Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1916-03-16
A WEATHER MYTH
The Idea That the Old Fashioned
Winter Was a Fury.
FAMOUS FR0STS WERE RARE.

Records Show That Remarkable snow
storms and Long Seasons OF Hard
Frsezins Were Not All the Rule.
Testimony Of Pepys and Evelyn.
Perhaps the greatest of weather
myths is the legend OF the 'old fash
hsned winter"-that prolonged season
Of ice and snow which is supposed to
have held the land IN its grip every
FEAR So firmly has this idea been held
for many years that il came "a shock
when meteorologists first began TO
delve into the records of the past and
prove its inaccuracy.
There can be no doubt that Charles
Dickens, Washington Irving artists
who depicted winter scenes, and, in
later era, the Christmas number and
the Christmas card are mainly respon'
zible for the belief that up 10 about
half a century ago the British winters
were always extremely severe.
Such records as we possess prove the
faIlacy OF the idea. No records Of the
weather were kept up TO about fifty
or sixty years ago. so that we have to
rely on the statements OF private dia
ries and old family records, and there
fore II takes lot OF research to obtain
any data at all.
In Olden times no one troubled TO
make note Of average weather, for
writing was an art possessed only by
few, and writing materials We're hard
10 obtain; hence IL is that mention IS
made only OF something unusual, some
abnormally mild winter or heavy fall
OF snow or prolonged frosts.
And when all is said there are com
paratively few of the latter, although
they were likely 10 be recorded. while
the mllder ones would be passed over.
few years ago there were published
I'm France some notes concerning very
mild winters i'm early times. Gregory
OF Tours tells US that 5S4 was eXcep.
honally mild, as were the winters OF
BOs, S34. s44 and 1907. when influenza
was rife.
Another mild season occurred in
1229, when the birds are said 10 have
hatched their young by February,
while the weather journal Of the Rev.
William Merle which Is In the Bod
Leian library at oxford, shows us thu
during the middle OF the fourteen h
century the weather was very much "a
n Is now and that mild winters were
not uncommon.
There were one or two mild winters
during the next hundred years, the
most notable one being that or 149J.
when barley and corn were in the ear
1t the end OF January Writings of the
sixteenth century have similar testi-
nony TO offer, the one or two excep-
tions only going to prove the rule be
cause they aroused so much comment
Pepys and Evelyn come to our aid
from the middle 10 the end OF the sew
snteenfil century and prove conclusive
N that the old fashioned winter is a
myth. The diaries OF these famous
writer's have been analysed, and as
result II Is found that falls of snow
are mentioned only thirteen times over
nearly sixty years. while exceptionally
heavy storms are referred TO only three
times.
In the same period there were but
six prolonged frosts, and apparently
only the famous one OF 1884 and an
other few years later were so severe
rs the modern ones OF 1901 and 1893.
In January. 1851. Pepys comments ON
the mild winter. and In December OF
the following year he notes that he
awoke to find the roofs covered with
snow, which he had not seen for three
years.
Evelyn has the same story TO tell
a few hard winters and many mild
ones. Such years were 1867, Dec
70, Little appearance Of winter a
yet" and 1928, Feb. 4. "Hithertc
an exceedingly mild winter-an ex
raordinaIily dry and warm season
without frost and like a new spring
such as has not been known for many
years"
Here and there we come across rel
erences TO the weather which are jus
like the lettters written TO modern
newspapers Informing readers tina
roses and primroses were IN bloom II
my garden on Christmas day" Gil
bert Whites record Of the weather he
tween 176S and 1913 helps to end tn
myth, for the same number Of year
mt the present day would show prett.
much the same sort Of weather. a
thirteen OF the Decembers were mill
and wet.
There were mild winters In the begin
ming Of the nineteenth century. as we
as one or two severe ones, so that W
may rest assured that the "old fash
toned winter" was just like the ne,
fashioned ones.-Ernest c. Pulbroo
I'm London Family HeRald-
Cf,,ok 20 His Rule