midnight
An impenetrable cloud of smoke and ash absolutely blotted out the sun . The sky was covered . The hills were hidden . The sea was as invisible as at midnight . Even the grayness of the ash gave back no light ; there was none to give . Three seconds had elapsed since the violet-gray cloud of fury struck the town , but in those three seconds 30,000 people lay dead , slain with such appalling swiftness that none knew their fate . No one had tried to escape .