An interesting item from the WeatherForYou.com website under Historical Weather:
Weather History For May 19
1780 - The infamous "dark day" in New England tradition. At noon it was nearly as dark as night. Chickens went to roost, and many persons were fearful of divine wrath. The phenomena was caused by forest fires to the west of New England. (David Ludlum)Further info:
https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/new-england-dark-day-may-19-1780/We are supposedly in for another summer of wildfires in Canada this year. I can only imagine what things were like in 1780 with the limited weather forecasting and no satellite imaging available to show what is going on.
