Conditions
The year preceding the fires was exceptionally hot and dry and this trend continued into the summer of 1851. On Black Thursday, a northerly wind set in early and the temperature in Melbourne was reported to have peaked at 47.2 degrees C (117 degrees F) at 11:00am. This would have been the hottest temperature ever recorded in the city—although it has never been an official record, as there is no evidence the temperature was actually measured in full shade and the Stevenson screen had not yet been used in Australia so it was a non standard measurement. Further to that the measurement is based on anecdotal evidence and therefore may never have been measured at all, i.e. could have been an exaggeration or made up completely. The north wind was so strong that thick black smoke reached northern Tasmania, creating a murky mist, resembling a combination of smoke and fog. A ship 20 miles (32 km) out to sea came under burning ember attack and was covered in cinders and dust.
In the evening, a southerly change brought with it cooler conditions and light rain.
Read more about this topic: Black Thursday (1851)
Famous quotes containing the word conditions:
“In a country where misery and want were the foundation of the social structure, famine was periodic, death from starvation common, disease pervasive, thievery normal, and graft and corruption taken for granted, the elimination of these conditions in Communist China is so striking that negative aspects of the new rule fade in relative importance.”
—Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)
“The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)
“The worst of my actions or conditions seem not so ugly unto me as I find it both ugly and base not to dare to avouch for them.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)