162 0. Little — The Himalayan summer storm of Sept, 24t\ 1903. [No. 4, 



Bengal and over the Bay a change began in the north of the 

 Province and in Assam. 



(2) This change shown by the occurrence of thunderstorms ad- 



vanced southward over the Province. 



(3) It had not reached Calcutta on Thursday, but knowing, as I 



believe I did, what was happening, the distant continuous 

 lightning visible towards the north was to me a most im- 

 pressive sight. 



(4) The change passed over Calcutta on the 25th, and thereafter a 



depression almost immediately began to form over Lower 

 Bengal and the north of the Bay. 



Puja holiday people from Calcutta will remember that they left 

 this place in fine weather, and that the Darjeeling and Himalayan 

 Railway was most unexpectedly breached, further evidence that the 

 disturbing influence was not from the south. 



I have already referred to the fall of temperature which passed 

 over Bengal on the 24th and 25th. Expecting some such change at 

 Calcutta I borrowed, from the Presidency College, a thermograph and 

 exposed it about noon on Friday the 25th. The thermograph trace 

 here given extends for a week from the 25th. The weather in Calcutta 

 at that time was fine and almost cloudless. In the place of exposure of 

 the instrument, temperature, during the afternoon, rose to nearly 94°. 

 The trace shows the sudden fall with the thunderstorm which occurred 

 about 5 P.M. The temperature on Saturday was even higher during 

 the day, and again there was the fall due to a thunderstorm about 5 p.m, 

 Sunday, Monday and Tuesday show a steady fall of day temperatures 

 as the depression formed and cloud increased. Wednesday and Thurs- 

 day, the recovery after the depression moved westward. It is not my 

 intention to give this temperature tracing as indicating the correct 

 shade temperature for Calcutta. The thermograph was in a verandah 

 with a free exposure to all directions except the north, and the high 

 temperature at times indicated, as on Saturday the 26th, was due to the 

 sun's rays falling on the instrument towards evening. I took no pre- 

 caution to prevent high temperatures because my object was to show 

 low temperatures. 



The depression, which began over Lower Bengal on Sunday the 

 27th, moved westward into Central India, and then recurving towards 

 the United Provinces gave the commencement of the " heavy and pro- 

 longed burst of rainfall " referred to in the Pioneer. It is unnecessary 

 to follow tJtie storm in its course ; a reference to the Indian Daily Wea- 

 ther Report of those days will show the main features of the distur- 

 bance. 



