WINDS. 99 
the Drontheim fiord to the Arctic Circle. To the north of 
the Arctic Circle their frequency diminishes considerably ; 
and on the coast of Finmark thunder is never heard excep- 
ting in very hot summers. In South Varanger, on the 
contrary, the summer storms are more frequent, and there 
thunder is heard as often as in Southern Norway. 6 
. Lightning rarely strikes the ground, still it causes many 
accidents in the course of years, especially in winter 
thunder storms; and on the coasts of Southern Norway 
many churches have been struck by lightning. 
The occurrence of thunder storms has a marked diurnal 
time during summer. The greater number are in the 
afternoon, and there are fewest during the night. During 
winter the nocturnal storms seem to be as frequent as 
those which occur during the day, The hail accompany- 
ing thunder storms in Norway is in quantity insignificant. 
Next in importance to thunder storms and storms of 
rain, are storms of wind. These storms attain their 
greatest frequency in Norway in the month of November, 
during which there may be 4°5 days of storm counted on. 
They are least frequent in summer, when, they average ‘8 
days per month. This frequency increases in autumn and 
decreases in spring in a regular way. There is no marked 
frequency of storms during or immediately after the 
equinoxes. . ; 
“The frequency of storms and the force of the wind 
follow the same law. The frequency attains its maximum 
on the coasts of Nordland and of Finmark, where there are 
on an average 46 in the year; the west coast follows with 
an average of 27 per annum; their number diminishes on 
the coast of the Skagerack, where there occur about 15 in 
the course of the year; and lastly, in the interior they are 
comparatively rare, numbering in Christiania from 2 to 3, 
and on the Dovre mountains from 5 to 6 a year. . 
The direction followed by them is generally that of the 
dominant winds: here let it suffice to state that from 
Christiania to Vardo, coming generally in winter, they 
