1840.] the Theory of the Law of Storms in hidia. 1049 



Vessels. I have adverted, in both my preceding Memoirs, to the probable 

 effects produced by the interruption which a vortex may experience 

 when approaching the land. 



In this instance, as before, we must consider the storm as a fluid 

 vortex, moving onwards and striking the extremity of the Coromandel 

 range, with two openings, that of the valley of the Mahanuddee, 

 and of the low country above the Balasore hills, through which to 

 force its way, (see the second Chart to my first Memoir). It is 

 difficult to suppose, and with the imperfect maps we possess, impossible 

 to calculate, what the effect of this double interruption would be ; but 

 we may, I think, fairly attribute to it the diminished rate at which the 

 storm appears to have travelled; its remarkable change of course 

 during this last 24 hours ; the *' awful gusts" of wind described in the 

 log of La Belle Alliance, and the discrepancies of some of the logs as 

 to the direction of the wind.* We find, what is very remarkable, the 

 Elephanta coming up along shore with the usual monsoon wind of the 

 season, and " fresh breeze and cloudy weather," though, as will be seen 

 by the diagram, she is not far from the circles of the Christopher Raw- 

 son, Vectisy Beacon, and Freak, all of them still in very bad wea- 

 ther. There can be no doubt about the Elephantds position, since she 

 had the land in sight. The " great swell from the NE." which I have 

 marked in italics, is, clearly that of the tempest, which at this time was 

 just approaching the unfortunate station of Pooree. The ElephantoHs 

 distance from the centre of this day is considerable, being 163 miles, 

 which would require the vortex to have been 326 miles in diameter, to 

 have reached her. 



Taking the nearest range of elevated land to be 30 miles inland 

 from Pooree, we may suppose that circle of the storm upon which the 

 Flowers of Ugie is placed in the diagram, to have been just impinging 

 against it at noon, and hence perhaps the sort oi flattening of it into 

 an irregular oval, which gives the wind on the NE. and SE. portion, — 

 Flowers of Ugie, Vectis, and Christopher Rawson, — a more southerly 

 direction ; and farther to the NE. creates the irregularity of the Pilot 



* Captain Smoult of the " Freak" in a letter subsequently sent, says "at day -light 

 on the 30^^, the wind had hauled round (in the space of four hours) from NNW. to 

 ESE. then back to Southward and SW. from which quarter it blew generally, till I 

 arrived at Point Palmiras." 



