Prevailing wind. — North-west. 



TJiunder-storms. — Dudley, 7th ; Amherst, 20th ; Middle- 

 borou^^h, 26th. 



Solar Ucdos. — Royalston, 25th. 



Lunar Halos. — Royalston, 10th, 11th; Dudley, 

 16th, 17th. 



Aurora. — Concord, 28th. 



Remarks. 



The weather for Massachusetts for Octoljer was character- 

 ized by a normal pressure, excessive precipitation on the 

 coast, high wind velocities and extremes of heat and cold. 

 A correspondent from Randolph writes : " Strawberry short- 

 cake from berries picked in the open air, snakes, lightning, 

 frost and snow, make a month of delightful irregularity." 

 The areas of high and low pressuie were generally well 

 marked and followed each other in rapid succession across 

 or near New England, giving, with the attendant winds, 

 that marked influence on our weather that is so characteristic 

 of New England falls and winters. On the 4th, under 

 generally clear skies and warm southerly winds, as a cyclone 

 was passing down the St. Lawrence valley, a maximum 

 temperature of from 80'^ to 90° was experienced ; again, after 

 the passage of a cyclonic area across northern New England 

 on the 26th, a large anticyclone spread slowly eastward and 

 under its influence the temperature fell steadily through the 

 27th, and with only a slight rise on the 28th, to a very low 

 minimum on the morning of the 29th. The first hard frost 

 of the season occurred at many places on that morning, 

 although light frosts were numerous during the entire 

 month. 



Four West India hurricanes reached our coast during the 

 month, giving dano'crous gales and causino; considerable 

 damage to our shipping. The storm of the 23d, which evi- 

 dently originated over the Ohio valley and then moved to 

 our southern coast, gave a very early snow-storm. In 

 many places, where no hard frosts had been felt, the full- 

 leaved trees loaded with snow, the many flowers in the 

 gardens, looking up through their white blanket, and the 



