of hurricane force might be expected. This information continued to be given by telephone until the receipt of the hurricane warning at 11:16 p. m. After that time, all persons calling by telephone or in person were informed of the display of hurricane warnings. Telephone communication with Hollywood and Miami Beach was severed between 1 a. m. and 2 a. m. and in Miami, between 2 a. m. and 3 a. m.
The hurricane came with great suddenness. Except for a moderate but steady fall of the barometer after 10 a. m. of the 17th, there were no unusual meteorological conditions to herald the approach of the storm. The wind velocity as late as 8 a. m. of the 17th was only 19 miles per hour, and the usual heavy rain that precedes a tropical storm did not set in until after midnight, by which time the wind was blowing a fresh gale. At 10 p. m. of the 17th, the barometer began to fall rapidly, and by midnight it had fallen .11 inch. From E midnight to 6:45 a. m., at which time the center of the storm passed over Miami, there was a precipitate fall at the rate of .28 inch per hour. Frequent readings of the mercurial barometer were made throughout the night to check the barograph trace. After 3 a. m., the oscillation of the mercury column in the barometer was as great as .10 inch, making it difficult to properly adjust the vernier. Shortly after 5:30 a. m., it was seen that the barograph pen would fall below the limits of the instrument, and I sat in front of the barograph and waited until the pen reached 28 inches, when it was raised .5 inch. The readjustment of the pen was made as quickly and accurately as was possible under the circumstances. The office was in total darkness, and the readjustment had to be made with the use of a flashlight. The correction to the barograph trace up to the time the pen was readjusted was .01 inch. The correction after readjustment and up to 8 a. m. was .05 inch, as determined by several readings of the mercurial barometer. From about 5:30 a. m. to 6:10 a. m., the barometer fell .40 inch and then remained stationary for 15 or 20 minutes. This was at the beginning of the lull in the wind that attended the arrival of the center of the storm. After the short stationary period, there was another rapid fall of .06 inch, and at 6:45 a. m., a reading of the mercurial barometer showed a pressure of 27.61 inches. The barograph pen fell to 27.54 inches. The master of the steamship Crudeoil, one of the few vessels that rode out the storm in Biscayne Bay, had his aneroid barometer adjusted at this office the day preceding the storm. His instrument recorded 27.59 inches. This reading requires a correction of .01 inch to reduce it to sea level, so that the corrected reading is 27.60 inches. After the passage of
