Pat Shingleton for Monday, July 23, 2012

On July 23, 1893, Father Benito Vines died in Havana, Cuba. Father Vines is regarded as the pre-eminent hurricane scholar of the 19th century. As director of the observatory at Belen College in Havana in 1870, he made meticulous observations of weather conditions, especially during tropical disturbances. His daily observations became a climatological catalog for future forecasts. His notations included excerpts on brick-red sunsets, pounding surf and how cumulus clouds would evaporate at the approach of a hurricane. His sense of observation allowed him to understand the dynamics of tropical cyclones. By 1875, he was able to issue hurricane warnings. He was later recognized as “Father Hurricane” and invented a device used by mariners to avoid hurricanes and typhoons called the Antilles Cyclonoscope. Fastcast: Afternoon showers.