The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-18 00:00:00

ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON.

On Sunday afternoon last, a most remarkable pneu-
matic occurrence astonished and alarmed a portion of the
inhabitants of Greenheys. About thirteen minutes be-
fore six o'clock, a whirlwind of a violent character com-
menced in some open ground opposite an unfinished street,
named Brook-street, at the top of Cambridge-street, be-
tween that and Boundary-lane. The shavings, dust, &c.,
were hurled into the air, at first forming a column
about seventy feet high ; but afterwards, as th.) force
seemed more intense, the pillar became at least 200 feet
in height. The circle occupied by the whirlwind was
not more than 40 yards in diameter, in its greatest ex-
tent. During its greatest fury, when pieces of wood, &c.
were whirled into the air, the leaves of the trees within
a distance of 20 yards were undisturbed. For a few
minutes, its circle of action was stationary ; the whirl
wind then took a stately march due north, the vanes of
weather-cocks in the immediate neighbourhood (i. e,
within 100 yards by measurement) pointing at the time
due west. Passing over the houses, the tiles were torn
off some ; window blinds from the windows of others ;
all received a storm of dust, shavings, paper, &c. ; and the
flowers in the gardens were broken or torn up by the roots.
The pillar of dust and violence proceeded slowly on-
wards over the streets and housei till it came to
Newcastle-street, the direction of Ni hich it took. The
violence of the wind appeared gradually to abate,
but was still of the same circumscribed character.
It seemed to be lost at the north end of that
street, the wind in the meantime having veered round
to the south, in which direction it was blowing at half-
past-six. At 17 minutes to seven, the direction of the
wind was S.W. by W. when there was some thunder ;
and at twelve minutes to seven, it was due west. The
breeze then appeared to cease altogether, and some
large drops of rain fell. At nine minutes past seven,
a breeze suddenly sprung up again, and the weather-
cocks indicated that it was due north ; in which direc-
tion it continued till after sunset, about which time, again
noticing the vane, we were surprised to find another
change had taken place, and the current of air was
N.E. by E. At half-past ten, the wind was blowing due
south again ! This is, perhaps, the most remarkable
variation of the winds which has occurred for many
years in this country. The whirlwind itself from its
commencement in Greenheys to its cessation in New-
castle-street, endured about 25 minutes, and caused
very great alarm in the neighbourhood through which
it passed. During the evening the thermometer indi-
cated some rapid and curious changes in the tem-
perature. We have heard of one incident connected
with this whirlwind, that caused no small consternation
to a family in the neighbourhood. After some consulta-
tion as to the coolest place about the premises in which
to take tea, it was decided that a flagged back yard
should be the spot, and thither the husband carried
a small table, and afterwards the tea-tray, with cups,
saucers, &c. Into the yard, suddenly descended the
whirlwind, filling the cups and saucers with dust,
and then in an instant down went the table, and there
was a smash of crockery. Some boys who were playing
in the open space of ground, across which the whirl-
wind took its course, were at first greatly diverted by
their caps being suddenly snatched off their heads and
carried upwards ; but their diversion was soon trans-
formed into alarm and consternation, for as the violence
of the whirlwind increased, they were themselves thrown
down upon the ground by the force of the wind, to their
great amazement. No one was seriously hurt.—Man
chester Guardian.