Mr Williams's account of two Thunder Storms. 81 



We would beg to request Dr Heineken to observe the ther- 

 mometer at 10'^ A. M, and 10 p. m., as it would be interesting 

 to compare the annual temperature thence deduced with that 

 which is obtained from the maximum and minimum thermo- 

 meter. It would be very desirable also to have a few obser- 

 vations every month on the temperature of springs or deep 

 wells. 



The situation of Funchal, near the place where the isother- 

 mal lines of the Old World begin to bend towards the equa- 

 tor, and to mark the influence of the cold pole of America, 

 renders the accurate determination of its mean temperature a 

 matter of great importance to meteorology. 



Art. XIII. — Account of Two Thunder Storms which hap- 

 pened in Worcestershire^ in which it appeared the Electric 

 cat Discharge passed from the Earth towards the Clouds. 

 By John Williams, Esq. Communicated by the Author. 



Atorcesteii and its neighbourhood were visited by a thunder 

 storm on the evening of the 14th of December 1825. The 

 barometer throughout the day stood at 29.25, and the thermo- 

 meter at 8 A. M. was 44', and at 2 p. m. 50°. The lower wind 

 was brisk from the S. S. W., with a damp mild feel, indicating 

 the presence of much aqueous vapour. Clouds were seen mov- 

 ing in three distinct currents. The uppermost current came 

 from the west, a middle current from the S. W., and the lowest, 

 in which the clouds appeared to move more rapidly, came from 

 the south, and there were openings of clear sky of a deep blue 

 colour. From 7 till 8 o'clock p. m. lightning was seen flashing 

 at intervals in the S. W., W., and N. W., proceeding appa- 

 rently from light clouds. At half-past 8 the sky became very 

 dark in the N. W., the flashes of lightning more vivid and 

 frequent, and it began to thunder. A storm of very unusual 

 violence for the season of the year immediately followed, at- 

 tended with wind, rain, and hail. The explosions of thunder 

 were almost incessant for about an hour ; and the intensely 

 vivid glare of the lightning, alternating with extreme darkness, 

 produced a most awful eflect. 



VOL. X. NO. I. JAN. 1829. F 



