1904.] C. Little— TAe Himalayan summer storm of Sept. 24th, 1903. 163 



I have pointed out in previous papers that a striking feature of 

 these Himalayan storms and their after-effects, has been the subse- 

 quent formation at brief intervals of depressions over the north of the 

 Bay. It has been seen that on this occasion a depression formed over 

 Lower Bengal on the 27fch to 29th September and then moved west- 

 ward. A second depression appeared over the north of the Bay a few 

 days later about the 3rd October. This storm also moved westward, 

 but in a direction more northerly than its predecessor, and after recurv- 

 ing in the southern parts of the United Provinces filled up over those 

 Provinces about the 11th. The exceptional character of the weather 

 in the United Provinces during the period October 1st to 10th was due 

 to these two depressions, but the main cause of the rainfall was the 

 recurving, or the causes thereof. 



We have had the " remarkable series " of three cyclonic storms 

 which saved the agricultural situation in Guzerat in 1902, following 

 immediately after the Himalayan storm of August 12th. These cyclo- 

 nic storms developed at intervals of seven days. Again this year we had 

 the remarkable series of four cyclonic storms following the Himalayan 

 storm of July 9th. These developed over the north of the Bay at in- 

 tervals of five days. Their influence on the rainfall distribution in 

 Northern India was very striking, but need not be referred to here. 



Now we have a " remarkable series " of two cyclonic storms form- 

 ing over the same area at an interval of seven days, at a time when 

 such storms not unfrequently develop over the Bay, but on this occa- 

 sion following an unexpected, I might say, an unprecedented course and 

 causing what the Pioneer calls "one of the most heavy and prolonged 

 bursts of rainfall that can have ever been recorded so late in the 

 year." 



Not only do these Himalayan storms appear to indicate an important 

 cause in the formation of cyclonic storms in the Bay of I'engal, 

 but they have, on all the occasions I have referred to, been followed by 

 a marked alteration in the course or track of the cyclonic storms over 

 Central and Northern India. That is, the recurving on which the rain- 

 fall distribution so largely depends, was materially affected. 



That recurving, as I have pointed out, is not dependent on the 

 lower strata of the atmosphere, and my reason for thinking so is that 

 there is no occasion on record when recurving has been indicated 

 beforehand by the ground-level observations. 



It is in this connection that Mr. Blanford's insight receives such 

 striking confirmation. Take for comparison the year 1882, and its 

 monsoon experience. The extracts 1 have given show that at that time 

 Mr. Blanford was giving form to the theory that there is an important 



