20th. And seventh of the week-morning cloudy, still and dampice in the Delaware for the first time this season, which has been one of the most open and moderate remembered for many years, there not having been any skating, even on ponds,—similar to a note in my Diary of 1802. N. B. Water froze in bed chambers for the first time this season. The season until this cold spell has been so open and moderate that many people were ready to conclude we should not have any winter; but, as the Indians used to say, "The winter will come sooner or later, and will not rot in the sky." I have known two winters in which the navigation was not interrupted by ice, not even by a single cake. 21st. And first of the week-extreme cold this morning-Thermometer five and in the sun nine above 0-rose a little by noon-very cold all day-ice in the Delaware-stopped about noon-boys skating on it in the afternoon. 22d. And second of the week-severe cold this morning-wind north-west-ice in the Delaware stopped and remarkably thick and strong. The season of 1824, having been called very mild, I also add some notices of it, which may serve as a comparison with the others before given, to wit: 1823. December. 1824. January 5. 6. 6 inches snow-74 inches rain. No ice in the river. Mild, and plant trees. 7 to 9. Mild, and white frost. (From the 21st the ice was floating in the Delaware.) Feb'ry. 1. The 2d winter is set in,-16 deg. at sunrise. 12 and 13. Frost out of ground. The year 1828. This winter of 1827-28, is remarkable for its mildness-no snow, or frost, and the plough enabled to cut the furrows! mild rains every where instead of snows. The Gazettes every where teem with notices of the unusual mild weather. Even boats in January, are descending the Susquehanna, from as far as the Bald Eagle! Even as late as the 7th of February it is stated from the Juniata that arks were still passing down that river, and that this is the first winter ever known that the river has continued clear of ice! On the 9th of February a shad, caught near Bombay Hook, was bought in the Philadelphia market for the Mansion House Hotel. This, so far, has been the rainy winter. The mildness of the winter prevented the usual storing of ice for the fish markets, &c.-a thing unprecedented. One person laid in his ice in one day in November. On the 13th and 14th of April, 1828, came a snow storm!-much snow-not cold. An elderly gentleman remarks on this season, that "the winter of 182728, is past, and such a one precisely has never occurred during sixty years of my observations. There were two events differing from any mild winters I ever remember, viz. so much absence of the sun-but one day in December clear all day-January 20th, and 21st, clear all day-February 9th, sun rose clear and continued so all day as mild as the month of May-12, 13th, 14th, 16, 17th, 19th, 22d, 23d,—all these days were clear, the sun shining all day-in one or two days the sun made its appearance nearly all day, and a number of days one, two or three hours add these to the whole days and it would scarcely amount to seventeen days clear sun-this is one singular trait.” "The next is the uninterrupted state of the navigation of the river Delaware. I have known several soft winters in the course of my life, but I do not recollect any but what was more or less interrupted and obstructed with ice. The winter of 1777-78, when the British army lay in Philadelphia, and the American at Valley Forge, was an open one-much rain and excessive bad travelling, but there was at one time much ice in the river. The following winter, '78-79, was a mild, pleasant one; yet there was ice sufficient to obstruct the navigation. This winter was so mild that on the 22d of March the orchards of different kinds were all in blossom and the meadows as green as in the month of June, in the neighbourhood of Downingstown, Lancaster road, and the next morning a storm at north-east, with nearly two feet of snow on the ground, which destroyed all the fruit for that year." The coldest weather, to last any considerable time, for these many years, was on February 7th, 1817-it froze almost all the fire-plugs in the city, and the water in the main pipe in South street. The following are instances of Anomaly—to wit: The 8th of May, 1803, was a remarkable day. It snowed so heavily as to make a wonderful breaking of the limbs of trees then in full leaf. The streets in the city were filled with broken limbs thereby-most strangely showing-"winter lingering in the lap of spring." On the 13th and 14th of April, 1828, was a snow storm in which much snow fell, but not being cold, it soon after disappeared. The winter of 1817 was remarkable for displaying some very vivid lightning in the month of January! No snow had fallen before this occurrence. The day preceding it fell a little, but melted the same day. At night it grew warm and rained, accompanied by vivid lightning. During the same night it blew up quite cold, and snowed about half an inch. Very cold weather immediately set in. The papers at Albany and New Hampshire spoke of vivid lightnings also on the night of the 17th of January. Good sleighing occurred at Philadelphia on the 23d of January. There was On the 25th of October, 1823, was the dark day. great darkness at 9 o'clock, A. M. so as to make candlelight desirable. At Norristown they were obliged to use candles. The darkness at New York came on at about 11 o'clock, and compelled the printers to print by candlelight. It