Evening star., 1934-12-09
PROPHETS RECALL
COOLEST WINTERS
Snow Lay on Ground Here
Two Months Gen.
tury Ago.

weather, Cne ever -ldSClIldllIlS SuU-
ject in which everybody is interested,
is always with us. 1t affects our daily
lives as nothing else. Looking ahead
as to weather is fascinating occu-
patton at which nearly everybody
works. The goosebone prophets say
this Winter is going to be tough
one. The scientists in the Weather
Bureau find no basis for making long
distance deductions.
However, when you look out the
window on blustery Winter day and
see the telephone linemen working
their way up pole to keep open serv-
ice that will save you going to the
grocery store or help you call a doc
tor quickly, you are glad to have tips
on the weather in advance. Take,
for example, the countrywide blizzard
of 1888.
The "do-you-remember-way- back
when contingent will find lot Of
talk about in the Winter records COM
piled by the American Nature Asso-
ciation. This organization does no
prognosticating but it can look at the
record and remind you of some Win
tiers that were Winters.
Snow on Mediterranean.
A remarkable recent Winter in Eu-
rope was that of 1928-29, in which
heavy snow fell along the shores OF
the Mediterranean and records for low
thermometer readings were broken at
many places in Central Europe.
19l7-1918. The war Winter" An
excessively cold and snowy Winter
east of the Rocky Mountains, while
warmer than the average in the Far
West. Especially memorable on ac-
count of aggravating the economic
difficulties arising from the World
War through frequent interruption OF
transportation services.
1912, Severe cold weather during
the first three months of the year
caused an unprecedented formation
of ice in lakes and rivers in the North
ern United States and Canada. For
the first time on record Lake Superior
was frozen from shore &c shore, so
that moose crossed on the ice from
Canada to the United States. Lake
Michigan and Lake Erie were also
completely spanned with ice in some
places.
1899. Unprecedented cold wave
February lib, with zero tempera-
lures reaching from the Gulf Coast.
Mobile, Ala, recorded l degree below
Zero Vicksburg, zero; Washington, Is
degrees below; New York. 6 degrees
below: st. Louis, 19 below; Chicago, 81
below; Ottawa, "a below; Toronto, II
below; Montreal, 13 below. New Or
leans had inches of snow and the
river was filled with heavy floating ice
for a week. Heavy and widespread
snowfall over the Eastern United
States.
188o-1881. Unusually long and Sc
we're Winter everywhere east OF the
Rocky Mountains.
Severe Cold Wave.
1886. The cold wave Of January
6-12 was one of the most severe on
record, especially in the Southern
United States, where there was i'm
mense damage to fruit and agrlcul-
tural crops.
1OCO. llSG tIlICC lAAoAAOAA' SnSNo
sively cold in the middle ATTITUDES in
the United States. Chesapeake Bay
at Annapolis closed by ice January g.
March IA. Baltimore and Philadel-
pkia harbors closed until late in
March. Long Island Sound closed to
navigation January 25-February 81
Ice formed in the Mississippi as far
South as VickSburg.
1885. Very cold Winter, beginning
with January. On February temper
atures below zero everywhere north of
Savannah and Natchez; also in the in
terror of Northern Florida. Snow lay
on the ground from December to May
in parts of New England, and two
whole months at Washington.
1779-1780. Perhaps the coldest
Winter in the history of Eastern North
America. Thomas Jefferson says
THE Chesapeake Bay was frozen
solid from its head to the mouth OF
the Potomac. At Annapolis the ice
was to inches in thickness quite
across, 5l4 miles, so that loaded car
riages went over it." Immense snow
fall in New England and Eastern
Canada. Bayou St. John frozen at
New Orleans.
174O-174l--Long remembered in
Virginia as "the cold Winter" In
early March Long Island Sound was
frozen over SO that people rode from
Stratford, Conn, to Long Island.
TIT. The great snow" of this year
Is celebrated in the history of New
England 1t fell from February 10 tc
"a and lay for long time from tc
feet deep at Boston and elsewhere
The Winter was extremely cold.