The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-01-25

ing one.
Our Second Great Snow Storm-Disas-
trous Record Of TERRIBLE Winter
What Next.
Our second great snow storm of this terrible
Winter has passed away. As rain in the Gulf
States and as snow from those States far up
into the Cnnadas, it has swept the Continent,
from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Ocean
Our Russian storm of December pursued the
same general course and covered, we judge,
nearly the same area; but while the full force
of the December storm fell upon the Northern
States east of the Alleghanies, this January
snow fall has been heaviest in the Northwest,
the storm having partially lost its full strength
before reaching New York. Thus throughout
Illinois this snow fall is reported at from ten
to twelve inches, while here it was less than
six. But if deficient here in the volume of
snow discharged, this visitation exceeded the
storm of December in the furious wind attend
ing it through all the night and morning, and
such appears to have been its character from
the Northern Mississippi to the seaboard.
The inevitable consequences--the blockad-
ing more or less of city thoroughfares and of
railway trains, East and West, and the deten-
tons of travel and transportation in every
direction-have followed. What next? in the
fearful ordeal Of this remorseless Winter, be-
comes now somewhat startling question.
With our rivers embarked from point to point
with ice gorges from ten to sixty feet in
height, with the streams full with the soil
saturated, and with the plains, valleys, hills
and mountains covered with foot or more of
snow, from the East to the West, what will be
the consequences to life and property should
the next chapter in the severe vicisstudes of
this stormy season be another general thaw,
accompanied by heavy rains and sweeping in
undations2 We can only hope that the
country will escape o calamity SO appalling to
contemplate; that the Intervention of cold
dry weather followed by gradual dssolu-
ton of the snow and q gradual reopen:ng Of
our inland streams will avert the general
disasters otherwise to be apprehended. Mean
tim5, where danger is to be feared, the needful
Precautions required to meet it or to avoid it,
rs far as possible, should be considered in
season.
At and for many miles above its mouth, for
instance, the Susquehanna River is gorged
with enormous accommodations of drift ice.
Let us suppose that this general snow storm
is to be followed by reaction from the north
west, giving us several days of clear, sharp,
dry, freezing weather that the ice drifts in
the Susquehanna will not only be thus
locked fast, but that new body of ice will he
formed along the whole line of that great
river and its tributaries. But if next we have
general thaw, with flooding rains, all these
ice accumulations will be broken up, and,
drifting down on the swollen stream, they
will carry general destruction to all the low
land towns and hamets, az we'll as to all the
mills and bridges, in their course. This is
the danger to be feared from sudden break
ing up not only of the Susquehanna, but OF
the Upper Hudson, the Delaware, the Poto-
mac, the Ohio. the Mississippi and their
affiuents. BY all, then, exposed to these posi-
BILE consequences this is tho danger TO be
consid Eed.
In this view Of the subject our Signal Ser
vice Bureau can be of signal service, indeed,
in keeping vigiant watch for alarming
changes in the weather and in giving specific
and timely warnings of impending mischief.
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