EXTRAORDINARY THUNDERSTORM.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 413, 22 February 1877, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY THUNDERSTORM.

On Saturday night a scene was witnessed at \ T aF»eby and surrounding districts on a scalo of grandeur and magnificence unparalleled in our experience. The day had been fine, but moat oppresively hot, the heat continuing till far into the evening. About nine p.m., the night being calm, diatantlightning was visible all round the heavens, there being a few thin dark clouds only in the south east. Soon distant thunder began to be heard, not apparently connected with the almost constantly intermittent sheets of light all round. The graud pyrotechnic exhibition now appeared to increase in intensity and beauty two narrow-looking clouds shooting out forked and chain lightning, now in response, and then again in opposition, as if in deadly feud. Thunder grew in force, some claps being more like a long-Buppreaaed rattle of artillery, suddenly bursting forth in defiance of all creation, making glasa ornaments and chandeliers rattle in the houses. All this while the broad blazes of light were almost constant, lighting up the distant horizon and mountains of Mount Ida and Rock and Pillar—the intense clearness of objects, bathed in chromatic colors, being almost blinding in contrast with the apparent pitch darkness of the brief intervals. The upward irradiations over Hamilton were strikingly beautiful. About eleven it waa aim oat a relief to hear the raindrops begin. The rain which fell at Nasoby was slight, so slight, indeed, as to make it a matter of surprise to hear that there was a flood in the Main Gully. Added to the low rumbling of the now again distant thunder, the sound of flood watera was soon clearly heard. Standing on the edge of the flood, viewing it in the light of the lightning, it waa impossible to judge of ita extent. The water lino showed, in the morning, that aB much water was in the gully that brief half hour as in • the big flood of the previous week. The 'flood was confined to the gully itself, ■ and not to its side branches. The tail race of the Dead Level Company, which bad begun to assume Bhape, was again entirely obliterated, being in a worse state than we ever remember to have Been it. The flood rain fell about a mile above the town, according to one account we havo received, beating up the pebbles with its force. At Hyde the phenomena were very distinct, the lightning, one stating/ appearing to run up the gully where he was. A team of horses, frightened, bolted, but no damage, ao far aa we have heard, occurred. At a little before 1 a.m. on Sunday morning it waßlightning still, but the thunder had ceased. Many were out in the town to a late hour, witnessing the eight, and -a general impression seemed to prevail that the etorm was harmless, although no doubt many indoors were terrified. Ignorance waa a fortunate possession. There can be no doubt that the blinding flashes of forked lightning which occurred about eleven o'clock, accompanied by almost instantaneous bursts of thunder, were of the moat deadly nature. The mountain at the back of the town, probably, to a great extent drew of the worst of the storm. We are inclined to believe that a Dear aurora combined with a thunderstorm to cause such a scene of brilliancy. Storm, in the ordinary eense of the word, there was none. Sheet lightning of sujh constant brilliancy would require a much greater cloud area than was viaible up to nearly eleven p.m. There was no wind, and, in the first instance, hardly any clouds, the young moon and stars being visible enough, although not brilliant. The darkness of the night waa not real, but apparent only in consequence of the brilliancy of the evor-recurring illuminations. The ordinary Bteady features of a distant aurora were Hot discernible, but the upward irradiationa, with more or less regularity, were obviouß enough. In the year 1821, at Belleville, in Invernesshire, Sir David Brewster observed an aurora, the phenomena of

whida were actually combined with jji'ose of a thunderstorm. "On the ' evening of the 29th of August, about half-past nine o'clock p.m., when there was not a breath of wind, and when the thermometer stood at) 63 ° , the noise of very distant thunder was heard towards the south; sheets of Very brilliant lightning illuminated the sky, issuing in general from a small black cloud near the horizon. I was surprised, however, to observe that with the exception of a few thin black clouds which wero rendered visible by the lightning the greater part of the uky was covered with shining masses like those which form the aurora borealis. The stars wereeasily seen through this luminous matter, which was arranged in irregular masses, separated by clear intervals, but having a tendency to assume tho appearance of ir- - radiations diverging from tho cloud whence tho lightning nppeared to issue. "When tho lightning flashed it was propagated in a particular manmet along these lights ; but what was very singular, tho luminous patches wero constantly in a tremulous or undulating motion during tho intervals of tho flashes of lightning. They ehifted thoir place and changed their form exactly like tho light which appears in many of tho varieties of the aurora boreal in." Tho next morning no one admitted being frightened, which says a good deal for Naseby nerves. The C'hineno certainly on Sunday evening boforo dark let off a number of crackers as a propitiation to Joss. We are glad to add that tho eacrifico was accepted. Sunday night was as boautiful as could be wished, and John no doubt ia ready to keep crackera in stock ad libitum for future weed