Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-06-21

A meteorological fact worth chronicling is,
That every storm of any violence tnat mas oc-
Cured within the last seven months mas, in
every instance, without exception, been heraded
by an auroral display OF more or less brllliancy,
the storm generally proving violent in proper
ton to the universally and brilliancy Of the
auroral light On referring to our meteorologi-
cal notdbiid, we find that the storm and aurora
were generally separated by an interval of from
ten to fifteen hours, four-and-twenty hours
elapsing only in two instances, and in these
cases the storm, even if severe was of but short
continuance, as if its force had been wellnigh
expanded, and its energies exhausted, ere it
reached us.
So marred, indeed, and constant was the con-
nection thus observable between the aurora and
storm towards the end of last autumn, and
throughout the winter and spring months, that
it perforce fastened itself on the attention of the
most careless and unobservant of such phe-
nomena,so that it became quite common thing
latterly TO hear il remarked among the people,
1--WE shall have storm soon; the merry dancers
were very bright last night"
We had occasion to be riding homewards at a
late hour of the night on the I'd instant, under
clear starlit sky, when towards midnight the
north and northwestern heavens suddenly hared
up with bright auroral light which spread out
in broad sheets, through which wave after wave,
fast and furious as the fluttering of banner in
a gale of wind, flashed and flickered with as
tonshing rapidity, and UiS 0iUd that seemed
thoroughly to permeate its every particle, and
TO excite them into the livelest possible action.
1t continued thus for upwards of an hour, when
it suddenly resolved itself into pale green
flush on the face of the heavens and soon after
finally disappeared.
Next morning was one of bright sunshine,
with gentle breeze from the south; and you
would have said that any one remarking that
it was a fine day and likely TO continue so,
could hardly be mistaken. Remembering the
previous night, however, we observed TO a
ploughman on his way with his horses afield,
that he would probably have TO unyoke before
the usual hour in the evening, for that storm
OF wind and rain was imminent, Tor all so fine
a morning as it seemed. Rustcus swept his
eyes over the heavens, marked its bright I'M
clouded circumference, and looked at us with
establishment, so impressed was he with the
unlikelihoodness of our prediction being veri-
fed on this occasion, at all events, though, as
a rule, he professed no small faith in the value
of our meteorological vaticination.
Verified, however, it was, and to the letter,
for before the dinner hour came round one of
the severest gales of the season suddenly sprang
up from the south, with deluges Of cold, sleety
rain, that in less than an hours time filled the
rivers to overlooking, and sent each mountain
rivulet red and roaring torrent to the sea. We
speak, of course, of our own West Highlands
only, when we affirm that it may be taken as a
rule, which an occasional exception will only
tend to establish the more firmly, that bright
auroral display is always followed by a whole
gale of wind and heavy rainfall.-Sc0tch
Paper.