“Awful and sublime” lightning and fireballs terrorized MDI residents MOUNT DESERT ISLAND— It was February 26, 170 years ago, just after sundown, that the world of Mount Desert Island became quite quiet, a lull right before a 20-minute lightning storm that pummeled the island, striking dozens of people and creating a weather mystery that the people of the time just couldn’t fathom. Masts were torn off … Continue reading The Purple Fire Snowstorm Brought Horror to Bar Harbor and MDI