brief description of the cloud phases pre- 

 sented in the hurricane of October 17th and 18th, 1906, as com- 

 municated to the ]5ress of Havana : 



"Precursory signs, — October 16th was serene and tranquil, 



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