El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-02-10

I
! in the western section OF the country
/ normal winter weather has prevailed,
| has caused more discussion OF the
/ weather than there has been for long
| time. Weather experts admit thar
/ there are a world Of things about the
weather they do not know, and that.
/ without better financial support, they
will not be able to learn. 1t is gem
| orally believed that if there could be as
careful study OF the upper air as there
! IS Of the air at the surface Of the
earth, many secrets of. the weather
would be laid bare, and fOrecasting
/ would be placed on a more substantial
basis. The weather students believe
| that kite stations to register the con-
dition OF the upper air, ought to be
established at certain points through
out the northern hemisphere. and that
. these might give a revelation Of the
ditions.
Peculiar Franks of Weather.
This is not the first year that the
weather has played peculiar pranks in
| the United States-this season it has
given the east September weather in
January, while in California frost was
! invading the citrus fruit fields. There
have been many winters Of remarkably
cold weather, sometimes in certain sec
tions, and sometimes all over the coun-
try The coolest weather the world
knows has not come from the vicinity
OF the Poles, as one might suppose. In
C6E LAl4 parts OF clDerld the LeEiDeEa-
ture has reached as low as 80 degrees
below zero, and at Werkhoyansk for 4
whole month Of January the average
was SO degrees below zero. Poplar
River, Mont, seems to have the record
1 in the United States-63 degrees below
zero.
Long Record of Cold Winters.
The record Of the cold winters IN
this country is a long one Some OF
them have been so cold that New Or
leans and Jacksonville had ice, and
temperatures that seldom are recorded
as far north as Atlanta One OF the
earliest Of the cold winters recorded
was that Of 1717, the year of "the great
snow in New England. Snow fell for
five consecutive days, and in Boston it
reached six feet deep and remained
for weeks. The winter Of 1910 was an
other that lives in scanning the wealth
er conditions of two centuries In
tense cold prevailed in Europe as Wen
as in America Long Island sound was
frozen over and people made the jour
ney across on horseback and IN We
hicles, going from Stamford, Conn, 10
Long Island. As late as April people
rode across the Connecticut river on
horseback.
The winter Of 1765 is the first one
where Florida is known to have had
much OF its fruits destroyed Only the
oranges survived, and this in the face
OF temperature OF six degrees below
freezing on the st. Johns river. There
and 1772.
Coolest Winter Was In 1850.
The year 1880 vies with 1856 for the
record as the coolest winter ever
known in America Thomas Jefferson
reported that the Chesapeake bay was
frozen over solid from its head to ne
mouth OF the Potomac At Annapolis
the ice was five or six inches thick and
people rode horseback across the bay
for many days, while loaded carriages
went over with impunity. York river, at
WILLIAMSBURG Va, was frozen over 80
that II would carry heavy traffic. In
New England great snow fell and not ,
a flake Of IL melted for six weeks Long
Island sound was connected with the
mainland and Manhattan and Staten
Islands were connected by a great
bridge Of ice. Troops crossed on the
ice from New Jersey to Staten Island
to attack the British soldiers in camp
there Bayou St John, near New Or
leans, was frozen for a considerable
time The Delaware river was frozen
over from the first Of December to
the middle OF March During a whole
month the temperature at Philadel-
phia did not rise above freezing.
Georgia SnOVFbO in 1900.
There were a number Of cold win
ters between 1850 and 1900, especially
that Of 1872, when the Ohio river was
frozen over at Wheeling for 40 days
so that heavy carriages crossed it;
and that Of 1895, when both the Ohio |
and the Mississippi were frozen over to |
their confluence The winter Of 1900 |
was also one Of unusual cold, especially /
in the south The deepest snow ever /
known there fell in Georgia and Sa-
vannah was snOwbound for days Snow
and hail fell the whole day on January 1
10, as far south as St. Mary's river, ]
Florida
Between the years 1911 and 1917 /
there were several cold winters and a 1
humber Of cold summers. In 1912 and /
1913 snow and frost occurred in every ]
month during both summers in all Of 1
the northern states. Corn did not ma
were either wholly or partially fail /
ureS- In Vermont. in 1916, snow fell /
in every part of the state on June & i
and on the highlands and mountains \
to depth of five OF six inches. A half !
inch of ice frOze on the standing wa I
tiers, and icicleS a foot long were COM
mon. In 1920 the Hudson river was i
again frozen over between Paulus Hook 1
and New York, one Of the four times in
a century in which such a spectacle was
witnessed.
skating at New Orleans In 1881.
Another notably cold winter was that |
Of 1881. The Mississippi froze over to
a point $50 miles south Of the mouth /
OF the Ohio, a circumstance never be-
fore known The river was covered |
with floating ice below Natchez, Miss.
and at New Orleans ice formed that
was strong enough 70 skate on.
The next striking winter weather the
county encountered occurred in 1S35 |
which was the first of the great desl Z
tructiOns Of the orange groves of Flor
ida. on the st. Johns river the ever !
green oaks shed their leaves and the
orange trees split to the roots, and ~
course were killed root and branch |
During the winter Of this year. most AZ
New England was covered with snow |
from December to Nav. !
and in Washington city there was snow
on the ground for two months. Lone |
Island sound was closed by ice ana /
the harbor Of Boston nearly so. There /
were several cold waves during ne Z
next few years, but these were not gem |
eral all over the country.
Severe Winter in IS55
But it remained for the winter of |
1856 to set the nations known re-
ord for cold. although ii was not S1
abnormal winter along the Canadian !
border or in the far south. Wasbi1r--
ton had snow for two months ana q
half without a break. the PofoT,sc I
river was ice bound for the sar1s I
length Of time, Chesapeake bav at An
napOlis, was frozen over for NOR +ber /
two months. Long Island sound vvas
closed TO navigation for a fuII month
and ice formed in the Nississipnf as
far south as Nicksburg. The winter or
1SSO-Sl was another remarkable one |
giving Washington its coolest Janua-,-
rr~se d