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1869 Concert Hall Boston |
1816 - The Year Without
Summer
By: Lee Foster, Meteorologist
As we all know living in New England means enduring long
winters and savoring the short summers. However, in 1816, the summer season was
shorter than normal and is commonly referred to as “The Year Without Summer”. I
first heard about this infamous summer from my grandfather who lived his entire
life in Northern New Hampshire. He was not alive in 1816
but stories of that summer were passed down from generation to generation. His
stories about that summer peaked my interest in the actual conditions in 1816 and
after some research I discovered that indeed the summer of 1816 was not your
typical summer.
The indications of a possible
cool summer were evident during the spring time. The middle of May brought
unseasonably cool temperatures to the region with light snow reported in Quebec
Province with frost as far south as
Virginia. Mild and sunny
conditions returned to the Northeast by the last week of May before a strong
cold front crossed New England on the 28th with light snow again
reported in Quebec and frost as far south as Pennsylvania. Reports of fruit
trees being set back and acres of corn killed in Maine
were common.
After a warm start to June, the month quickly turned stormy.
A strong Nor’easter developed along the east coast on the 6th with rain mixed
with snow in Quebec City and light
snow observed over the highlands of New York
and most of Northern New England. As this winter type storm moved into the
Canadian Maritimes on the 7th, the storm dumped 6 to 12 inches of
snow over most of Northern New England with reports of 2
foot drifts in Quebec City. Strong high
pressure followed the storm from the 8th through the 10th
with frost every morning and reports of trees blackened or scorched across most
of New England. By the end of the month the weather
became more typical of June with even a heat wave from the 22nd through the 24th.
If June was bad enough, July started out no better. A strong
Canadian cold front crossed New England killing corn,
beans, cucumbers and squash and the first talk of famine started. However, by
the middle of the month, thoughts of a famine were almost forgotten as the
hardy grains such as wheat and rye along with potatoes were doing quite well.
The fine weather continued into the middle of August when
another frost occurred over interior New York
and all of New England damaging many crops. Then on the
20th a strong cold front crossed the Northeast with violent
thunderstorms. Reports of temperatures falling 30 degrees after frontal passage
were not uncommon. Frost was reported the next day as far south as Massachusetts
with snow reported on Mt Moosilouke in New Hampshire.
Corn was destroyed from Albany to Boston.
If that cold spell wasn’t enough, it all came to an end on the 28th
when another strong cold front crossed the Northeast with severe frost that
ended the growing season in most of Northern New England.
The consequences of this season were harsh. Only a third to
a fourth of the hay was cut with only 10 percent of the crop harvested in some
areas. Orchard yields ranged from barren to moderate but enough grains, wheat,
and potatoes were harvested to prevent a famine but hardships did occur. There
were reports of people eating raccoons, pigeons, and mackerel. Corn prices rose
from $1.00 a bushel to nearly $3.00 a bushel. With crop failure and the
shortage of hay, farmers turned to selling their cows and pigs which drove the
price of meat down. With so much meat on the market beef prices dropped from
$15.50 to $7.50 a barrel with pork falling from $16 to $4 a barrel.
So what caused this unusual weather during the summer of 1816?
Some believe it was caused by sinners while some even blamed it on Benjamin
Franklin’s lightning rod experiments. However, climate data obtained from
trees, ice cores, marine sediment and historical documents indicate 1816 was
part of a mini ice age that lasted from 1400 to around 1860. During this time
lower solar output produced harsh winters, shorter growing seasons and drier
climates which were blamed for a host of human suffering and crop failures such
as the Irish Potato Famine. Another
possible cause was the eruption of the Tambora volcano on the island
of Soembawa in Indonesia
on April 15th 1815. The
eruption lasted one week and rumbled for 3 months. The mountain elevation
dropped from 14,000 feet to 9000 feet, killed close to 10,000 people on the
island and another 80,000 people would eventually die from starvation and
diseases related to the eruption. Tambora was one of the largest recorded
eruptions with estimates of 1.7 million tons of dust put into the air equaling
6 million atomic bombs. The theory is that the dust reached the Northern
Hemisphere during 1816 reducing solar output.
Whatever the cause, the next year saw the first general
migration from the Northeast to the Midwest and 1816 also
became know as the Poverty Year. The following poem from Eileen Marguet summed
up the year:
It didn't matter
whether your farm was large or small.
It didn't matter if
you had a farm at all.
Cause everyone was
affected when water didn't run.
The snow and frost
continued without the warming sun.
One day in June it
got real hot and leaves began to show.
But after that it
snowed again and wind and cold did blow.
The cows and horses
had no grass, no grain to feed the chicks.
No hay to put aside
that time, just dry and shriveled sticks.
The sheep were cold
and hungry and many starved to death,
Still waiting for the
warming sun to save their labored breath.
