No, that is not a typo!
The most freak Atlanta winter storm imo wasn’t either the 1993 or 1899 blizzard, it wasn’t the icestorm of 1973, it wasn’t snow jam 1982 or snow jam 2014, it wasn’t the near 8” snow of 3/24/1983, it wasn’t the heaviest on record in downtown of 10” of 1940, and it wasn’t either of the 4” sleetstorms of 1979 and 1988. What do I think it was? This one:
https://site.extension.uga.edu/climate/2017/04/april-25-1910-snowfall-in-northern-georgia/
Not only was the snowstorm happening that late in April so hard to believe (it was 3 weeks later than the second latest measurable of any amount), the high temperature of only 39 was only the third April day with a high only in the 30s since the late 1800s and nearly 3 weeks later than the second latest!
When I get on my laptop, I’ll add a map showing the snow, which will show how far south in GA and AL the measurable got. I’ll add that trace amounts were seen as far south as Americus in SW GA, which is at the latitude of Savannah! There’s no way to know obviously, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this was a once every 500+ year type of occurrence in GA based on how freak this was.
Thanks extremely much Larry!
That's insane. I never knew about that off the charts weather event. I'll see if I can get the weather maps for that day. WOW!
They will probably not look that impressive......for January (-:
Here's the snow amounts:
Back then, we didn't have anything but surface observations.
I found some interesting weather maps and descriptions for April 1910, Larry.
APRIL, 1910. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 521
Climatological Data for April, 1910.
DISTRICT No. 2,SOUTH ATLANTIC A N D EAST GULF STATES
APRIL, 1910. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 521
Climatological Data for April, 1910.
DISTRICT No. 2,SOUTH ATLANTIC A N D EAST GULF STATES.
CEARLESF. VON HERRMANN.DLatrlct Editor.
G E N E R A L SUMMARY.
Greater diversity in the meteorological elements than usual
prevailed throughout the district cluring the month of April,
1910. I n North Carolina
and Alabama severe local storms with the force of tornadoes
occurred on the 16th ancl 17th in the southeast quadrant of a
general barometric depression central in the upper hlississippi
Valley. I n South Carolina tlie nionth was among the warmest
Aprils on record, although it was not quite so warm as the same
month in 1896, 19OS, and 1909. I n all the States touching thc
Gulf both temperature and precipitation were below tlic normal.
The most noteworthy feature of the weather for the inontli wts
the snowstorm on the early morning of April 25. Snow fell to a
depth of from 2 to 4 inches in northern Alabama and Georgia,
and traces even to the southern border of both States. The fall
of snow caused considerable astonishment in such towns as
Selma, Ala., and Americus, Ch., where snow had never hefort.
occurrecl in April within the iiieniory of man. A trace of snow
occurred also at Pensacola, Fla., an event unique in the history
of that station. From reliahle newspaper records it appears
that snow occurred as late as April 14 in the Gulf States in 1864,
and in North Carolina about tlie same date in 1S-M
Another quite unusual event was the occurrence of frost as
late a April 26 in the States bordering the Gulf. On the iiiorii-
ings of both the 25th and 26th the teniperature fell to freezing
or below in all States in the district. While the teniperatures
registered were not the lowest on record for tlie entire month of
April they were unprecedented for SO late a date in that month.
Heavy to killing frosts were reported a t a large nuniber of placcs
throughout the district, especially on the mornings of the 25th
and 26th, which caused much damage to gardens, to truck crops,
and to cotton, but only slightly injured tlie fruit crop. Througli-
out central Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi it was fuuiicl
necessary to replant a large portion of tlie cotton crop.
The temperature was aliiiost continuously above normal
during the first half of April, except during a brief period of
cooler weather 6th to Sth, but from tlie 16th to tlie close of the
nionth the temperature was clecicledly below the normal, cul-
minating on the 25th and 26th in daily deficiencies of from ls"
to 28".......................... meanwhile
another marked distrurhance hac1 moved southeastward to the
lower Lakes Ily the 23cl. On the 24th secondary depressions
formed over northern Alabama ant1 in western North Carolina,
which movecl eastwarcl on the 25th, drawing in behind them the
area of colcl, moist air in the central valley, and causing snow in
northern Alabama and Georgia. Another depression formed
over eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina on the 27th,
mid it was not. until higher atmospheric pressure came in from
t,he west on the 2Stmhthat tlie sky cleared, ancl the weather
thereafkr became rapidly warmer. I n the northern portion
of the clist.rict.tlie 3Ot.h was the warmest clay of the month.
