The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-12-31
b below ZERO
ST JOHNSBURY
WINS RECORD
Worst Cold Spell Since
Weather Was Invented
BY OFFICIAL BUREAU
Previous Returns for AZ Years Frog
en- Out-Much Suffering In the
Larger Cities.

III. btN' " AVN uibc
to the weather records at the Fair
banks museum this has been the cold
est day in 80 years. The govern
ment's spirit thermometer at the
museum registered Al below this
morning. In other parts OF the town
the mercury went out of sight after
registering the limit. So degrees.
The farm of o. V. Gookin, situated
between Peacham and Danville, was
one OF the coldest places. Mr.. Cook
in estimated the reading at 62. His
Thermometer registers only so but he
measured the distance between the
so mark and the bulb allowing IL de-
grees for this space.
Similar reports came from Barton
and Concord. st. Johnsbury Center
reported So and Barnet 52. In As
hours the mercury has not risen
above Is below.
At noon today 1t was 20 below and
at 8 tonight it IS SO below.
New York, Dec. 30.--New York
city experienced the coldest weather
in the history OF the local weather Du
reau today when the temperature at
$50 "a. NJ. went down TO Is degrees
below, Except al and o'clock this
afternoon, when 1t stood at Zero. the
mercury hovered between and l3
degrees below Suffering %as sener-
al throughout the city because OF the
coal shortage, ad HI 9sCm
The weather bureau announced
hat the record, Is below. was seven
degrees lower than the mercury has
ever dropued. since the bureau had
been in existence. On only lour oc-
customs. had il ever sane TO below.
After S..5Q, . cIogkeg the temperature
rose slowly, buy az 8 oclook in the
2fternoop another downward trend
vas. preceptible. str .ee r.
boston, Dec. 9O.--The coolest
weather since the Government began
keeping official temperature readings
A years ago, gripped New England
today
In this city, the mercury sank to
its lowest official mark. II degrees
below zero al . o'clock in The morn.
ms For three hours It stuck at that
point and then began rising gradual
" until at noon IL was three below.
~ this time the sun from u cloud.
less sky forced back the frost king
and from l O'Clock in the afternoon
until 5 the readings we're above zero,
but at no time more than 2 degrees,
b o'clock it was zero again and
within the next three hours the
Weather bureaus thermometer record
ed a drop Of five degrees.
The lowest official record previ-
ously was made Jan. "a, 1882, with a
reading of 13 degrees below zero. The
lowest previous December reading
was in 1883 with a mark of II be-
low.
Northfeld, Vt, retained its winter
championship title with 40 below, the
owest official temperature reported
at the weather bureau from New
England today. At the other extreme
OF the district, Block Island had a
temperature of below. Portland
Me-, broke its extreme low record
with II below. AS compared with
these readings, Halifax. N S. where
the explosion of Dec. 6 wrecked and
damaged countless homes, had been
frigid conditions with a minimum of
2 degrees below zero.
Throughout New England the suf.
fering among The poor was acute.
n this city police and fire stations
were thrown open to those who had
no coal MANY churches made no
attempt to keep open after the morn
ing services, but others which had
sufficient fuel, remained open to af.
ford shelter to the hundreds who
were unable to keep warm at home.