The kids were
disappointed, no swimming, such a shame.
It was in 1816 that
summer never came.
1816 edition of the Old Farmers Almanac
supposedly predicted a cold summer and snow for July and August.
Some accounts say the printer inserted the snow prediction as a joke while
editor Robert B. Thomas was sick in bed with the flu. Supposedly when Thomas
discovered the "error" he destroyed all or most of the snow copies and reprinted
the 1816 edition with a more conventional forcast. Word got out anyway and
Thomas was forever asked to deny this forcast. Then when it really did snow in
July he changed his tune and took full credit.
The cold summer of 1816 and the snow was a result of a volcanic eruption of
mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies that lowered temperatures worldwide
during 1816. So far there is no real proof that this prediction/joke ever went
to print. As to where the Old Farmers Almanac was published.....not too sure,
but Boston is probably a close guess.
These facts are paraphrased from "The Best Of The Old Farmer's Almanac The
First 200 Years"
supposedly predicted a cold summer and snow for July and August.
Some accounts say the printer inserted the snow prediction as a joke while
editor Robert B. Thomas was sick in bed with the flu. Supposedly when Thomas
discovered the "error" he destroyed all or most of the snow copies and reprinted
the 1816 edition with a more conventional forcast. Word got out anyway and
Thomas was forever asked to deny this forcast. Then when it really did snow in
July he changed his tune and took full credit.
The cold summer of 1816 and the snow was a result of a volcanic eruption of
mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies that lowered temperatures worldwide
during 1816. So far there is no real proof that this prediction/joke ever went
to print. As to where the Old Farmers Almanac was published.....not too sure,
but Boston is probably a close guess.
These facts are paraphrased from "The Best Of The Old Farmer's Almanac The
First 200 Years"
by Judson Hale Editor.
The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
By
Maureen K.
Fleury Aug 20, 2010
In 1915, the Purity Distilling Company built a storage tank for molasses in the North End of Boston. This large tank measured 50 feet high and 90 feet in diameter and with the storage capacity of 2.3 M gallons. The molasses was stored until it was transferred to the Purity plant for processing.
Events of the Boston Molasses Tank Explosion
On January 15th, 1919, Boston was experiencing a period of warm weather. The temperature had jumped from 0 degrees F to the 40-degree F range. It was noontime and the residents in the North End were startled by a loud noise in the direction of the molasses storage tank at the Purity Distilling Company.
According to Massachusetts Moments, eyewitnesses described the explosion as a “loud rumbling sound and then a ‘rat-a-tat-tat’ sounding like a machine gun. The ground shook as if a train were passing overhead. The awful sound of tearing metal followed. For everyone in the immediate area, the world went black as a monstrous wave of molasses engulfed everything within a two-block area.”
Over 2 million gallons of thick and sticky molasses overtook the streets and shifted buildings off of their foundations and flipped vehicles and horse-drawn carts. People who did not escape from the flood of molasses were either knocked over or stuck as if they were in a pool of glue.
Pieces of the tank struck the nearby fire hall and killed several fireman. Flying fragments also crushed a municipal office where many employees perished. The force of flying metal knocked down the support posts for the elevated railway. The train engineer managed to stop the train before it reached the fallen track. Many residents who lived close to the tank died by suffocation.
The flood was described at Wired Science. “Odorous molasses formed a sticky tsunami that started at 25 or 30 feet high and coursed through the streets at 35 mph. Victims couldn't outrun it. It knocked them into buildings and other obstacles, it swept them off their feet, and it pulled them under to drown in a viscous, suffocating, brown death. “
The death toll from the molasses flood and tank explosion was 21 people. There were over 150 people injured. In today’s dollars, damage was in excess of $100,000.00.
Cause of the Molasses Tank Explosion
The exact cause was never determined but there were several theories.
The tank was known to leak and it was never fixed. The tank was painted brown in order to hide the leaks. It could have been the weak points in the tank that eventually ruptured due to the tank being filled to capacity.
Another theory was the sudden change in the weather. The temperatures were hovering around freezing and then quickly rose almost 40 degrees F in a short period. It was possible that a quick fermentation of the molasses occurred and caused an explosion.
It was believed that anarchists blew up the storage tank because they were opposed to rich corporations such as U.S Industrial Alcohol who made huge profits during World War I from the manufacturing of munitions from alcohol.
To this day, it is said that on a hot day, the streets in Boston’s flood area still bleed molasses. The tank was never rebuilt and it is now the site of a baseball park.
Sources:
Great Molasses Flood January 15, 1919. Mass Moments - On this Day. Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. ©2010.
Alfred, Randy. Morass of Molasses Mucks up Boston. Wired Science. January 15, 2009.
Bellows, Allen. The Great Molasses Flood of 1919. Damn Interesting. September 23, 2005.
Copyright Maureen K. Fleury
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