From frost patterns to blizzards to volcanoes, Victorian scientists were deeply engrossed in the study of natural phenomena. Given the Victorian mindset, I suspect that much of this study arose from the hope that if one could understand natural phenomena, then one day one could control them!

Curiosities of Ice (Godey's, 1868)

Submerged Islands (Leisure Hour, 1868)

What causes islands to (occasionally) disappear beneath the waves.

Earth and Air (Harper's Monthly, 1873A)

Famous Floods (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1875)

A look at some devastating floods in England and France.

Lightning and Lightning Rods, by John Trowbridge (Atlantic Monthly, 1875)

How to Begin the Study of Geology (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1881)

Through Waterspout and Typhoon, by James J. Wait (Century Magazine, 1883B)

Volcano Studies, by Horace D. Warner (Atlantic Monthly, 1883)

Our Earthquake Experience, (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1884)

An account of a rare earthquake as experienced in a British village.

Natural Gas Wells, by J.D. Daugherty (Century Magazine, 1885A)

Great Storms (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

In a Cyclone (Pictorial Museum of Sport & Adventure, ca. 1890)

A cyclone at sea in the Polynesian Islands.

Earthquakes and How to Measure Them, by Edward S. Holden (Century Magazine, 1894A)

Yes, they had seismographs in 1894!

Jack Frost as an Artist, by J. Munro (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1895)

Freaks of Frost, by Jeremy Broome (The Strand, 1896B)

Floods, by Jeremy Broome (The Strand, 1897A)

Lightning, by Jeremy Broome (The Strand, 1897A)

Blizzards, by S. Blair McBeath (The Strand, 1897B)

Tornadoes, by James Walter Smith (The Strand, 1897B)

Bores, by Prof. George Darwin (Century Magazine, 1898B)

A type of tide-wave.

A Storm at Sea, by H. Phelps Whitmarsh (Century Magazine, 1898B)

The Flow of Rocks, by Frederick T.C. Langdon (Strand, 1901B)

Subtitled "An important scientific theory proved true," it was demonstrated for the first time that "solid rock" can become semi-liquid and "flow" under intense heat and pressure.

Dark Lightning Flashes, by William J.S. Lockyer (Windsor Magazine, 1902A)

"Dark flashes" seem to be a phenomenon captured on film, but the author is careful to make it clear that they may or may not actually exist.

• See also Forecasting the Weather