168 HENEY A. HUNT. 



others, and because I am able, through the courtesy of Mr. Russsell 

 to submit photographs of it from the Observatory records. At 

 9 a.m. of the 14th an anti-cyclone was over Perth in West 

 Australia, another of rather more decided character was over 

 the Tasman Sea, and between these there was a low pressure 

 wanting in intensity ; winds were light and without character, 

 and the weather generally hot and unpleasant, but fine, except 

 some passing showers on the coast of New South Wales. Fresh 

 northerly winds were blowing in Bass's Straits. Diagram No. 1 

 t shows the instrumental conditions of this change from 7 p.m. of the 

 14th to 7 p.m. of the 16th. It will be observed that the barometer 

 began to fall steadily at 10 p.m. of the 14th, and reached the 

 lowest point at 3 p.m. of the 15th, two and a-half hours before 

 the burster arrived, at the time of lowest barometer the wind was 

 from east, and attained its greatest velocity for the day, seventeen 

 miles per hour, at 3*30 p.m. Temperature was highest 78*8°, 

 between 1 and 2 p.m. of the 15th, and the coming of the southerly 

 at a quarter to six p.m. made but little difference ; light rain 

 began to fall two hours after minimum temperature was reached, 

 and became gradually heavier from between 2 and 3 p.m. of 

 the 16th, at which time the wind veered a little to west of south 

 with a considerable increase of velocity. 



On the morning of the 15th February weather chart No. 1 gives 

 the barometric conditions over Australia and New Zealand, con- 

 ditions which had materially hardened since the 14th, winds 

 generally were fresher and conforming to the isobars, and weather 

 fine and warm in the eastern colonies. Up to noon there were 

 light cirro-cumulus clouds in the south-west, at 1 p.m. they had 

 become much more dense and somewhat thundery looking, and 

 seemed to be working round the horizon to the north, with one 

 remarkable mass of cumulus. The following diagram of this date 

 shows the instrumental changes during this southerly. 



At 2 p.m. south-west clouds slightly advanced, at the same time 

 those low down obscured by haze or dust : up to 2 p.m. north-east, 

 east, and south-east horizons beautifully clear. 2*40 p.m., [clouds 