T E M P E R A T U R E .
Tlie month openecl with the temperature from 10" to 15"
above the daily nor~nnl. I n several States the highest tempera-
ture for the month was recorded tluring this period of warmth,
the niasimuni esceetling 90" at many places. In North Caro-
lina 93" was registered on the 4th at Fayetteville; in South
Carolina, 95" on the 1st at Florence, ancl on the 4th at Waterloo;
in (horgia, 94" on tlie 4th a t Millen; ancl in Alabama, 91" at
Lucy. A brief period of cooler weather followed from about the
6th to Sth, with light frost at several places, especially on the
niorning of the 8th, which causecl practically no claniage, except
t.0 tender unprotected vegetation in lorn places. Tlie tempera-
ture t.lien rose above norinal and the weather remained warm
until about the 16th. During this period maximum tempera-
tures above 00" were again recorded at several places.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Georgia 94" was registered at Bainbridge and Quitman on the
loth; in Florida, 95" at Fort Meade and Huntington on the 15th;
and in Mississippi, 92" at Hattiesburg on the 13th.
A marked and rapid decline in temperature then took place,
the cold weather continuing to near the close of the month, and
culminating on the mornings of the 25th and 26th in tempera-
ture below all previous records for so late in April. The follow-
ing are extracts from the reports of Weather Bureau officials:
North Carolina.-Freezing temperatures were recorded at many placw
in the weetern portion of the section on the 25th and %th, but owing to the
cloudy, windy weather and slowness in clearing only light frost formed
except at a few places. While fruit was damaged to some extent in western
counties and trucking interests were somewhat adversely affected in the
central-southern portion of the State, the damage in the seration lying east
of the mountains as a whole was comparatively slight.--lee A. Demon,
Sedion Diredw.
Gmgia-The lowest temperatures touched the freezing point on the
morning bf the 26th, even to the southern boundary of the State. The
previous latest recorded date for the l&t killing frost In spring is April 15.
1907, for the southern section, and April 24, 1S93, for tlie northern portion
of the State. At Atlanta the lowest temperature heretofore recorded during
the last decade in April was 37"on April 21,1901; thc mininiuni this month,
however, was 31.9" on the morning of the 25th. I n the sout1iqentr:il por-
tion of the State the sky wa9 clear on the morning of the 2Gth and heavy
frost did much damage to gardem, to truck crops, eqwciallynielons. and I O
cotton; fruit was not injured. The weather remained cloudy and windy
in the northern half of the State, preventing frmt.-Wesky W RPP~,d s s i ~ 6 a n l
obserwr.
Florida.-The cold weather during the last decade of April was unusual,
and previouq recorda of low temperature at so late a date were broken at
many stations. Light t o heavy frost formed over northern counties on the
26th, and light frost in some central counties on the same date. The teni-
perature waa about freezing on the morning of the 26th in portions of es-
treme northern counties. The damage to c r o p wassniall.-W. A. hlifclrell,
Sedion Director.
Alabama.-Throughout this section the minimum temperatures rangcd
very low from the 24th t o the 26th. On the 35th freezing weather occurred
over much the larger portion of the State, extending as fsr southenst'aq the
Florida boundary line. The 26th was also very cold, many plncw in differ-
ent parts of the State reporting freezing temperatures. Lower tenipera-
tures have occurred previously in April, but at many places thc niininia
on the 25th and 26th were the lowest on record for the third decade in April.
At Montgomery the previous lowest temperature registered during tlir last,
decade waa 41' on April 22,1901, this month the record was 34' on the 25th.
Considerable damage was done to crops, in some cases nccmitating r e
planting.-P. H. Sniylh, Sedwn Director
M k i m i p p i area.-The tem erature was much below the nornirtl during
practically the entire latter hag of the month. The culmination of the cold
spell came on the 25th, when a damaging freeze covered almost thr rntirc
State, exclusive of the countim along the Gulf. This is without parallel in
the recorda of the Weather Bureau so late in the waqon. Fortunately tliv
damage was lessened b y cloudy weather which prevented the forniat ion of
frost. However, on the following d a y liez~vyfrost formed over this nortlicrn
half of the State and light frost extended to the coast.-Jnnies H. A'colt
The lowest temperatures for the month in each State were:
Virginia, 28" a t Hot Springs and Saxe; North Carolina, 25" a t
Settle; South Carolina, 32" a t Aiken; Georgia, 29" a t Diamond
and LaFayette; Florida, 31' a t Fenholloway; Alabama, 26" a t
Madison; and Mississippi area, 29" a t Hazlehurst. Warmer
weather set in rapidly at the close of April, especially in the
northern portion of the district, and the temperature again rose
above 90" on the 30th in North Carolina and Virginia.
