WILSON, W. G.

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Report of the Midnapore and Burdwan Cyclone of the 15th and 16th of October 1874. First edition of this sophisticated study of cyclonic storms, taking the Midnapore-Burdwan Cyclone of October 1874 as its primary case and making predictions about the formation and courses of such storms. Written by Bengal's acting chief meteorologist, it is illustrated with a large folding colour plate charting the course of the cyclone.The Asiatic Society of Calcutta (founded 1784) supported numerous studies of Bengal's climate and weather patterns. The Calcutta Observatory (founded 1785) took consistent weather readings in the city and surrounding region. Bengal was also home to Henry Piddington (1797-1858), a global pioneer of research into cyclonic storms; he coined the term "cyclone" from the Greek kyklos. In 1865 Calcutta became the first port in India to operate a storm warning apparatus.Investigations into cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal, particularly the exceptionally severe October 1864 season, were formative to 20th-century tropical meteorology. Scientists used the gathered data to predict the formation and paths of countless cyclones and hurricanes worldwide.Plate II shows the track of the storm from its "Probable Place of Origin" at midday on 13 October 1874, its vortex represented by a line formed by a blank space in between gradations of brown. The red and blue lines indicate the wind direction, while the numeric readings contained within the circles give the barometric pre

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