The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-01-31
OLD-FASHIONED WINTERS.
The State Geologlst Tells of Some
Of the Ancient Seasons.

The statements that this is to be a re-
markable winter and one of the old
fashioned kind led Prof. John Smock. the
State Geologist of New Jersey, TO make
some s~easonable comments on the kind OF
weather that the forefathers had when
this country was new. Prof. Smock has
written considerable about weather, and
has completed the most complete record
of the weather hat has been brought be-
tween the lids OF Il book. From the facts
and figures that he has at his COM
mand the people who became frig ht-
ened a few days ago when the mercury
dallied around the zero point were
un1ustly so, and should be consoled with
the fact that the folks of this day and
generations are not in 1t with the good
old sires of colonial and Revolutionary
days for cold winters. Prof. Smock'S
record goes back TO 1907, and it tells how
often the Hudson and the Delaware
River were frozen over. This record is
particularly interesting because it tells of
frost in June and rivers full of ice III
April; frost making its appearance in
every month in the year and snow storms
in May, destroying the crops. There are
numerous cases cited where the mercury
mas ZONE way U6lOW ZGIO duO I6lAe11uOu
there weeks at q time.
Some extracts are made from the
records, as they tell their own story in a
short aud pithy uianner:-
1641-2-Chesapeake Bay nearly frozen over.
1656-Summer very hot.
II7-February 1924, great snow, greatest
ever known up to that time, in New England
and on Long Island.
764-5-Navigation in the Delaware much OBJ
structed by ice from December 81 until Febru-
airy 2S; February Z, an OK roasted whole on the
ice at Philadelphia. March %, snow fell two to
two and one-halt feet deep on a level Qast Sat
urday night and Sunday.
1796-7-Delaware closed, December %; Sus-
Quehanna closed, December D; January 10, as
cold weather as remembered in fifty years. AT
South and West extremely cold.
1767-8-Winter long and cold; Hudson River
| closed in November; Delaware frozen over, De-
cemb9r 1; open again February 5.
l79S-9-A long and severe winter, with much
snow; March II, deep snow.
1799-Cold weather in spring; ice April 20;
frost June q.
1899 l8O0-A remarkable open winter until Jan
! uary 6; Delaware open again on IS. Snow
| three feet deep IN Georgia; snow ard hail at st.
| Mary's River in Florida.
1S03-May. z, ice on the s; a snow which
broke down The poplars and other trees in
leaf.
1S2S-9-Hudson River closed December %;
| free from ice, Aprl /.
1s29-9O-Hudsou River at Albany closed Jan
uary II Q530), and free from ice again March
is.
| 1S5U-l-Wlnter very cola at OOuGnWeSt, ice
formed at New Orleans.
1e35-January and February both very cold;
February =, thermometer fell below zero, nearly
all over the country north of Savannah and
Natchez; Long Island Sound was closed by ice;
coolest winter since 1TeSU.
le43-March was coolest month of winter of
42-45; snow fifteen inches deep. in Georgia.
August, a remarkable heavy rainfall at Newark.
22.e4 inches: at Lamoertville, IL. Is inches; Hud-
son River free from ice at Albany, April IL, hav-
ing closed November 70, 1884,.
1S52-Winter of 1851 80, cold; mean tempera-
lures of the months, three degrees to eight de-
grees below the average; East River crossed on
the ice January 80, and for three days follow
ing; Susquehanna at Havre de Grace frozen
over for seven weeks; cold and SHOWS as far
south as New Orleans and Jacksonville, Florida.
1S56-One of the coldest years in our records;
the first three months of this year very cold.
Reproduction of lT79-S0; March had minima of
0.75 degrees below zero to 4 degrees above; in
April the lowest temperature at Lambertvilie
was only IL degrees; The mean temperatures for
each OF the spring months were below their
averages since; Long Island Sound was closed
to navigation from January rs TO February n;
New York Harbor was much INSTRUCTED by ice,
and that of Philadelphia was closed until late in
March; the Hudson River did not open until
April 10. The rainfall at Newark for the year
only 34.V inches.