422 METEOROLOGICAL REPORT, 186f>, 



AurorjE Boreales were seen at Sunderland on the lat and 

 2nd. 



Lightning was seen, but Thunder was not heard, at Sunder- 

 land on the 6th. 



Snow fell at Byrness on the 10th : at Horsley near Wylam 

 on the 10th ; at Sunderland on the 9th and 10th ; at Darlington 

 on the 10th and 30th ; at Seaham on the 10th and 29th ; at 

 Middlesbro' on the 10th and 30th ; at Greta Bridge on the 10th 

 and 30th. 



December. — 



"A warm Christmas, a cold Easter, 



A green Christmas, a white Easter." 



— German Proverb. 



On the 24th a very remarkable storm is reported as having 

 occurred at Dunbar, Scotland, which "wrought destruction on 

 the east coast of Scotland comparable only to what we hear of 

 tornadoes in the East. The townsfolk of Dunbar passed the 

 night in fear and trembling, and they seem to have had a won- 

 derfully narrow escape from destruction. In the neighbouring 

 grounds of Broxmouth Park, the seat of the Duke of Roxburgh, 

 the ravages of the storm were terrific. Great trees were torn 

 up and snapped in pieces. Cattle-sheds were unroofed, and the 

 tiles scattered far and wide ; whole plantations were rooted up ; 

 ricks of hay were lifted bodily and hurled away. The whirlwind 

 took a particular path which can be traced by the line of de- 

 struction. On either side of this path, which extends for miles, 

 there is not a tjranch broken." — Daily News, January 26th, 1870. 



Greenwich. — The mean temperature of December was 37*9'^, 

 being 1*3° lower than the average of 98 years, lower than in 

 1868 by 8-1°, higher than in 1867 by 0-4°, but lower than in any 

 previous year as far back as 1860. 



The oscillations of the barometer during December were very 

 large, and succeeded each other rapidly, especially between the 

 8th and 28th. The range of readings during the month amounted 

 to 1'62 inches. 



