Regis Philbin
Jul 12th, 2009, 08:31 PM
:hat: 1815-1816: Not an SUV in sight and Al Gore wasn't even a glimmer in his great-great-great grandmother's eye.
http://www.pembrokexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1317&Itemid=29
Pembroke's Past: The year without a summer
Written by Karen Proctor
Thursday, 09 July 2009 10:41
So — it’s the beginning of July, and it looks like, perhaps, we’re going to have a summer season after all. It has definitely been a long time coming — that cool rain has made for some lush foliage and plenty of weeds, but my garden needs SUN!
Keeping our recent weather in mind, if you had been around in the year 1816, surely even the unpredictable New England seasons would have had you worried about the weather. That year is known in weather circles as “The Year Without a Summer”: Yes, you read it right. Now read on — if you dare!
The winter of 1815-16 was actually no different than any other winter in New England. Even the arrival of spring seemed normal. April weather can be extremely unpredictable around these parts, but by May 1816, frost was still covering the ground, day after day.
On the fifth of June of that awful year, there was a heavy snowstorm that blanketed New England with up to 12 inches of snow. Crops were ruined, and newly shorn sheep froze to death. It warmed up soon after, and farmers were able to replant their crops, but another cold snap in the first week of July killed the corn crop and had farmers worrying about the threat of a general famine. Records indicate that this horrible cold weather lasted off and on right through August. Morning temperatures were consistently in the 30s and, even though some of the days warmed up and farmers tried optimistically to re-plant their crops, the killing frosts of September put an end to any hope for harvest.
http://www.pembrokexpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1317&Itemid=29
Pembroke's Past: The year without a summer
Written by Karen Proctor
Thursday, 09 July 2009 10:41
So — it’s the beginning of July, and it looks like, perhaps, we’re going to have a summer season after all. It has definitely been a long time coming — that cool rain has made for some lush foliage and plenty of weeds, but my garden needs SUN!
Keeping our recent weather in mind, if you had been around in the year 1816, surely even the unpredictable New England seasons would have had you worried about the weather. That year is known in weather circles as “The Year Without a Summer”: Yes, you read it right. Now read on — if you dare!
The winter of 1815-16 was actually no different than any other winter in New England. Even the arrival of spring seemed normal. April weather can be extremely unpredictable around these parts, but by May 1816, frost was still covering the ground, day after day.
On the fifth of June of that awful year, there was a heavy snowstorm that blanketed New England with up to 12 inches of snow. Crops were ruined, and newly shorn sheep froze to death. It warmed up soon after, and farmers were able to replant their crops, but another cold snap in the first week of July killed the corn crop and had farmers worrying about the threat of a general famine. Records indicate that this horrible cold weather lasted off and on right through August. Morning temperatures were consistently in the 30s and, even though some of the days warmed up and farmers tried optimistically to re-plant their crops, the killing frosts of September put an end to any hope for harvest.