;^gg Pedler and Cvomhie— On the Tornado tuhich [No. 2, 



G to 6 30 p. M., and, according to the statements made, its track must 

 have been at least 3 to 4 miles long. It killed 20 persons and did a 

 large amount of damage. The rotation of the winds in the storm was 

 against the hands of a clock. 



Major Sherwill* in 1860 describes several waterspouts (pheno- 

 mena of similar nature to tornadoes) which he had observed in and 

 near Calcutta previous to this date ; and one which occurred on October 

 7th, 1859, is described by him as having been 1500 feet m height and 

 having inundated half a square mile of country to a depth of six inches. 



These, however, are the only clear cases of such storms I can find in 

 Bengal previous to 1860. After this date either these storms have be- 

 come much more numerous, or, as is more probably the case, owing to 

 the more accurate records kept of such phenomena, our knowledge of 

 their occurrence has become more complete. Thus, Mr. W. G. Willson,t 

 formerly Meteorological Reporter to the Government of Bengal, states 

 there were whirlwinds in April 1871 and September 1872 in the Nadia 

 District, also a rather severe one at Satkhira^ (24-Pergunnas District) 

 on 25th April, 1872, one at Bhadalia§ (Nadia District) on February lltli, 

 1874, and another at the same place at 5 p. m. on 16th September 18.4. 



In the case of the Satkhira storm of April 1872, Mr. Willson con- 

 sidered that it accompanied, or was in some way connected with, tbe 

 passacre of a low pressure area through Bengal at the same time, and he 

 states°that the storm moved in the same direction as the trough of low 

 pressure. This storm, however, was very small and only caused three 



deaths. -i • j 



The most violent storm of this kind in Bengal on record is de- 

 scribed by Mr. Fasson.]! It occurred in the Mymensingh District on 

 March 26th, 1875, and it partially destroyed the villages of Uladah and 

 Chamburi. It seems to have originated over the bed of a large river, 

 instead of, as is usually the case, over hot plains. In this instance, the 

 duration of the whirlwind was 20 minutes, the width of its path 2oO 

 yards and the length of its course from formation to dissipation a little 

 over two miles. Its course was almost exactly from south-west to north- 

 east and it occurred just after dusk. The whirlwind seems to have been 

 accompanied with a fiery appearance or ruddy glare, and, though it was 

 a storm of great violence, it did comparatively little damage to life and 

 property, as the greater part of its path was over the open country. 



The Dacca tornado now described by Dr. Crombie appears to have 

 been very similar in character to that which visited the Mymensingh 



* J. A. S. B. Vol. XXIX, p. 366. § P- A. S. B. 1875 p. 107. 



t P. A. S. B. 1875, p. 107. 11 P- A. S. B. 1875, p. 104. 



1 P. A. S. B. 1872, p. 96. 



