The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1918-01-17
MERCURY TAKES TUMBLE
TO FIFTEEN BELOW ZERO
WAS COOLEST WEATHER EVER
KNOWN IN COUNTY A

WAS COOLEST WEATHER EVER
KNOWN IN COUNTY q
Blizzard Continues During Greater
Part Of Night and Day-Ten Inch
es Of Snowfall Other Low Temper
ature Record on February IL, 1893,
When Mercury Went to IL Degrees
Below Zero.
This has been a record-breaking
winter for snow and low temperature.
An eight-inch snow fell here on De-
cember 8, followed by number OF
lesser snowfalls, and the ground has
been almost constantly covered with
mantle Of white since that time.
Thursday afternoon the snow began
falling again, and fell all during the
night, turning into a regular snow
storm and blizzard, which continued
during the greater part of Friday,
clearing off late in the afternoon. The
wind, however, blew a gale from the
north and the mercury went down
to is degrees below zero during the
night. the lowest ever known in this
part Of the country, The snowfall
measured 10 inches on the level, and
Saturday was a bitter cold day, but
the sun warmed things up some, and
the mercury registered six below zero
Saturday night.
The coolest weather ever known
before this in this country was IN
February, 1899, when the ground was
covered with a succession Of snow and
sleet for days, and the mercury reg
istered IL below on the night of Feb
ruary IL of that year.
The Mississippi river at Randolph
was frozen over Saturday and Sun
day, and people walked across the ice
to the Arkansas shore and also down
the river as far as Richardson's Land
ing five miles distant or more. The
river at Memphis was also frozen
over solidly for the first time since
1876.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal
of Monday states that for the first
time in 43 years the Mississippi river
at Memphis has been frozen across.
During the early hours Sunday morn
ing watchmen on the j. I. Harahan
bridge reported complete. closure
Of the main channel. The rest had
been frozen for days previous,
sMany churches had no services
SUNDAY because Of the weather and q
desire to aid in economizing on fuel,
For the same reason there will pc
no sessions Of the public schools to-
day. 80
of sport made its appearance IN this
CITY. The local harbor was used as
skating rink by dozen or more
persons. some of whom displayed
considerable skill in fancy gyrations,
while others clearly demonstrated
lack Of practice extending over a
number of years. A small group Of
adventurous spirits essayed to walk
across the river beyond Mud Island,
but did not complete the journey to
the Arkansas shore.
"Judge Young, a revered citizen OF
this city, reports that the winter OF
1856 is the last within his recol-
lection when complete ice bridge
was formed across the Mississippi
opposite Memphis. At that time the
temperature was two below, the river
was very low, and a clean sheet OF
ice formed from the Tennessee to the
Arkansas. shore. According to reports
antedating his memory, a wagon
crossed on the ice in 1881.
'Tae most disastrous ice formation,
however, according to Judge Young,
which had any effect on Memphis,
was in the winter of 1928 This
winter an ice gorge formed in the
river at Randolph above the city. The
river here, previous to the breaking
of the gorge, was free of ice.
"a small packet, the Mary Boyd,
went up the river with cabin of
passengers and a load of freight.
She was caught in the breaking of
the ice and crushed to pieces. The
Judge says that no trace Of the Mary
Boyd was ever discovered, with the
exception of one crate of chickens,
afterward found floating in the river.
All OF the passengers ana crew were
lest.
when news came of the forma-
ticn Of the ice gorge at Randolph, all
ofIthe craft in the local harbor sought
shelter in the mouth of Wolf river.
When the ice gorge broke. the vast
quantities of ice were swung by the
current, around the bend and straight
against the levee. Thirteen packets
were caught in this crushing floe
and either sent to the bottom
Or ground to pieces. One boat
was cast high on shore, while an
other was turned completely bottom
upward.
aThe ice then formed jam imme-
diately before the city, and was the
heaviest accumulation ever seen at
this point. Some of the cakes were,
according to the recollection Of Judge
Young. six to. seven feet in thickness,
and were stood on edge. like as a
row Of books
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