The 18th Century. ....Frost Fairs and Dust Devils....Worcestershire.

[ANYWEATHER]

1716 Breaking Ice around Worcester Bridge and Securing the Bridge.

1776...The first week in January saw very wet conditions with floods . By the 7th ,A severe spell of Winter ushered in , but by February 1st a major thaw took place with flooding and landslides.  A serious drought followed until the end of May....

1795....January and February were plunged into a long and severe winter ,with the Wye and Severn frozen over..

1798..A big Dust Devil, was seen crossing the Herefordshire countryside just south of Ross on Wye. A huge column of dust and debris spiralled upwards to a great height, picking up straw and other items. Later in June another one was spotted at Droitwich in Worcestershire. It crossed the River Severn at Holt Fleet ,picking up a Quantity of water,and causing it to appear to rain from the clear blue sky as the wind passed through the countryside for another four miles. Enough water fell to give a sharp downpour ,complete with rainbow.!

1799....A long hot dry spell suddenly came to an end by the start of August, when violent thunderstorms swept into Herefordshire, then Worcestershire.  Huge Hailstones an inch in diameter  stripped the trees of their Summer foliage and damaged crops. At one stage it was seen to rain Minnows and the tiny fish covered the ground in a wide area...indicating a small Tornado.