18 WEST INDIAN HURRICANE 



At Barbados the premonitory signs of a hurricane became man- 

 ifest during the morning of September 10. Cirrus clouds which 

 had been moving rapidly from- the south changed formation to 

 strato-cumulus and nimbus from the northeast early in the fore- 

 noon. The wind backed from northeast to north, and a heavy 

 sea swell ran from the southeast. The usual rise in the barometer 

 was followed after 11 a. m. by slowly decreasing pressure. From 

 6 to 9.20 p. m. the barometer fell rapidly to a minimum of 29.462 

 inches, and the wind increased in force in frequent violent squalls 

 until 10.18 p. m., when the anemometer was blown down during 

 a gust which had a registered velocit}^ of 75 miles an hour. At 

 11 p. m. the wind changed to north, and, in the opinion of the 

 Weather Bureau observer at Bridgetown, much higher velocities 

 were attained between 11 p. m. and midnight than at any other 

 time. After 11 p. m. the gale abated, but continued strong until 

 the morning of the eleventh. The report of the observer shows 

 that a very remarkable electric display, without thunder, con- 

 tinued during the storm, and that in the southwest, at an ap- 

 parent great distance, a brilliant, permanent light appeared. The 

 rainfall was very heavy, a depth of 11.42 inches having been 

 measured from 6 p. m. of the tenth to 10.30 a. m. of the twelfth. 



From Barbados the hurricane center moved westward and 

 reached St Vincent and St Lucia late in the forenoon of the 

 eleventh. A report made by Mr H. Powell, Curator, Botanical 

 Gardens, St Vincent, shows that during the morning of the 

 eleventh the barometer fell very rapidly to a minimum of 28.509 

 inches at 11.40 a. m., at which point it remained nearly station- 

 ary until 12.30 p. m., and then rose rapidly to 29.533 inches by 

 3 p. m. Between 11 and 11.40 a. m. the velocity of the wind was 

 50 to 60 miles an hour from points between north and west, and 

 between 1 and 2 p. m. the wind velocity was estimated at 90 to 

 100 miles an hour, from the south and south-southwest. From 

 from 9 a. m. to noon 4.94 inches of rain fell. The rain continued 

 in torrents until 3 p. m., but an accident to the gauge prevented 

 further measurements. 



After having crossed the Windward islands the storm dimin- 

 ished rapidly in intensity, and its effects were not severely felt 

 in neighboring and more northern islands except in the form of 

 heavy sea swells and torrential rains. 



Figures furnished by the observer at Barbados show that the 

 hurricane of 1898 did not compare in point of severity with a 

 hurricane which visited that island August 10-11, 1831. Dur- 



