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the winter. North of the parallel of 40° latitude they commence about the end of September, but the weather continues fine in the southern part of the Sea till the middle of October. Heavy gales, however, occasionally occur here during September and October, the wind commences to blow from south-east and blows very hard between that point and south-west. When it reaches this point it moderates and the weather again clears. These storms seldom last over twenty-four hours. During the summer months southerly winds generally prevail with much fine weather. The Japan Sea is subject to violent squalls from the W.N.W. during the whole year; warning of their approach is however given by the appearance of the sky, or if they occur at night, by the appearance of lightning in that direction. The liability of this sea to these storms should not be forgotten when anchoring in exposed places, such as off Niigata; they blow at times with such force and bring in so heavy a sea, that a ship’s safety may be very much endangered by them.
Fogs commence in the neighbourhood of Yezo, the east Coast of Nipon, and the Gulf of Tartary, as soon as the regular north-west winds terminates, that is about the end of April. They may always be expected in these regions during calms or with southerly winds, that is with any wind that has blown across the warm stream. The period at which they are said to be most dense in the Gulf of Tartary is during the months of June and July. On the west coast they are less frequent, and do not continue so long, while on the south coast they but seldom appear. Winds, however, which come from N. E. to S. frequently bring very thick weather, making navigation at these times almost as hazardous as in a fog. This is always dispersed by N. W. winds.
From what has been stated it will be seen that the strengths, and in some cases the directions, of the currents on these coasts can seldom be calculated upon, and that, when the weather is at all unsettled, no dependence whatever can be placed upon them; that their velocities are sometimes exceedingly great; that a large portion of the
