50 Account of a Storm in Sussex. [July, 



but afterwards it increased to more than double that width. The 

 distance to which it extended in its extreme violence was about 

 12 miles, and in this space its ravages were almost inconceiv- 

 ably violent; buildings of all descriptions, and many hundred 

 trees, were instantly swept down and whirled in all directions. 

 Its motion appears certainly to have been in a spiral direction, 

 and from the right hand to the left, or contrary to the course of 

 the sun ; for it was observed that all bodies " drove down near 

 the eastern verge towards the north, and near the western towards 

 the south." With respect to its velocity, the author states that. 

 " the distance from the sea side to Newingden-Level is about 12 

 miles, which it passed over in 20 minutes ; and if we take 70 

 rods for the mean diameter of the vertiginous motion, the dura- 

 tion of the offensive wind could not exceed 20 seconds 



According to this computation, the direct velocity of the storm 

 is 42 feet in a second, to which adding 43 feet for the increase 

 by the vertiginous or spiral motion, makes 85 feet ; which is the 

 space run through in every second of time near the outward verge 

 of the gyration, and the velocity by which all obstacles received 

 the impulse of the wind." Although it raged with so much 

 violence in its progress along the track which it pursued, it 

 appears to have been completely limited to this space ; for in 

 passing over woods, where it tore the largest trees into frag- 

 ments, others that were in the neighbourhood suffered no injury, 

 and " had not the least appearance of a storm by twigs or 

 leaves blowed off; " there does not seem to have been any wind 

 out of the direction of the hurricane ; and as it proceeded across 

 the country, its whole fury, in each particular spot, was over in 

 perhaps half a minute. One of its most remarkable effects was 

 that of raising up heavy bodies from the ground, and transporting 

 them to considerable distances. In this way, large pieces of 

 timber, and even portions of the roofs of houses, were earned 

 many yards, and some bulky substances were entirely lost. A 

 remarkable instance is related of this kind of transportation, 

 where a cottage was destroyed in consequence of " a large apple 

 tree brought out of a neighbour's orchard, over three hedges, 

 with the roots and earth about them, that fell upon the house." 

 It is said that the storm generally raged with the greatest 

 violence in gills or narrow valleys, that had a considerable decli- 

 vity on each side, and upon the highest ground. Its breadth 

 was also increased as it ascended to the tops of the hills, which 

 gives us reason to suppose, as the author remarks, that the body 

 of the hurricane was in the form of an inverted truncated cone ; 

 while its power of raising up heavy bodies would indicate that 

 there was a partial vacuum in the central part of the cone, which, 

 if it had occurred on the sea, would have produced the pheno- 

 mena of a waterspout. The pamphlet contains a good deal of . 

 theoretical reasoning on the cause of the hurricane, derived from 

 the erroneous opinions that were then prevalent ; but with 



