410
22
On the 11th June the barometer was slowly rising at Hongkong, there was a light W air and the sky was partially clouded. The lower clouds came from W. At Hoihow the barometer was also rising with light variable airs and fine weather. On the SE coast and at the stations in the Formosa Channel the barometer had fallen a little for the most part and farther north the fall was more decided. In the Channel the NE winds had for this reason decreased somewhat in force. The weather was chiefly overcast. At the Formosa stations there had been on an average a slight increase of pressure since noon of the previous day, but the weather had become very wet and squally at Anping and Fisher Island as well as at S. Cape.
From the log of the Sungkiang, which is annexed, it will be seen that during the early morning hours the barometer was falling quickly and the wind increasing in force (at 6 a.m. NE 7). An attempt to heave the ship to at this time met with failure. After the direction backed gradually still increasing in force, at 8 a.m. a strong N gale was experienced with the lowest reading of the barometer shortly after (at 8.30 a.m. 29.26). The barometer rose slightly during the following two hours (at 10 a. 29.29) and the wind backed to NW by N force 9. There was heavy rain and high confused sea. Later the barometer rose quickly, (at 2 p.m. 29.56) and the wind continued to back towards W at the same time decreasing in force. The centre must have been within 30 miles to the E of the ship's position at 9 a.m. and was at the time moving NNEward.
The Esmeralda was hove to some time during the early morning, the barometer falling rapidly and the NE wind increasing in force. At 7 a.m. she was estimated to be in 22°02′, 118°38′ or about NW/W 80 miles from the centre. At 8 a.m. she had a NNE gale with heavy rain squalls and swell. The main trysail was set to steady the ship. The lowest reading of the barometer was registered at this time but as two barometers were read and entered in the log the readings cannot be made use of. The barometer had risen at noon but the wind continued a NNE gale with thick rainy weather. At 4
At 4 p.m. the wind backed to N and moderated and the vessel was put on her course to the Southward. At noon this vessel was about 90 miles NW by W of the centre. The Yiksang and Porpoise, off the coast of Luzon to the West of Bolinao, had rising barometer, moderate to strong SW breezes, squally weather with thunder and lightning. They were just over 250 miles SSW of the centre.
On the 11th at noon the centre was in 21°30', 119°15'. The depression had increased much in intensity during the previous 24 hours and at the centre there was now a pressure of at least 0.5 inch below the normal.
The following are the noon observations for the 11th June:--
COAST STATIONS.
Bolinao, South Cape,
S
300
29.77 + .13
SE
0.
ENE
90
.66 + .07
ESE
as
Anping,
NE
90
.63 + .05
NNE
3
0.
WSW swell.
Fisher Island,...
N
120
.66 + .03
NNE
6
omg.
Hoihow,
W
520
.76 .00
var.
1
b.
Hongkong,
W
250
.73 + .03
WSW
1
0.
Breaker Point,
WNW
170
.70
.00
NE
C.
Lamocks,
NW
150
.68
.00
NE
5
cm.
Chapel Island,
NNW
170
.65 .02
―
NNE
6.
C.
Turnabout,
N
220
.76 .02
―
N
om.
Steep Island,
NNE
520
.87 .04
-
ES
C.
H.M.S. Porpoise,
SSW 250
17o 0'
VESSELS.
118° 5'
29.71
SW
4
c. N swell.
S.S. Yiksang,
SSW 250
17 6
118 17
.77
SSW
5 ogrlt.
S.S. Kriemhild,.
WSW 500
17 52
111 39
.75
S
3 moderate sea.
S.S. Donar,
WSW 350
20 4
112 50
.74
N
2
increasing swell.
S.S. Nizam,
W 280
21 42
114 9
.69
W
4
S.S. Zafiro,
W
160
20 53
116 20
.68
NNW
$
c. high sea.
S.S. Sungkiang,
SW
60
20 58
118 46
NW
S.S. Esmeralda,
NW
(7a. 22 2 160 23 58
118 38) 117 51
NNE
.65
NE/E 5
0.
S.S. Paoting,.....
r. wind and sea decreasing.
r. blowing a gale.
During the evening of the 11th the barometer was steady at Hongkong with light SW to W airs and cloudy weather. At the stations on the SE coast the barometer was almost steady and the winds were chiefly light NE airs with cloudy weather. At Lamocks at 9 p.m. the barometer read 29.72 with NE 3 cloudy. At the lighthouses towards the Northern part of the Formosa Channel it was blowing from NNE a strong breeze to moderate gale, the barometer was falling and the sky clouded. In N Formosa the barometer was falling with light airs and calms at Keelung and passing showers.
At Fisher Is., Anping, Takow, and S. Cape the barometer was falling sharply. At Fisher Is. at 9 p.m. 29.61 NE 7. At Anping 29.60 NE 4. At Takow 29.59 SE 2. Af S. Cape. 29.61 S7. The sky was overcast with drizzling rain at Fisher Is., rain at Takow, showery and squally at S. Cape. At the latter station the wind had gradually veered since morning and increased in force. At Anping there was a heavy WSW swell.