On May 19, 6:35*pm, John Hall wrote:
In article
,

*Alastair writes:
This link to a New Scientist article was posted on the sci.meteorology
newsgroup. I thought I would share it here as I found it very
interesting.

1709: The year that Europe froze
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...the-year-that-

Thanks. A very interesting read.

"It was the coldest winter in 500 years."

Not all year, then.

That was probably true for Europe as a whole, but in England both 1683-4
and 1739-40 were worse. The coldest month in 1708-9 was January with a
CET of -1.5C (to the nearest half degree). January 1684 was -3C (to the
nearest degree). January 1716 managed -2C, and January 1740 was -2.8C.
(January 1795 managed -3.1C so could have been colder even than January
1684, though taking the three winter months together it was nothing like
as cold as that winter.)

Of course, a problem in deciding the coldest winter or the severest
month is how you trade off duration against intensity. For example, is a
winter with monthly means of 4, -3, 2 more or less severe than one with
means of 1, -1, 0? Similarly is a month with two weeks of severe cold
and two weeks of mild weather better or worse than a month with four
coldish but not extreme weeks?

The problem is aesoteric as it isn't going to hurt anyone now or ever
again. The fact is that when there is an anticyclone over Greenland
and a cyclone over almost anywhere west of it the downdraught will be
pointed south.

It is just a matter of timing where exactly south is.

January

1709: 3rd 01:13; 10th 22:34; 19th 02:17; 25th 20:13.

1716: 2nd 09:35; 09th 02:35; 16th 13:47; 24th 15:22; 31st 18:14.

1740: 3rd 17:46; 10th 12:03; 17th 06:57; 25th 10:32.

1795: 05th 09:40; 13th 05:02; 21st 00:21; 27th 21:16.