The United States Gazette · 31 Jul 1816, Wed · Page 1.
Today in historic central PA, the weather greeted us with snow showers and bright sun. Unusual for the time of year. It caused me to recall a story about a summer with no sun. The year of no summer was 1816. Five years earlier the str New Orleans left Pittsburgh along its historic trip to New Orleans. In 1811 those aboard the str New Orleans witnessed the shocks of a great earthquake centered around New Madrid, MO. It was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever east of the Rocky Mountains.
What was so unusual about 1816? Little documentation in local western PA newspapers has been found. PA was not hit as hard as New York and New England states where there was heavy snow and killing frosts in Jul and Aug. All vegetation, garden vegetables, and corn froze. Birds died because of lack of food. People were hungry. The cause of the climate change was one of the most terrific volcano eruptions the world has ever known. On the island of Samhawa, East Java, in 1815, a massive cloud of volcanic dust was forced into the upper atmosphere. The loss of solar radiation changed the temperature on earth and affected the growth of plants on the entire planet. [1]
In 1816, many PA farmers harvested their grains in Jul wearing heavy coats and gloves. Much ripened wheat spoiled under the heavy snows.
There are many active volcanoes around the world. Any one of them could erupt violently causing another dramatic change in the world’s climate. Viral pademics, like Covid-19, are not our only cause for worry.
References.
[1] Whisker Vaughn E, Tales from the Allegheny Foothills, Vol V.
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