The storming of the Bastille in Paris, France on July 14, 1789 is recognized as one of the predominate steps in the spread of democracy in the western world. Numerous factors contributed to the sequence of events that lead to this historic event. One of the most significant was the weather. .
During France's growing season (April to July) in 1788, a ridge of high pressure prevailed throughout the region. As determined by extensive records kept by the Paris Astronomical Observatory, the air remained dry and hot, and the soil quickly became unsuitable for vegetation. In addition, the French peasants were ill-equipped for farming even under the best of circumstances. One historian noted that the "implements were hardly superior to those employed during the Middle Ages".
On July 13, 1788, when the peasants were preparing for the harvest of a record low crop, a devastating thunderstorm passed through the region. Lord Dorset, the British Ambassador to France, wrote "About 9 o"clock in the morning, the darkness at Paris was very great The hailstones that fell were of a size and weight never heard of before in this country, some of them measuring sixteen inches . and in some places even larger. Two men were found dead upon the road all the corn and vines destroyed, windows broken and even houses beaten down . It is confidently said that from four to five hundred villages are reduced to such great distress the inhabitants must unavoidably perish".
The peasant folk, which comprised 90% of the population of France, were forever poor as a consequence of a feudal system that required a payment of excessive dues to the nobility and the Church. The arid conditions during the spring of 1788, and the destructive force of the July 13 thunderstorm, combined to bring desperation not only to many families but in many cases to entire communities. .
The following winter of 1788-89, according to Neumann and Dettwiller (1990, American Meteorological Society) was one of the harshest ever recorded in Europe.