160 0. hittle^— The Himalaycin summer storyn of Sept. 24thf 1903. [N6. 4, 



over India, and that the causes must be looked for in the southern seas. 

 In other, words we have the case of an engineer who knows that the 

 boiler of his engine is in perfect working order and fails to account for 

 a break-down because he has never even looked at the condensing 

 arrangements. 



Towards the end of September, my attention was attracted to a 

 change of weather which commenced in Assam and North Bengal. 

 The first sign of the change was a fall of pressure, but that fall was of 

 no value as an indication of important events pending, because we have 

 similar and much larger changes occurring in the midst of the finest 

 and most settled weather. The fall began on the 23rd September and 

 continued on the 24th and was, in North Bengal, '05 inch on an average, 

 as may be seen from a table given below. Table IX below will show 

 that rain began to increase in Assam on the 23rd, in North Bengal on 

 the 24th, and in Lower Bengal on the 25th. Tables III and VII show 

 that temperature began to fall in Assam on the 23rd, in North Bengal 

 on the 24th, in Southwest Bengal on the 25th, and in Orissa on the 

 26th. Southerly winds strengthened in Lower Bengal, and in these 

 early days there were all the signs of the occurrence of a Himalayan 

 storm of the kind that I have, on previous occasions, written about. 

 From Thursday, September 24th, I not only scrutinised carefully the 

 daily weather report, but I almost continuously watched the appearance 

 of the change so far as it came within my range of vision. I give 

 below brief notes made at the time. Before doing so I may state that 

 I was watching carefully for the passage northwards from the Bay into 

 Bengal of an area of disturbed weather. I saw no indication of any such 

 occurrence, and all I saw clearly indicated a sequence of change com- 

 mencing in the north and progressing in a general southerly direction.. 



My notes were as follows : — 

 Thursday, September 24ith. 



Moderate fall of pressure general, wind S.W. at Darjeeling, tem- 

 perature falling rapidly in North Bengal and Assam, rainfall general 

 in the north and heavy in places (Daily Weather Report). I began 

 watching the upper cloud movements. Characteristic cirrus visible, 

 appeared to be moving from a southerly or south-easterly direction. 

 Towards evening the cirrus thickened into what I should call stratus, 

 and after dark distant and almost continuous lightning was visible in 

 several directions, chiefly in the north but also in the north-west. 

 There was no sign of disturbance towards the south. 

 Friday 25th, 



Sky clear in the early part of the day with some low cumulus and 

 cirrus much the same as the day before. Strongish southerly winds 



