Two hundred years ago today a tremendous thunderstorm led to a bizarre incident.

HMS Warren Hastings, one of the largest ships of its time, was moored off Portsmouth. Conditions were clear and calm in the morning but at about 3pm a storm swept in from the west. The wind blew, rain fell in torrents and thunder erupted. “In the midst of the confusion, occasioned by the storm, three distinct balls of fire were emitted from the heavens,” reported The Times. “One of them fell into the main topmast cross-trees, killed a man on the spot and set the main mast on fire.”

“A few of the hands ran up the shrouds to bring down their dead companion, when the second ball struck one of them, and he fell, as if shot by cannon.” The man was hurled through the rigging and seriously injured. And then a third fireball killed another of the crew. “The force of the air, from the velocity of the ball, knocked down Mr Lucas, the chief mate, who fell below, but was not much hurt.” For some time after the storm subsided, “a nauseous, sulphureous smell continued on board the ship”.

Luke Howard, known for his classification of clouds, also reported a thunderstorm that same afternoon in Plymouth, where lightning badly damaged three houses.

Exactly what the fireballs were that struck the Warren Hastings remains unknown. However, it could have been a rare case of ball lightning, an electrical phenomenon linked to thunderstorms.