Abstract
The residents of Harbour Breton, a small fishing village in Newfoundland, claimed that it rained for forty days and nights. For forty days and nights, a prevailing southwest wind off the Grand Banks brought persistent rain, drizzle, fog, and sometimes torrential downpours. Root crops rotted in the ground, paint peeled off houses and fences, brooks and rivers overflowed their banks, and ponds and lakes swelled to bursting. In the early morning of August 1, 1973, the earth could take no more.