The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-06
THREE BELOW ZERO
This is the Coolest Day
Seen Here in Fifteen
Years.
WILL BE FOLLOWED BY SNOW
Trolley Men and Truck Drivers
Suffer-The Plumber, Iceman
and Small Boy Alone
Rejoice.

NEW YORK. Jan. g. 1S96-Today is
the coidest day New York City has seen
Tor more than fifteen years. The mercury
dropped down to 3 deg. below zero at six
O'Clock this morning and stayed there for
three hours. Then it began to rise and
at ten o'clock it had slowly crawled up to-
degree below zero.
Not since December 81, 1880, had there
been such cold day. On that date the
temperature fell down to deg below zero,
which is the coolest on record here in the
history of the Weather Bureau with the
exception of January TO- 1875. when the
mercury registered the same figure. The
next coolest day on record was February
"a. 1873 deg. below zero
There was one day when the mercury
dropped as low as it did today for a litt-
tie while. That was on Jan s, 1879, at
eight o'clock in the morning. when it
registered 8 deg. below for a little while.
We've had the worst of it, said Local
Forecaster Dunn this morning "The cold
wasdue to an area of high pressure, pass
ing East. and 1t covered the entire coun-
try. The crest of the cold wave now
rests over the eastern section of Canada,
and extends down over the New England
States and the North Atlantic States 1t
is moving rapidly Eastward. and we have
had our coolest weather. 1t is getting
warmer all over the country"
The coolest place in the continent, from
which reports were received, was Rock
life, Canada. where the temperature was
SS deg. below zero at eight o'clock. At
Montreal and Quebec twas 20 below. At
Northfield VT. it was % below. the cold
est place in the United States At
nrrr " -
Portland. Me-. II deg below. At Boston
it was below
South of New York. along the Atlantic
the mercury was deg above zero; at
Washington, deg: above; at Lynchburg,
= deg. above and at Charleston it was
1t is getting warmer coming from west
to east, as shown by the Temperature
Lake M region asa Havre u Mont 1T the tem
% deg. above zero; at Helena. 40 deg. );
at Rapid City, S. D., AZ deg.
The rise of temperature during the pre-
vious twenty-four hours in the Central
States was 10 to 20 deg; the rise over the
this region and the New England States
fall fallen n 1S g deg which added e Saturdays
The weather today is generally fair all
it is cloudy, with light hurries Of SNOW
The forecast for this region is:. Fair
today with increased cloudiness and pos
sibly light snow; warmer temperature:
northerly winds becoming variable
The increa sed cold was not looked for:
because of Mr.. Dunn's prognostication of
slightly warmer weather. In consequence
many persons were unprepared for it,
Of groWbng milder o snee satq
and at o'clock this morning it had
got down na to eo deg beow tsro zero where
One of the coldest places, of course.
was on the Brooklyn Bridge. Police
men on the promenade and brakemen
cold The brakemen are forced to stand
out on the platforms of the cars during
all sorts. of weather. Men who went
on at midnight to work until o'clock
this morning were unprepared for the
sudden drop in the temperature.
The ,f conductors . and and Ia gripmssn on on the
extreme cold, as did also the men on on
the Brooklyn trolley cars.
were gladdened by the cold : snap m We We're re
the small boy and the iceman and the
plumber. 1t brings with it for the small
The ice in the Central Park lake was
in good condition this morning and If
the present weather continues the ball
On the smaller ponds in vacant lots
uptown there were number of skaters
tOday.
The reports from the upper Hudson
River state that the ice In some places
is in good condition. 1t is not frozen
from shore to shore as yet.
In the lower bay and in the North and
East Rivers all craft were covered with
ice this morning. The ferrvboats were
decorated with icycles. The bows of
incoming steamships were hidden by SOY
Id ice, and huge icicles hung from their
sides.
The cold weather was intensified by a
raw northwest wind, blowing at the
rate of twelve miles an hour