THE HUKEICANE^ THE TYPHOON, AND THE TORNADO. 
15 
occasional lulls, the limit of duration of the storm in any one 
spot, and the fact that the total diameter of the storm is rarely 
more than from one to two hundred miles, clearly place this 
hurricane in the class of storms we have been describing. It 
may be regarded as certain that while on the whole such storms 
take place at distant parts of the world at similar seasons, and 
may be even almost contemporaneous, they have no direct 
relation with each other. Thus, the path of the late West 
Indian storm, commencing on the 28th or 29th of October 
in the Atlantic, and running eastward and northward, could 
have no immediate reference to the storm in the Bay of 
Bengal that commenced on the 1st November and travelled 
northward. At the same time, it must not be lost sight of that 
about that season, and for some time both before and after, 
there has been unusual atmospheric disturbance in the Atlantic 
and also in the Indian Seas. Thus the problem to be solved 
in reference to the cause of cyclonic storms is one of very large 
dimensions, and the phenomena are numerous, complex, and 
very varied. 
Several important facts may be noticed in most of the accounts 
' of great cyclonic storms that have been carefully recorded. There 
I are — First, the limit of space on the earth’s surface over which 
such storms are common, and the fact that within this limit each 
storm has its own path and its own limits of breadth. Second, 
1 the approximate identity of these paths at very distant intervals, 
and the strict fidelity with which the principal phenomena are 
! repeated. Third, the spiral or corkscrew motion of the storm 
round a central axis, the outer limit of the largest spiral being 
I the extreme width of the storm. Fourth, the complication of 
earthquake shocks with the hurricaue on those parts of the 
' course of the storm where it is most destructive. Fifth, the 
' electrical and magnetic disturbances frequently indicated. 
, And Sixth, the occurrence of a great sea- wave during such 
storms sweeping over the lands, and exceedingly destructive to 
i life and property. All these phenomena were observed during 
; the late hurricane at St. Thomas and Tortola. 
I Leaving for the present the case of typhoons, waterspouts, 
I and variable-wind storms, and confining ourselves to the region 
! of the West Indies, it may be remarked that all the great hurri- 
I canes that have devastated the islands themselves, the shores of 
I the Grulf of Mexico, and the east coast of the United States, 
I have originated near the north-eastern extremity of South 
I America, between latitudes 10° and 20° North and between 50° 
i and 60° West longitude. Almost all have followed the direction 
of the islands to the peninsula of Florida, and have then passed 
on, grazing as it were the coast, and gradually diminishing in 
intensity till they re-enter the open Atlantic, near the island of 
