674812-1884-Government-Notification-No-440 — Page 4

936 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HONGKONG GOVT GAZETTE OF 13ти DEC., 1884.

shortly after again unsettled in Manila. This was owing to Typhoon V then apparently approaching from the SE. On the 25th, it appears to have been East of Luzon, moving slowly towards NW. At 10 a. on the 26th, the position of the centre was perhaps in 15° 14′ N, and 123° 18′ E. In the after- noon, the weather was squally and wet, and at the same time the atmosphere became hazy at S. Cape, Formosa, where a gentle NE breeze was blowing. Early next morning, the centre appears to have entered Luzon where the weather was very bad. At 10 a. its position may have been in 16° 15′ N, and 121° 8′ E. At 10 a. on the 28th, it was in 17° 30′ N, and 118° 56′ E. The weather continued close and misty over Luzon, and rain fell at S. Cape, but it was fine over Hainan and in Hongkong, where light breezes were blowing. In the Formosa Straits moderate NE winds were felt, but in the China Sea between Hongkong and Hainan strong N winds, squally weather with heavy rain and a rising sea were already then encountered. In the evening it looked gloomy here, and in the early morning hours of the 29th, the centre approached nearest to Hongkong, where a strong NE gale accompanied by overcast and wet weather was blowing. At 10 a. on the same day, the centre appears to have been in 19° 18′ N, and 113° 54′ E. The weather continued overcast, heavy rain fell and the sea was high and confused, but the wind had calmed down over that part of the sea which had been visited by the typhoon on the previous day. On the North Coast of Hainan there blew with increas- ing force a strong N breeze. The appearance of the sky was threatening. Dirty looking clouds were coming swiftly from NE, and the sea was rough. In Pakhoi a strong WNW breeze, but fine weather was recorded. In the evening a fresh NNE gale which increased to a strong gale at midnight, blew in heavy squalls with great rain on the North Coast of Hainan, and the sea was high. The Easterly current on the Hoihow Roads is estimated by the Captain of the S.S. Anton to have been 2 miles an hour during the 24 hours of the 29th, and is estimated to have been from 4 to 5 miles an hour on the 30th by the Captain of the S.S. Greyhound. On the 30th at 10 a. the centre was in 18° 38′ N and 111° 7 E. In the gulf of Tonquin, a strong N breeze had blown during the night, and the sky had been partly clear, but in the morning, the Captain of the S.S. Ping On then travelling from Haiphong to Pakhoi remarked the more and more threatening look of the sky, and the clouds coming up fast from NE. At 10 a. heavy squalls with rain were encountered, and the wind began to veer towards NE, its force being then a fresh gale. A whole gale blew North of Hainan, a fresh ESE gale in Hongkong-where the weather was wet and felt close and oppressive,-and a gentle SE breeze in the The centre appears Southern parts of the China Sea, where fine weather and a smooth sea prevailed.

to have approached nearest to Kiungchow at about 11 a. when the wind began to calm down somewhat and the sky to clear, but this was succeeded by a whole gale from SE with very heavy rainsqualls. At midnight this went down to a light breeze with a clear sky. During the early morning hours of the 31st the wind blew with typhoon force accompanied by rain squalls in the Gulf of Tonquin, but as the morning wore on the weather improved. At 10 a. on the 31st the centre was perhaps in 17° 12′ N and 105° 30′ E. It appears to have struck the Coast of Northern Annam a few hours before this. Concerning the weather that obtained over the sea immediately south of Hainan-the coast of which the centre of the Typhoon appears to have touched-I have not been able to gather any information. Lower down in the China Sea the weather was fine and the wind a moderate SW breeze, but the S.S. Japan at noon on the 31st in 9° 33′ N and 109° 28′ E encountered squally weather, the wind veered to WNW the breeze blew strong and a threatening appearance was observed towards NW. The weather cleared up however in a few hours. Meantime the weather in the North of China was fine, as is usual during the passage of a Typhoon over the China Sea. After the Typhoon had passed, light SE winds blew over the China Sca.

The Barograph and the Standard Barometer at the Observatory are placed 110 feet above Mean Sea Level. The bulbs of the Thermograph Thermometers are 111 feet above Mean Sea Level and 6 feet above the ground. They are exposed in an unpainted and double-louvered zinc screen fixed to the north wall of the main building in a shaded position. The Solar Radiation Maximum Thermome- ter is 109 feet above Mean Sea Level and 4 feet above the ground, and the Terrestrial Radiation Minimum Thermometer is about one inch above the ground. They are placed over dry earth, as the ground round the Observatory had not yet been turfed. The self-recording Rain-gauge is placed 106 feet above Mean Sea Level, and the rim, which is 11 inches in diameter, is 21 inches above the ground. The cups of the Anemograph are 45 feet above the ground, and 150 feet above Mean Sea Level.

out.

At Victoria Peak the Instruments, except the Radiation Thermometers, are placed in the Look- The Barometer is about 1823 feet above Sea Level. The bulbs of the Thermometers are about 4 feet above the floor, except the Maximum Thermometer, which is a few inches higher. The Radia- tion Thermometers are placed at the same height above the ground as at the Observatory. At Cape d'Aguilar the Thermometers are placed about 170 feet above Sea Level (according to the Government Gazette) in a wooden screen 2 feet above the ground, except the Maximum Thermometer, which is a few inches higher.