398 ACCOUNT OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 



These irregularities in the arctic winds, will be 

 now more particularly noticed, beginning with the 

 phenomena attendant on sudden stoims. The most 

 general preliminaries to such are, perfect calm ; cu- 

 riously variable breezes with strong squalls ; singu- 

 lar agitation of the sea ; together with thick snow, 

 which often changes from flakes to powder, and falls 

 in svich profusion as to occasion an astonishing 

 gloominess and obscurity in the atmosphere. If 

 the snow clear away, the gale is often at hand, 

 whilst a luminousness on the horizon, resembling 

 the ice-blink, sometimes points out its direction, 

 and a noise in the upper regions of the air announces 

 its immediate approach. As these appearances are 

 subject to some variety, they may be more clearly 

 explained by reference to a few of the most striking 

 instances I have observed, in which the value of the 

 barometer, studied in connection with the thermo- 

 meter, in this variable and occasionally tempestuous 

 climate, will be satisfactorily proved. 



In the evening of the 5th of April 1811, latitude 

 70°49'N., and longitude 7° 15' E., the wind blew 

 a fresh gale from the northward, and the barometer 

 which had been stationary for 35 hours, stood at 

 29.88 inches. At noon, on the following day, we 

 had a moderate breeze of wind from the north-west, 

 which, towards evening, increased to a fresh gale, 

 exceedingly variable and squally, accompanied by 

 thick showers of flaky snow. At 9 a. m., the ther- 



