Copyright 2000, Jim Loy Historical records show that there was a period of very long and cold winters over a 70-year period from about 1645 to about 1715. Meteorologists call this time the Little Ice Age. Glaciers in the Alps advanced. The North Sea froze over. Later examination of astronomical records showed that astronomers reported seeing almost no sunspots during that period.
Sunspots are relatively dark spots on the surface of the sun.
They are similar to storms on earth. During the Little Ice Age, the Northern Lights were almost never seen, and some people considered them a myth. This relationship between sunspots on the sun and weather on earth has been confirmed by study of other periods of sunspot minimums, each of which has caused colder weather. And droughts seem to occur about every 22 years. The relationship is not well understood.