PRECIPITATION.
Probably the most unique feature of the weather for the
month was the snowstorm on the early niorning of April 25,
1910. Snow is an extremely rare occurrence in any of the Gulf
States eveu in March and there is no authentic record of a fall
of snow in April as far south as the 32d parallel. The snow-
storm of April 25, 1910, was most intense in northern Georgia
ancl, where the snow did not melt where it fell, the ground was
covered to a depth of from 1 to 4 inches. The largest amounts
in northern Georgia were Diamond, 4.0 inches; Ramsey, 3.0;
Lost Mountain, 2.5; La Fayette, 2.5; and Atlanta, 1.5 inches.
Traces of snow fell as far south as Lumpkin and Americus, Ga.
Light snow \vas quite general also in Alabama and extended into
the southern portion. The largest amount was 1.5 inch at
Tuscaloosa. The largest amount in the Mississippi area waa
0.2 inch a t Louisville. It has been mentioned that a trace of
snow fell a t Pensacola, Fla., latitude 30" 25' north. At many
places the precipitation on the niorning of the 25th took the
form of sleet
| Downloaded 04/24/22 09:11 PM UTC
To see the entire summary, that didn't copy perfect on the last page, along with more stats, go here:
Thanks, Mike, for the additional info about this amazingly freak SE snowstorm from 112 years ago today!
YW but YOU are the one to thank the most by finding this amazing freak event.
It's fun to imagine what the reaction was back in those days(not the part where they had to replant crops), knowing there were no forecast models and the people surely had NO CLUE this could happen until..........it was actually happening.
Or like The Great Tri-State tornado.
People realized it was a threat.......when they saw the actual tornado coming or when it was obliterating the building they were inside.
NOAA/NWS 1925 Tri-State Tornado Web Site--1925: Now vs. Then
https://www.weather.gov/pah/1925Tornado_nvt
Just another example of why we live in the most wonderful time in human history.......by an extraordinarily wide margin!
However, there are other problems in society.
Tornadoes vs drug over dose and suicide deaths
Started by metmike - April 21, 2022, 11:26 p.m.
I have a copy of the microfiched Atlanta newspaper somewhere that has the forecast. It had only a chance of rain and not nearly as cold as happened. If I get time, I’ll try to post some exact quotes later.
That would be great to see and makes sense.
With widespread real time upper level data and weather models still decades away a system like this would have been impossible to forecast.
From ATL newspapers:
- Weather Bureau forecast for GA, AL. SC, and NC: showers and cooler coming in from Midwest, where it was 16 at Duluth (coldest since March 9) and a record low and coldest so late in the season of 26 at Chicago for lows on April 23rd with snow at both. Forecasted low near 41 at Atlanta. The HIGH ended up only at 39.
- But for TN, they predicted "rain or snow" for central and western TN
- WV: rain or snow east portion.
- GA cotton crop "badly damaged"
- Snow fell in Montgomery, AL, and Columbus, GA
- Chattanooga had a "blizzard" of 4.1" from 10+ hours of snow. This remains their heaviest snow on record in April and 17 days later than their next latest measurable snow! Like ATL. they had a high/low of 39/32.
- Atlanta latest 32 on record, which still stands.
- Some blamed Halley's Comet for this craziness.
- Atlanta Journal afternoon paper headline: "Fruit and Crops Injured by Ice, Snow and Frost"; "Northern TN, GA, and AL Are Swept by Blizzard-like Gale That Kills and Injures Vegetables"; "N GA TOWNS REPORT DEEP SNOWS"; "Frost Wreaked Damage Where Sections Escaped from Snow and Ice- Truck Farms and Gardens Severely Damaged"
Great stuff Larry.
I also read about Halley's comet coming at that time........and the panic that it caused for some people:
This has turned into REALLY great stuff!
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/national/halleys-comet-and-the-panic-of-1910/
When Comet Halley approached Earth in 1910, with the use of a scientific process called spectroscopy French astronomer Camille Flammarion detected cyanide gas in its tail that incited real panic. Flammarion was quoted as saying the gas could “impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet.” His theory got very little support in the scientific world, but it was published in the New York Times.
Panic ensued. People were buying gas masks, sealing up their homes, and preparing for the end of the world. