Volcano?

[Denim Deb]

I've been looking at all the crazy weather many have been having, below normal temps, crazy rain fall, etc and got to thinking. In the early 1800s (might have been 1815, not sure) there was a year that they called The Year W/out a Summer. It was colder than normal, w/snow at times you wouldn't expect. I seem to recall that there was also flooding in areas, but not sure what all else. And, what it was linked to was a massive volcanic eruption, just don't recall where the volcano was located.

Last year, there was that huge volcanic eruption. I don't recall now where it was or when. But I got to wondering if maybe, just maybe, that is what's affecting the weather now. Thoughts?

 

[FarmerJamie]

I've been looking at all the crazy weather many have been having, below normal temps, crazy rain fall, etc and got to thinking. In the early 1800s (might have been 1815, not sure) there was a year that they called The Year W/out a Summer. It was colder than normal, w/snow at times you wouldn't expect. I seem to recall that there was also flooding in areas, but not sure what all else. And, what it was linked to was a massive volcanic eruption, just don't recall where the volcano was located.

Last year, there was that huge volcanic eruption. I don't recall now where it was or when. But I got to wondering if maybe, just maybe, that is what's affecting the weather now. Thoughts?

1815-1816 Tambora. It snowed in June in northeastern portion of the country. The earth is a complex machine, with many moving parts, many of which we are only beginning to understand. We also have a la Nina pattern in place which is accounting for the wetter-than-average Spring in the Great Lakes region and the more violent weather in the Southeast.

 

[abifae]

The entire Dust Veil was brought about by volcanos! They think a meteor strike started it off. There was so much ash in the sky there was a long famine and that set off all the myths about the sun leaving and it set off several plagues.

This was when christianity got its strongest foothold, for time line.

 

[Wifezilla]

"In May 1816,[1] frost killed off most of the crops that had been planted, and on 4 June 1816, frosts were reported in Connecticut, and by the following day, most of New England was gripped by the cold front. On 6 June 1816, snow fell in Albany, New York, and Dennysville, Maine.[7] Nearly a foot (30 cm) of snow was observed in Quebec City in early June, with consequent additional loss of cropsmost summer-growing plants have cell walls which rupture even in a mild frost. The result was regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality.

In July and August, lake and river ice were observed as far south as Pennsylvania. Rapid, dramatic temperature swings were common, with temperatures sometimes reverting from normal or above-normal summer temperatures as high as 35 C (95 F) to near-freezing within hours. Even though farmers south of New England did succeed in bringing some crops to maturity, maize and other grain prices rose dramatically. The staple food oat,[8] for example, rose from 12 a bushel ($3.40/m) the previous year to 92 a bushel ($26/m). Those areas suffering local crop failures had to deal with the lack of roads in the early 19th century, preventing any easy importation of bulky food stuffs.[9]

Cool temperatures and heavy rains resulted in failed harvests in the British Isles as well. Families in Wales traveled long distances as refugees, begging for food. Famine was prevalent in north and southwest Ireland, following the failure of wheat, oats, and potato harvests. The crisis was severe in Germany, where food prices rose sharply. Due to the unknown cause of the problems, demonstrations in front of grain markets and bakeries, followed by riots, arson, and looting, took place in many European cities. It was the worst famine of the 19th century.[7][10]

In China, the cold weather killed trees, rice crops, and even water buffalo, especially in northern China. Floods destroyed many remaining crops. Mount Tamboras eruption disrupted Chinas monsoon season, resulting in overwhelming floods in the Yangtze Valley in 1816. In India the delayed summer monsoon caused late torrential rains that aggravated the spread of cholera from a region near the River Ganges in Bengal to as far as Moscow.[11]

In New York City, the temperature dropped to -32 C (-26F) during the ensuing bitter winter of 1817. This resulted in a freezing of New York's Upper Bay deep enough for horse-drawn sleighs to be driven across Buttermilk Channel from Brooklyn to Governors Island.[12]

The effects were widespread and lasted beyond the winter. In eastern Switzerland, the summers of 1816 and 1817 were so cool that an ice dam formed below a tongue of the Gitro Glacier high in the Val de Bagnes. In spite of the efforts of the engineer Ignaz Venetz to drain the growing lake, the ice dam collapsed catastrophically in June 1818.[13]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer

 

[abifae]

I have a book about it. The mini ice age. Lotsa people starved and flus ranrampant.

 

[k0xxx]

It was during this cold, dreary time that Mary Shelly was inspired to write Frankenstein. So at least some good did come from it.

 

[curly_kate]

Hmmm...all this rain has me so depressed, maybe it's time for ME to start writing a gloomy epic!!