20 JUNE 1914, Page 3

The vagaries of the weather reached a climax last Sunday

afternoon, when London was visited by a tropical thunder- storm attended by distressing loss of life. On the north side hardly a drop of rain fell, while in Wandsworth, Richmond, Norbury, and Croydon streets were flooded and glass shattered by the hail. At the height of the storm, when a number of people were sheltering under trees on Wandsworth Common, six persons, including four children, were killed by lightning and a seventh died of his injuries the next morning. About six o'clock on the following day a similar storm broke over Paris with even more disastrous results. Roadways collapsed from the bursting of flooded sewers, vehicles and passengers were engulfed, and at least a dozen lives were lost. Monday in London was a real summer day, while Tuesday was cool enough to render fires agreeable.