1889.] 



and May 1888 in the Boab and lioMlJchand. 



147 



of Moradabad district, but died out before reaching Bilari. Tlie dis- 

 tance from Delhi to Sambhal is about 85 miles and the whole course of 

 the storm was probably not less than 100 miles. As the times of its 

 passage are not exactly stated, no estimate can be made of its rate of 

 progression. The breadth of the belt of counti-y damaged by it is 

 estimated by the Pioneer correspondent at 2 miles. 



(2.) The Tilhar storm commenced near Datoganj in the eastern 

 part of Budaun district probably about 2 p. m., though the local report 

 from Datoganj says 4 p. m. It passed over Jaintipur about 2-30, and 

 Tilhar at 3 or 3-30 p. m., reaching Shajahanpur between 4 and 6 p. m., 

 its intensity at the same time gradually diminishing. Beyond SLahja- 

 hanpur it has not been traced as a violent storm, but the disturbauco 

 probably passed into Sitapur district and was the occasion of same rain- 

 fall there. If the assumed time of commencement be correct, this storm 

 took about 2| hours to travel from Datoganj to Shahjahanptir, a dis- 

 tance of about 35 miles ; or if we may suppose that the times assigned 

 to its passages over Datoganj and over Jaintipur and Tilhar are equally 

 erroneous, the one being as much too early as the other is too late (an 

 assumption which would make the time of its passage over Tilhar agree 

 ■with the statement of the Pioneer correspondent), the time occupied in 

 passing over this distance would be about an hour less. In the one case 

 the velocity of translation would be 14 miles an hour, and in the other 

 23, both of which estimates are considerably loss than the velocity 

 found for the Moradabad storm. No exact details of the breadth of 

 country affected by the storm or of the duration of its passage have 

 been received. 



In these estimates of the rate of progression of the several distur- 

 bances mentioned, it is assumed that the destrnotive tornado and the much 

 more widely felt hailstorm are identical. This assumption is open to 

 question, but I know of no criterion by which the two phenomena can be 

 satisfactorily distinguished. It seems to me that a tornado is only a vio- 

 lent whirlwind which reaches to the ground, whilst an ordinary thunder- 

 storm or a hailstorm may be quite as intense in its gyratory motion as a 

 tornado, but at some level considerably above the ground. 



Direction and Fokce of the Wind in these Storms. 

 The reports all agree in stating that the storms commenced with 

 a, strong west wind which unroofed houses, uprooted trees, and did 

 damage in various other ways, and that after a short time the wind 

 sliifted to North- West, or North, at the same time slacking considerably. 

 In one or two cases a further veering to North-East or East is reported, 

 though, after the storm was over, the wind again blew from the west. 



