St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-04-05
Meteorological.

| aye Oh -. Ills ItlllilllS IiNt bttil Ia
ken to Brunswick, Me. for interment.
Meteorological.
EDITOR CALEDONIAN- Dear Sir: As
this winter has been one of marked Sc
ed vigor, | think IL few remarks con-
corning it may he of interest. Winter
came upon lis in Il remarkable manner.
and with unusual severity. November.
which generally prepares lis by its rain
storms filling up our springs and
streams, was excessively dry only one
entire month. 1t was however cold
and dreary, the thermometer showing
toward the last of the month that the
temperature Was several degrees below
zero. This want of rain followed by
excessive cold III November is almost
without precedent. For the past %
Years | have kept meteorological
record and during that time We have
had Ii" approach to it. The average
amount of rainfall i'll this month has
been between three and four inches,
and for the whole period the thelmom
eter in this month has never been below
zero. Snow was however somewhat
until about the middle of December
Since that time up to the first of March
sleighing was never better. The Will
ter though cold was no colder than
many other winters, but changes We're
| less frequent and there was only two or
three days that the temperature was
/ temperature up to March first is Il little
| lower than the average. The coolest
day WAS December u, the mean tenn
ptratlIrc of which was ii degrees below
zero Since March LIST, however. We
have had changes unlike any which
have occurred III previous Years. We
times before. but it has showed in cold
er weather and the storms have been
followed by regular gales at low tenn
peratrre. In fine we have had high
winds with the thermometer 20 degree
below zero, and gales ranging from 65
to IS miles per hour with the thermom-
etcr several degrees below zero. Dur
ing the period of my observations this
has previously been unknown. I'm March
lcti3 we had ten days below zero, but
the thermometer was but few degrees
below. This year we have had 9 days
that the thermometer ranged from ,
degrees to - degrees below, with high
winds unknown for the past % Years at
So low a temperature. Last year the
9Th day of March the ice cleared out of
the Connecticut river against this place,
and in lc66 it cleared out on the 25th
of February. This year April LIST, it
was firm and solid and u inches in
thickness. A greater thickness than
was ever observed before. The
average temperature of March for
this year WAS IL degrees which is 3 de-
grees colder than March 1863, and near
- degrees colder than the same month
last year; and 9 degrees colder than
Years. The snow now lays about three
feet deep i'll fields but is drifted into the
roads So us to render them nearly i'm
paSsahle. In many places they are
higher than the tops of the fences. and
misstep plmges Il horse at once into
an apparent bottomless SNOW drift. |
add few examples from observations
of other Years showing that we do not
always get summer weather in March,
or even April and May.
In 1907, on the last day of March,
there was snow storm accompanied
by high wind which blocked the roads
and made deeper drifts than was ever
known before, some houses We're cover
| ed up in the snow. On the first day of
May the snow would average ~ feet
deep.
In ISIS, March was IA snowy month,
the snow extended into May and on the
22nd day of that month snow fell to
the depth of : inches 1t was cold sev-
eral days, and on the 23d, 24th and 18th.
was the greatest run of maple sap ever
known.
In lolG, the snow was very deep and
the spring backward, sleighing continu
ed into May. Snow fell to the depth of
inches on the eth of June, and it was
very cold, freezing ice an inch thick and
killing all the leaves Oh forest trees.
In lo49, on March % and %. 81 inches
OF .no% fell and the roads were block
ed up with drifts. There was more or