Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1872-03-29
Cold seasons.

N"Ay lhos 70, aoout iorty degrees DeiO
zero. The first was the on 4th day of Jal
nary, and the other on the 18th of ID
cember of the same year The tempe
ature of the 4th of January, as noted ,
several different places and given
: rhompson's Vermont, was as follows
, Montpelier. 40 degrees below zero
i White River, 40 degrees; Bradford, 81
degrees Newbury, 36 1egrees; Norwich
SO degrees; Windsor, 81 degrees; Hyde
park, S6 degrees; Rutland, 80 degrees
and Burlington, 26 degrees; and the
temperature at those places was very
nearly the same on the 18th of December,
The latter part of the winter of 1S4S
was noted for the great amount of snow.
The roads at that time were often ten OF
fifteen feet from the ground, owing to
the great amount of snow and the firm
ness of the drifts. On the first of April
the snow was about four and one-half
feet deep on level. -
The year 1843 was also noted for the
storm of snow on the 23d of October,
when il fell six inches deep in the viii
lage of Woodstock and ten or twelve
inches on the hills in the vicinity
From the 23d of October the snow re-
mained on the ground till the spring of
1874. The month of January, 1874,
was severely cold, the coldest day being
the 2Sth, when the thermometer indicat-
ed SO degrees below zero.
But one of the greatest storms of snow,
and perhaps the coldest weather ever
known in this latitude, was in the month
of January, 1857. The storm moved in
a northeasterly direction along the At
lantic coast, beginning at Washington
on the morning of the 18th, at New
York at noon, and at Boston at about
four o'clock in the afternoon, and con-
timed about twenty four hours at all
places along its path, when the fall Of
snow was generally about two feet
Nearly all the roads and railroads along
the Atlantic coast were blocked up as
high northeast wind prevailed during
the storm. There was great destruction
of shipping on the coast, and many lives
were lost. Sunday, the 18th, was noted
as being severely cold throughout the
country. AT Montreal, thermometer %
degrees below zero, and on the 18th,
showing violently and blowing terrible
gale from the east. At Oswego. ther-
mometer IS below, and at Ogdensburg
36 below. At White River Junction 27
below, and at Woodstock, 80 below.
The storm was followed by fall of
temperature till Saturday, the oath,
when it was the lowest ever known in
this part of the United States. At North
field, VT, 40 below; Norwich, 40 below,
and by spirit thermometers, AS below;
Montpelier, mercury congealed ;St. Johns
bury, mercury concealed, Woodstock
mercury CONCEALED, but spirit ther.
mometer indicated 43 below.
The latter part of the winter of 1862
was remarkable for the depth and firm
ness of the snow, which was sufficient,
during the latter part of March and first
Of April, TO cover all ordinary fences,
and most of the time firm enough to
make it safe and pleasant travelling over
fields and fences from place to place.
The winter of 1869 was noted for
the great fall of snow, which amounted
in all to 140 inches, or eleven feet eight j
inches; the fall was much greater in the
northern part of Vermont and Canada.
The following from the "Lynn Bard"
to the Boston Journal may be interest
ing at the present time.
1888. "A very cold winter snow con-
tinued from November 18th to April 4th,
twenty weeks.
1642.-An exceedingly cold winter;
the harbor was passable by teams for
FIVE weeks. 81
1896. The coolest winter since the
first settlement OF New England.
1717.- Two great snow storms, Febru-
airy, Goth, and Oath. The snow drifted
from ten to twenty feet high, and small
cottages we're completely buried. Gov.
Winthrop says " We lost at the farms
and islands 100 sheep" The mail was
nine days from Boston to Portsmouth,
and eight days returning.
1741.-Perhaps the coolest winter
ever known in New England. Francis
Lewis, one of the signers of the Decla-
ration of Independence, drove his horse
from New York to Barnstable, the
whole length of Long Island Sound, up
IN the ice. On the 18th of July, mass
IF ice lay at Ipswich "nearly four feet
hick" A letter dated New London,
July 9th, says There is now at Lynn,
It saw mill, body of ice as large as
wo carts can draw, clear and solid, and
believe might last a month longer were
t not that so many resort out of curiosi-
y to drink punch made of it."
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