New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-18
WEATHER RECORD BROKEN.
COLDEST DAY IN TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
THE LOWEST POINT REACHED BY THE Their
MoMETER WAS 64 DEGREES BELOW ZERO

THE LOWEST POINT REACHED BY THE TIER
MoMETER WAS e4 DEGREES BELOW ZERO
THE SPELL LIKELY TO LAST SOME TINE
officials of the Weather Bureau said yesterday
that the date. February II. would be placed on
the records as the coolest day since the estab-
lishment Of the Bureau At a. m the ther-
mometer registered "a degrees below zero which
surpasses the record for twenty-five years in
this city by four-tenihs of degree. Until yes
terday. January 10, 1875. and December 81. 1881.
were the codest da vs., registering degrees be
low zero. remarkable feature in the weather
yesterday, in Nj Dunn's opinion. is that al
though the temperature fell steadily all Sunday
night and yesterday morning. the lowest point
was not reached until after a. m. when the
sun was shining brightly. 1t almost
o'clock before the mercury began to climb up
ward
The intense cold brought discomfort, and in
cases suffering to those who obliged TO be
abroad. 1t was welcomed. probably. only by the
coal barons, who disposng of their prod
ucts; the ice-deaers. who collecting theirs
and tho young people who live to skate. Few
suffered more than the gripmen and the car
drivers who had to face all day long the biting
cold and icy wind. In the streets there were no
loungers to call forth the policeman's warning
cry, Move on, you" and the poor. homeless un-
fortunatec who generally crowd the parks and
thoroughfares were driven from their haunts TO
places Of which they alone know. lcicles hung
not only from roofs and trees, but also from
boards and mustaches. and Jack Frost nipped
many an exposed nose and ear.
The first signs Of the approaching cold wave
detected by Mr. Dunn on Saturday after
noon. and by Sunday afternoon he knew that
the temperature was 90 and 1t had dropped to 13
degrees by p. m. Then by leaps and bounds the
mercury reached degrees above zero at mid
night. After brief rest it gathered courage and
slowly crept toward the bulb. unt zero was
reached at 4 a. m. At a. m. at Perrys II was one
degree below: at a. m. 2; a. m. 4, and al a.
m. Ga From that point the mercury went slowly
back to zero and then on up 10 degrees above
zero. which was reached at p m. YESTERDAY:
At the cold was more intense than on lhni
and the suffering Of the sailors who were COM
pelled TO make and furl sail was 81 eat indeed.
The French Line steamship Norinande arrived
here early yesterday morning heavily coated
with ice. She presented beautiful picture as
she moved up 20 her pier In the bright sunlight
According 70 the ships thermometer. the tern
perature at sea was degrees below zero al iHi"-
night on Sunday.
on many Of the steamers and nearly all Of the
sailing craft sailors were badly fIostbItten.
All the vessels were iced up, and had TO hght
their way into port in the teeth Of heavy winds
and high head seas. which swept over them.
The heavy northwest wind which blew during
the early morning subsidcd early in the day.
and was blowing in the afternoon at the rate
Of only about fifteen knots an hour
According to the Weather Bureau. another
gale IS coming up the South Atlantic Coast, and
already the storm signals are out. warning
mariners OF its advance. Shippers Of sailing
craft bound south would better stay In port
until they see (which way the cat is going 10
Jump" as the experts are as yet a little un-
certain.
1t may be some consolation to know that the
cold snaD is visiting an extensive area. and that
probably the coolest place in the United states
Yesterday Saranac Lake, where the Iner-
curry stood 49 degrees below zero. Even down
in the Sunny South in Georgia and Alabama,
the weather freezing.
No snoWstorm is yet In sight, ana the
outlook is for cold and clear weather, with Il
gradual rise in the temperature. 1t Is likely
that there will be skating for several days.