76 



J. Eliot — The Suuth-West Monsoon Storms 



[No. 2, 



The strong south-west monsoon winds which the meteorology of the 

 26th shewed to be advancing northwards up the eastern part of the Bay, 

 were on the morning of the 27th not far from the Head of the Bay and 

 were certainly in the parallel of Akyab. The wind velocity was very 

 considerable at Port Blair and Nancowry. Strong winds were also 

 blowing at Diamond Island, where the sea was now rough. The wind 

 velocity at Akyab had increased from a rate of 4 miles per hour to 6 miles 

 per hour, the average force of the wind in June at that station being 

 4 miles. The remarks in the log of the Pemba are very valuable. She 

 jjassed round Cape Negrais into the Bay to the west of Burma in the 

 morning. The wind increased very rapidly to a strong gale and blew in 

 furious squalls. The wind was steady at S. S. W. and of average force 

 9. On the other hand, the winds at the stations in South Bengal and 

 Orissa, and also those observed at the Light Vessels and the vessels near 

 the Head of the Bay, were very feeble. The only conclusion warranted by 

 the evidence is that these strong winds on the Burmah and Arracan coast 

 were feeders to an ascending current to the northward ; and that the 

 ascensional movement was hence near the Head of the Bay, and was 

 partly maintained by the rainfall accompanying the ascensional motion, 

 and by the various resistances to the motion of the strong current ad- 

 vancing northwards. The south-west winds, it has already been remark -f 

 ed, were much stronger than those from any other direction. It is, so far 

 as can be judged, probable, if not certain, that the whirl was not at this 

 time a fully developed cyclonic disturbance with a well-defined centre. 

 The centre of the barometric depression at the Head of the Bay can only 

 be roughly approximated from the observations. Its most probable 

 position at noon was in Lat. 20|° N. and Long. 89f° E. and almost 

 identical with its position at 10 A. M. Assuming this position of the 

 centre of depression, the relative positions of the Light Vessels at 10 A. M. 

 and of the ships at Noon are given in the following table : — 





Position. 



Time. 



6 



4 

 pi 





^ 



bJ3 





C3 



a 





yA 



o 





N. 



E. 



10a.m. 



21° 39' 



88° 5' 





N. 



E. 





21° 31' 



88° 3' 



Wind. 



§1 



5 «w 



I O ^ 



P i=i 

 ^•2 



Weather. 



Saugor Island 

 Light House... 



Upper Gasper 

 Light Vessel ... 



29-505'N.N.E.I 



29-484 N. E. 



S.E. 



Miles. 

 120 



ESE 120 



Cloudy. 

 Squally. 



