Over the weekend, parts of the country experienced a “once in a generation cold snap.” The subfreezing temperatures tested even the hardiest of Mainers, weather records were broken, and scientists at the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire recorded it as the coldest place in the world. Thankfully temperatures have since warmed up and are back to normal here now. However, that wasn’t the case in 1816, which became known as the “Year Without a Summer.”
A series of volcanic eruptions that occurred during the winter of 1815 were to blame, including that of Mt. Tambora in Indonesia, which is believed to be the largest eruption of the last 1,800 years. The dust and gas spewed into the atmosphere lowered temperatures around the world, thus leading to severe climate abnormalities in North America, Northern Europe, and parts of Asia. According to Jaime McLeod in “1816: The Year Without a Summer” (Farmers Almanac, July 11, 2022), “This ash insulated the earth from the heat and light of the sun, resulting in a cooling effect throughout the Northern Hemisphere.”
It was so cold that frost and even snow killed crops late into the planting season. In fact on July 4, 1816 the high temperature in Savannah, Georgia, was only 46°F (7ºC)! It wasn’t just the United states that was cold on that July day. According to Alex Bush in the Massachusetts Historical Society’s Beehive (April 7, 2020), across the pond on July 4, 1816 in his diary, “John Quincy Adams complained that he was confined to his house in London all day due to freezing rain showers and thunder. Many of his subsequent entries that summer contain similar lamentations.” Speaking of the 4th of July, signer of the Declaration of Independence and retired President, Thomas Jefferson experienced substantial crop failures in 1816 that plunged him further into debt. Sadly many others around the globe starved due to the food shortages.
Historians argue that the westward expansion of the United Sates was partly accelerated by people trying to escape the exceptionally cold weather. This dismal summer also served as the inspiration for Mary Shelley’s iconic novel, Frankenstein. While vacationing in Switzerland, Mary Shelley and her famous housemates were trapped inside, and decided to entertain themselves by challenging each other to write their own ghost stories. As discussed in “Did Climate Inspire the Birth of a Monster?” (All Things Considered, August 13, 2007), there are passages in Frankenstein that mirror Shelley’s description of the weather in her letters.
Thankfully, our recent arctic blast didn’t last remotely as long as the deep freeze of 1816, nor was it caused by a volcanic eruption. Rather it was the result of a polar vortex over Canada that intensified while heading south. So don’t go canceling those summer plans just yet, and don’t complain too loudly about last week’s weather. We don’t want to give Mother Nature ideas to repeat the “Year without a Summer!”
