My journal of this day begins with remarking a very extraordinary change that took place in the winds.  Instead of the usual fresh North-West breeze after ten A.M., there was a moderate one from East-South-East.  This drew round gradually by east to north.  At sunset the weather was very gloomy; but the barometer indicated nothing, ranging as usual.  In the early part of the night the wind was light from North-North-West, changing suddenly at midnight to a fresh breeze from South-East with rain.  When the morning broke, it had veered to East-South-East with squalls from East-North-East and heavy rain.  Dense masses of clouds covered the sky, enveloping everything in gloom; which, though so far agreeable as to reduce the temperature to 75 degrees, had a most singular effect after the constant bright sunny days we had experienced.  There was still no unusual change in the barometer, the maximum being 30.06, and the minimum 29.98 at two P.M.  The night was squally without rain.

Hurricane at port Essington.

November 27.

The day broke with an appearance of fine weather; patches of blue sky peeped between the heavy masses of clouds, and expanding as the day advanced, left us at sunset with a cloudless vault of blue overhead.  The barometer was lower throughout the whole of this day than it had been at all, being at two P.M. 29.91.  When this strange weather first began I was disposed to consider it to be of the same character as that which I had before observed to occur within a few days of the change of the moon.  But its duration and occasional violence led me to think otherwise, and I afterwards found my conclusions to be correct; as at this very time a hurricane visited Port Essington, distant 270 miles, in a North 30 degrees East direction.*

(Footnote.  The following account of the effects of this hurricane at Port Essington is from the pen of Captain Stanley, and has been published in the Nautical Magazine for September 1841.

Monday 25th.

A strong breeze set in from the south-east with drizzling rain, but as the barometer remained at 29.90, its usual point, and similar weather had been experienced at the change of the monsoon in 1838, nothing was apprehended, more particularly as the wind moderated (as had been expected) at sunset.  Between seven and eight o’clock the wind drew round to the southward, and the barometer began to fall rapidly:  at ten it blew furiously from the same quarter, and the barometer was as low as 29.10; many of the trees were blown down at this time.  At midnight the wind drew round to the eastward, and blew a perfect hurricane, before which nearly everything gave way; the trees came down in every part of the settlement; the marines’ houses were all blown down; the church, only finished a week, shared the same fate:  the barometer fell to 28.52.