Laura Wright 
The year 1348 was extraordinary for anyone interested in the history of weather, natural disasters, and strange phenomena.
Across Europe and Asia, chroniclers described a world that seemed to be behaving incorrectly.
The seasons appeared to reverse.
Snow reportedly fell in France during the summer.
Earthquakes shook enormous portions of Europe.
Unusual objects appeared in the sky.
Torrential rains destroyed crops.
And throughout many of these accounts came descriptions of poisonous air, mysterious vapors, and a foul-smelling mist advancing from the East.
All of this occurred while the Black Death was devastating populations across the known world.
For people living through 1348, it must have seemed as though nature itself had become diseased.
The Seasons Turn Upside Down
Historical accounts described drastic changes in the elements throughout Europe and Asia.
Perhaps the strangest reports concerned the seasons themselves.
Snow fell in France during the summer.
Elsewhere, prolonged rainfall destroyed crops and contributed to already desperate conditions.
Italy experienced approximately four months of rain, destroying seeds and causing widespread crop failure.
Food shortages and plague were terrible enough.
But earthquakes were also beginning to tear through Europe.
The Great Earthquakes of 1348
A massive earthquake struck Greece and Italy in January.
Entire villages were reportedly swallowed by the earth, burying hundreds of people alive.
By January 25, the earthquakes had reached Carinthia in Austria and Carniola in Slovenia.
Twenty separate earthquakes were reportedly felt during a single night.
Sixteen cities were destroyed.
Contemporary estimates placed the number of people swallowed by the earth at approximately 40,000.
And the earthquakes didn’t stop there.
Earthquakes Across Europe
Tremors continued to be reported across a vast geographical area.
Earthquakes affected Germany, France, Silesia, Poland, England, Denmark, and Scandinavia.
Accounts claimed that the disturbances extended as far as a place called Baale, believed to have been located in Nigeria.
Earthquake activity continued periodically until approximately 1360.
For people already watching friends and relatives die from plague, the earth itself must have seemed unstable beneath their feet.
Then disaster struck Cyprus.
Disaster on Cyprus
Cyprus was already suffering from the Black Death when an earthquake struck the island.
The earthquake was followed by a hurricane.
Then the sea “overflowed.”
Ships were destroyed as water surged across the coast in what would today be described as a tsunami.
The island reportedly began turning into desert.
But one of the strangest details involved the air.
The Poisonous Air
The atmosphere became foul and noxious.
People reportedly died after breathing the contaminated air.
At the time, inhabitants naturally associated this poisonous atmosphere with the plague.
One explanation blamed decomposing swarms of locusts.
Their rotting bodies were believed to have contaminated the atmosphere and created a poisonous mist.
This idea fit naturally into contemporary beliefs about disease.
And reports of strange, foul-smelling air were not limited to Cyprus.
The Stinking Mist From the East
German accounts from the period repeatedly described a thick, stinking mist.
According to those stories, the mysterious vapor advanced from the East.
It continued moving westward until it eventually crossed Italy.
Today, such descriptions invite numerous possible interpretations.
But to people experiencing the Black Death, the connection between the strange atmosphere and the disease must have appeared obvious.
Something poisonous seemed to be traveling across the land.
And wherever plague appeared, death followed.
Meteors Over Europe
The skies offered their own disturbing spectacles.
A fiery meteor was reportedly observed during the year.
For centuries afterward, some people believed the object might somehow have been responsible for the Black Death.
Other meteors and fireballs were also reported throughout Europe.
In August, witnesses saw a fireball above Paris.
Then, on December 20, another extraordinary object appeared over the papal palace at Avignon, France.
It remained visible above the horizon for approximately one hour.
To medieval observers already surrounded by catastrophe, something burning in the heavens could hardly have seemed reassuring.
Illness During the Earthquakes
The earthquakes themselves were accompanied by reports of unusual physical symptoms.
People complained of headaches and stupor during the disturbances.
Some of those affected reportedly died.
Whether these illnesses had anything to do with the earthquakes was another matter.
But in the accounts of 1348, natural disaster and disease repeatedly appeared together.
The distinction between the two was not always clear.
Something Happened to the Wine
Even Europe’s wine appeared to behave strangely.
Wine stored inside casks reportedly became turbid, developing a cloudy or muddy appearance.
In another year, spoiled or cloudy wine might have seemed like little more than an inconvenience.
In 1348, it became another sign that something appeared wrong with the natural world.
The earth shook.
The sky burned.
The air smelled poisonous.
The crops failed.
And now even wine changed mysteriously inside sealed casks.
Still stranger reports were coming from farther east.
The Dragon at Jerusalem
Writer Samuel Cohn recorded an extraordinary story involving Jerusalem.
According to the account, a “Dragon” appeared there and “devoured all.”
Another city with a population of approximately 40,000 people was reportedly overwhelmed by enormous worms.
The creatures were described as being as large as a fist and possessing eight legs.
Curiously, the worms themselves were not said to have killed the inhabitants.
Instead, the city filled with toxic air.
Once again, poisonous atmosphere accompanied reports of strange natural phenomena.
Rains of Worms and Serpents
Dominican friar Bartolomew recorded even more extraordinary reports from China.
According to his account, there were countless rains of worms and serpents.
Some of the creatures reportedly devoured people.
Then came fire.
Fire Rains From Heaven
Fire was said to fall from the sky like snow.
Ash and burning embers descended upon mountains, land, and people.
The resulting fires were accompanied by a poisonous vapor said to kill those exposed to it.
The accounts become increasingly apocalyptic.
But China wasn’t the only region where strange things were supposedly falling from the sky.
Fire, Toads, and Snakes Over Turkey
Turkey was already suffering from plague.
Then, according to the surviving reports, fire fell from heaven for approximately 16 days.
The strange precipitation continued in another form.
It reportedly rained toads and snakes for several days.
To anyone witnessing or hearing these stories in the fourteenth century, the conclusion must have seemed unavoidable.
The world itself was in trouble.
A World Gone Wrong
From the distance of nearly seven centuries, these reports raise more questions than they answer.
Some describe recognizable natural disasters.
Earthquakes occur.
Tsunamis follow undersea disturbances.
Meteors produce spectacular fireballs.
Excessive rainfall destroys crops.
Atmospheric conditions can produce unusual fogs and odors.
Other accounts are considerably harder to interpret.
Worms as large as fists.
Rains of serpents.
Fire falling like snow.
A dragon at Jerusalem.
Poisonous vapors.
A foul mist advancing across Europe.
And all of these stories circulated during one of the darkest periods in human history.
The Weird Weather of 1348
Perhaps the most important thing about these accounts is not whether every extraordinary detail occurred exactly as chroniclers described it.
It is the picture they create of 1348 as people experienced and remembered it.
The Black Death was already killing on an almost unimaginable scale.
Earthquakes destroyed communities.
Crops failed.
Storms struck.
The seas overflowed.
Strange lights crossed the heavens.
People reported poisonous air and inexplicable creatures.
Even familiar seasonal patterns seemed unreliable.
To someone living through it, there was no modern separation between meteorology, geology, astronomy, epidemiology, and folklore.
There was simply the world outside the door.
And in 1348, that world must have seemed to be coming apart.
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