36 C. Little — Cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. [iTo. 2, 



the northern coast of the Bay, the only indication that could 

 be given on Sir J. Eliot's system was that *'a depression 

 has begun to form over the Bay." 



(2) the chief indication given was that the coast most affected at 

 8 A.M. on the 14fth, and therefore the probable objective of the 

 approaching storm was the Orissa and North Ganjam coast. 

 With this may be compared the statement in the report of 

 the Madura that at 3-30 p.m. on the 14th the storm had 

 crossed, the bows of the ship then steaming south-west, the 

 course being immediately afterwards changed to south-east. 



(3) that neither from the coast observations at 8 a.m. nor from 

 the observations made on the ship up to 3-30 p.m. of the 14th 

 was it possible to say that the storm was moving in a direction 

 with an easterly element. 



I believe the above remarks show clearly that, so far from Sir J, 

 Eliot's statement being correct, that the inner storm area can be avoided, 

 it is in the present state of our knowledge of meteorology a matter of 

 good fortune rather than of management that ships are not more fre- 

 quently involved in severe storms. Luckily severe storms are rare, 

 their danger extends over a small area, and the rapid rate at which 

 they move further diminishes the risk of many vessels becoming in- 

 volved. 



There is another matter on which this question of recurving bears 

 with no small importance, that is, the storm warning of ports. My 

 practice has been, when a storm such as the cyclone of the J 4th Nov- 

 ember 1903, or the Chittagong cyclone of October 1897, enters the 

 north of the Bay, to issue warnings to all the ports in the north of the 

 Bay. It must be obvious that this storm of the J 4th November last, 

 might have struck the land at the mouth of the Hooghly, or Chitta- 

 gong or Akyab according to the amount of recurving. I had the same 

 difficulty with the cyclone of November 26th 1901, which came on the 

 mouth of the Hooghly and which residents of Calcutta will remember 

 passed a little to the west of this city. 



The result of this system of warning is that the port affected is 

 generally warned beforehand, but along with that port there are per- 

 haps six others where precautions have been taken and weather has not 

 been to any great extent affected. A further result is damaging 

 suspicion as regards what Sir J. Eliot calls the " intelligence of the 

 person " who issued the warnings. The difficulty arises from the 

 recurving of all dangerous storms ; in fact it may almost be said that 

 recurving is rarely present at sea where there is not danger. It appears 

 then to be associated with exceptionally strong winds, just as inland it 



