'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From December 1854 to March 1856. (New Issue.) Edited by the Secretary. Volume XII.' [‎35] (54/258)

XXXV
THE CYCLONE AT BOMBAY, 1854
time the storm quickly moderated, and finally, after passing N of the zenifh
disappeared by 8.0 p m in the W N W. ’ i or me zenith,
The thunder and lightning storm which occurred on the evening of the 30th
«qvr e3‘i! 9 '° , 'V 11 ^4^*^
and followed the same track as that of the 29th p omenon,
p °°to e 8 3 op f ci r , f/.“" < ’ ,rom 40
principally i„ the N N E and S E homon. The' wind wa” s fv from sTp™' tm
50 pm. when it went onto S, where it remained till 7.0 p. m , then wei^ on
the E., remained between E and N E up to 11.0 a m on the 1st November
Hurricane on the night of the 1st, and morning of the 2nd.
During the day, the sky was overcast with nimbi in two strata. From 6 am
Sead V a¥ F^ e v e <? Wacoutm " al drizzling rain ; and the wind remained
steady at E bj S, with a gradually increasing force. The Barometer arrived at
its minimum at the usual time, 4.0 p m. we read 29.532, being only about 0.060
^ ^y before. It arrived atlts night maximum
(29.66o) at 8.0 p M. being nearly an hour and a half before the usual time
falTe^r^S^id atTo ^ a “ d ^ “ id fg ht ^ fel1 0.165. By. 2.0 a m. it had
fallen 0-48 , and at 4.0 A m. it obtained as to time, its regular morning mini
mum, having fallen from its night maximum 29.662 to 29.183, being nearly 0 450
MifiratiTn'iM 11 ^ 4 -° A M -° nthe 2nd ifc rose ^PnUy to
29.762 at 110 a m, a rise of 0.581 inches in seven hours, but an hour later as
to its usual time ot maximum in the mornino*.
At midnight the wind veered from S E by E to S E and rapidly increased in
force from 15lbs. pressure, on a square foot of surface, till 3.0 a m on the 2nd
when it inclined a little more towards the S and increased in force to 351bs. At
this time the roaring ot the sea and wind, the noise of falling tiles, and the
crashing of the larger branches of the trees, as they fell about the Observatory,
together with the intense darkness, was truly awful. At 4.0 A m the wind was
on 1 *?u US i 11 al V n ? ry ^ ud ' Vith the same force > bufc shi «ed to Shy E, and at
4.30. • the storm lulled and went on to W S W moderating a little ; at 5.0 a m
it went on to W, still moderating. At 6.0 a m it was W N W and rapidly
decreased in violence, from this time till 9 a m it gradually subsided, and by
9.0 a m, when heavy showers of rain fell, all trace of the Hurricane dis
appeared.
When day broke on the morning of the 2nd November, the scene of devastation
that the compound of the Observatory presented was really appalling ; the most
ot all the trees in the compound were rent, as if torn by some gigantic hand ;
palings were blown away and strewed all over the place. In the Superinten
dent’s dwelling, the eastern verandah had its furniture, such as tables, chairs,
&c , blown from one end of the verandah to the other ; mat frames were unhooked’
and blown away ; two substantial canvas screens were blown to rags ; and some
glass doors and Venetians were torn away from their wooden sills. Here and there
on the sea-beach in tront of the compound, might be seen spars and fishing stakes
which were washed ashore. A large banian Merchant of Indian extraction. tree near the Observatory well,
which had stood the hurricane of 1837, was not torn up by the roots, but its
trunk was rent and twisted in the centre as if it had been a mere twig.
* This was the centre of the cyclone passing overhead.