The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-09 00:00:00

REMARKABLE HAIL STORM IN

SYDNEY.

A correspondent of the Sydney (New South Wales) I
Morning Herald, gives the following account of a
thunder-storm which visited that district on the 4th, of
February last, and proved one of the most remarkable
ever witnessed in that colony:—
" There was nothing in the appearance of the weather
(says the narrative) to indicate such a visitation, the
day having been fine and warm, but the thermometer
did not rise higher than 80 deg., with a clear sky and
light breeze. Soon after five P. 31., some remarkable
clouds appeared in the south, which gradually increased
in volume and height, with a good deal of sheet and
forked lightning and distant thunder. About six o'clock
I was in a house about two miles from home, and see-
ing the appearance of the clouds, which were by this
time literally as black as ink, I got upon my horse and
started homewards at a sharp gallop. Before I was
half-way the storm burst right overhead, and I found
myself in a few seconds exposed to its terrific violence,
without the least hope of reaching a place of shelter.
The road runs along a lofty range, and being the
highest ground in the immediate vicinity, the wind
blew with great fury. The first hailstones which fell
were about the size of a small fist, and their appear-
ance was so very remarkable that I thought at
first that they were some substances that had fallen
from the tree nearest me. I was soon undeceived,
andimmediately drew my horse across a large
tree close to the road, and endeavoured to shelter
my body as well as I could. The storm now raged
with awful fury, and the hail fell so thick, and of
such an extraordinary size, that the ground was covered
in a few minutes. Having a straw hat on, I tried
to save my head with one:hand; but, in doing
,o, my arms suffered dreadfully from the hail-
stones, and one in particular, which struck me midway
between the elbow and the wrist, was so heavy that I
thought my arm was broken. This hailstone fell at my
horse's feet, and I am quite certain (judging from others
which I saw weighed and measured afterwards) that the
size was nearly that of an ordinary breakfast cup, while
the weight could not be less than from six to eight ounces.
Owing to the horse being exposed both in his head and
hind quarters, I soon found him become unmanageable;
and although I was in the utmost dread that my brains
or eyes would be knocked out from the extreme violence
of the blows, I was compelled to give my horse the rein,
and he galloped back to the place I had left, instinct
teaching the animal to turn his tail to the storm.
" The tempest was now at its height, and the roaring
of the wind, the noise of the hailstones amongst the
trees, and the air darkened with falling leaves and
branches, formed the most fearful scene I ever witnessed.
The horse, maddened with the hailstones raining with
such violence on all parts of his body, and startled by
tue falling branches, shied and plunged in such a way
that it was with very great difficulty I kept my seat, as
I had to keep one hand up to save my head, and my
arms were getting every minute more benumbed with
the blows. I reached the slip-rails in four or five
minutes, where I was detained in getting down the
rails, my fingers being nearly powerless, and got into
the clear ground; and just as I reached the house and
got into the verandah, the hail-storm passed off, and the
rain began to fall heavily. After a short stay to recover
myself, I again started for home, and on the way was
startled by a most awful vivid flash of lightning which
seemed to stream down from the heavens, making the
hailstones on the road appear for a second of time like
a mass of blue crystal. This was succeeded by a stun-
ning peal of thunder, and the rain then fell in torrents.
I got home soon afterwards, drenched to the skin, and,
on stripping, found that I had been struck in about
twenty places ; on my head were four lumps nearly as
large as marbles, and the skin was broken on several
spots where the hail had struck me. Even now (forty-
eight hours after) I am hardly able to lift my left arm
to my head, and the pain in the hands and other parts
is still considerable.
" The form of the hailstones was exceeding various,
most of them being round and others pyramidal, angu-
lar, thin, and fist, with irregular surfaces. A great
many wary very much the size and shape of a common
oval salt cellar. The weight also varied much, many
of them being solid masses of ice, while others were
opaque and light ; one which we measured was three
inches thick. At seven o'clock, after they had thawed
considerably, many measured ten inches round ; and I
was credibly informed of one that measured fourteen
inches in circumference, and another that weighed eight
ounces ! The duration of the storm was about fifteen
minutes, and its course seemed to be from S. by W. to
N. by E."