"What _flaws_, and whirles of weather,
Or rather storms, have been aloft these three days."
Shakspeare followed the popular meteorology of his time, as will appear
from the following passage from a little ephemeris then very frequently
reprinted:--
"_De Repentinis Ventis_.
"8. Typhon, Plinio, Vortex, aliis Turbo, et vibratus Ecnephias,
de _nube gelida_ (ut dictum est) abruptum aliquid sæpe numero
secum voluit, ruinamque suam illo pondere aggravat: quem
_repentinum flatum_ à nube prope terram et mare depulsum,
definuerunt quidam, ubi in gyros rotatur, et proxima (ut
monuimus) verrit, suáque vi sursum raptat."--MIZALDUS,
_Ephemeridis Æris Perpetuus: seu Rustica tempestatum
Astrologia_, 12º Lutet. 1584.