Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-02-19
GREAT STORMS Or 1857 AND 1899.
An Exceedingly Interesting Compar-
ison-Scientific Question.
CFor the Dispatch

For the p!spatch)
The recent snow-storm, with its intense
cold, which has swept over our country
even to the extreme South. reminds me
SO forcibly Of the storm of January, 1851,
that will give a short account of what
then saw, and show that in I'll its de-
tails and astronomical bearings the pres
ent one is very similar TO 1t.
The Southern Planter OF February, 1857,
gave q report of that years storm from
that great scientist, Lieutenant NJ. +.
Maury, then Superintendent OF the Naval
Observatory at Washington, with tabu-
lar statement, showing its beginning and
ending at various points throughout the
country. From this we learn that all the
indications attending its approach and
development were identical with that OF
this year, though not attended with such
extreme cold as we have recently eXpe-
rienced. The year 1857 opened quite mild;
indeed, so much so that / hunted every
day UP 10 the 18TH. There were several
light falls of snow which quickly melted,
but on the 18th of January, at
u:S9 p. NJ, tho moon changed on
the last quarter, and That night
IL began showing furiously, the wind also
rising to a gale from east-northeast The
thermometer fell rapidly, but in no part
OF Virginia was 1t below 4 degrees above
zero, and In many places IL was as high
as "a degrees above The snow being quite
dry and the ground frozen, II began 10
drift rapidly. All day OF the 18th 1t con-
tinued hurricane the wind veering 10
the northwest, and the snow was packed
in hard drifts to the tops Of the fences.
Thus it continued TO the 18th, when, the
wind being in the west IL showed some
signs of clearing up, but the high wind
continued filling the air with binding
clouds Of snow, which obscured all OBJ
1ects 200 yards distant. and made IL I'M
possible for man or beast to venture out.
On the 10Th the wind subsidized, and l
made vain attempt 10 reach the sta
ton. two miles distant. The entire county
road from Charlottesville to Gordonsville
was blocked with snowdrift from fence
to fence about to feet deep, through
which a pathway had to be cut
sutncient TO permit a single rider
70 go 10 the post-office or the mill.
The fall Of snow on a level was reported
In Virginia to be from u 10 is inches,
thus showing II was not the amount OF
snow that fell, but the continued drifting,
hlling roads. railroad cuts. and every
place where an obstruction presented IT.
self. The snow was packed so hard that
even cattle could walk on top OF the banks
without sinking. 1t was week or more
before any trains reached us from Rich
mond, or any news from the outside
world. The effects OF this storm was
terrible over the entire country; many
people and animals persisted, and the
ground was literally covered with dead
birds. In our recent storm, which was
preceded by one OF the bitterest cold
spells ever known in Virginia, the snow
began falling lightly on the 9Th of Febru-
ary and kept on from day 10 day in Oc-
casional gusts. until the llth. when the
real storm set in. showing heavily from
the east-northeast, but without any wind
New moon being on the 10Th. at 3:31 in
the morning, / Judged the storm COM
mepced at that hour. Snow fell heavily
all day Of the 18th, without much
wind, but on the 18th hurri-
cane set in from the northeast, which
continued all day In binding storm.
which drifted the light snow In the same
manner as in 1857, but, fortunately, the
wind-storm lasted not so long From
all reports there seems to have been an
average OF eighteen inches throughout
Virginia, which must have felt the brunt
OF the storm, though the drifts were not
so high or so packed as the 1857 storm.
Stock of all kinds have suffered terri
bly, this winter and the loss Of game will
be great. Farmers who have most of
their fodder yet In the field are unable
TO haul IL. The wood piles even In the
country are depleted, making 1t her
culean feat TO get fuel Thus in country.
~ well as city, this has been a calamity |
TO our state.
II was reported after the great storm |
OF 1857 that Lieutenant Maury had pre- |
dicted that We were TO have some sixty |
or seventy winters like that. which made |
people quake with fear. But this he de- |
MED, though he did state. that under
the same meteorological conditions. |
which might occur during any winter we
may look for just such storms"
ati'cr the bearing Of the earth's po-
sltion 10 the planets has any effect I'm
causing these storms Is yet undecided
among scientists. but the fact is remark
able mat Venus. Jupiter, Mars, Mercury.
and the moon were each in conjunction
IN the western sky from January IL to 80.
ls1I. and nearly the same planets were
relatively IN the same position I'm the
eastern heavens on February IL, 1899
The tabular statement OF the storm OF
lssL giving the hour Of beginning. wind,