1816, Year Without Summer

Famous in the annals of weather is the year 1816, during which the temperature dipped to freezing every month in Madison County, New York. It was a bitter year for farmers in both America and Europe as their crops froze, were replanted and froze again. On the Fourth of July, men of Plymouth, Connecticut wore heavy overcoats as they played quoits in the bright sunshine. Snow fell in Montreal on June 6 and 8 and Quebec City had a 12-inch accumulation on June 10.

In fact, 1816 was just the worst of a series of cold years from 1812 to 1817, years that were cold worldwide. The accepted explanation is that several major volcanic eruptions in those years loaded the atmosphere with dust which girdled the globe. The dust does a better job of keeping the sun's radiation out than keeping the Earth's in and so causes the average temperature to lower by a degree or so. Local effects can be much more severe, as unfortunate farmers have found out.

Extensive volcanic dust perhaps has played a major role in past climatic changes; it may again have profound effect, even so great as to cause a new ice age.

(Reference: Patrick Hughes writing in the May 1976 issue of EDS, a publication of the Environmental Data Service.)