was stormy there at an earlier hour. At Philadelphia there was thunder and some rain. At Albany, at 8 A. M. same day, it snowed fast all day, forming a fall of 12 inches, but melted very fast. It thundered there at 12 and at 2 o'clock while snowing! The heavy snow broke the limbs of trees still in leaf, very much. At Newark it lightened and thundered severely, and hailed, and was very dark. On the whole, it was a wide spread darkness for one and the same storm. On the 11th of April, 1824, it thundered and lightened considerably for the first time this spring. Old people tell me they never used to see this occurrence until the warm weather. But of late years it has occurred several times in the cold season, and sometimes in March. The Christmas days of 1824 and 1829 were remarkable for their coincidence of singular warmth. The Thermometer in the shade at 7 o'clock, A. M. stood at 33°, and at 2 o'clock, P. M. at 63°-both days exactly alike, and on both periods having a gentle wind from the south-west. There were in olden time two memorable "hot summers,' 99 SO called, and referred to in many years afterwards-the years 1727 and 1734. I describe the latter from the Gazette of the time, to wit: July, 1734.-The weather has been so hot for a week past, as has not been known in the memory of man in this country, excepting the "hot summer" about 7 years since. Many of the harvest people faint or fall into convulsions in the fields, and 'tis said in some places a multitude of birds were found dead. The names of five inhabitants dying of the heat are given. Subsequent papers confirm the extreme heat in the country, and the deaths thereby. I ought to have mentioned too, that as early as the year 1699 Isaac Norris, sen. [Vide Logan MSS.] speaks then of the "hottest harvest season he had ever before experienced. Several persons died in the field with the violence of the heat." An elderly gentleman tells me that on the 1st of October, 1770, memorable as the then Election day, was well remembered as a snowy day! From that time to this he has never witnessed it so early again. Since then, he thinks the earliest snows have not fallen earlier than the 1st of November. The middle of November has been regarded as an early snow. Often he has seen "Green Christmas," that is-no snow till after Christmas, at least not such as to lay on the earth. The night of the 11th April, 1826, was remarkably cold. It froze so hard as to bear a wagon loaded with flour on a muddy road. Some snow on the ground at same time. On the 12th of April at sunrise the mercury stood at 24. Old people say they never saw it so cold at that season. One remembers a deeper snow on the 10th of April about 40 years ago, when he went abroad in a sled. Comparison of time past and time present, derived from a Thermometrical Table of the years 1748 and '49, compared with the years 1823 to '26. The extreme variations in each of the above months, are : The greatest degree of cold, mentioned in the register for 1748-9, was on the morning of the 21st of January, 1749, on which day at sunrise, the Thermometer was 7° below Zero, and the greatest degree of heat was on the 5th of August, 1749, when the Thermometer was at 102°. Neither the cold or heat were greater than have been experienced in later years. On the 2d of February, 1789, the Thermometer was at 174° below Zero, and on the 25th of January, 1806, at 144°. In July, 1793, it rose, when completely shaded, to 1044°. A Meteorological Table for the months of January and February for 22 years, from 1807 to 1828, compiled by S. Hazard, Esq. may be seen in my MS. Annals in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, page 271. Years. Rain fallen from 1810 to 1829. Years. 1817. 36.005 1818. 30.177 Years. Years. 1810. 32.656 I am indebted to the investigation and diligence of my friend Samuel Hazard, Esq. for a long detail of notices of our winters for more than a century past. Besides the surprise which some of the facts will excite, they will also prove useful for future recurrence, in cases of extraordinary weather-to see whether the like had not occurred before. Winters at and near Philadelphia, from its origin to The following investigation was commenced with a view to ascertain the periods at which the navigation of the Delaware has usually been obstructed by ice, and when it became freed from such obstructions.For this purpose we have consulted the newspapers for the different periods, confining our attention principally to December, January, February and March, although occasionally notice is taken of some other months. The early Gazettes have generally noticed the occurrence of ice. Some of the late papers have omitted it. During the Revoluion we find but few remarks on the subject, and in some years none at 11. 681. 704. 14. December 11. The river froze over that night. The Bristol Factor, Roger Drew, arrived at Chester from England, with settlers for Pennsylvania, where they lay all winter. Snow fell one yard deep. February. Flowers seen in the woods. '20. February 23. The river is now clear of ice. 1. 2. November 11. "My ink freezes, which obliges me to conclude." December 20. Our river is full of ice, and the ship Prince of Orange, which is going with a flag of truce and Spanish prisoners to St. Augustine, is in great danger. December 27. The river being now clear of ice, vessels are falling down. December 19. No vessels arrived since our last, the river being full of ice. |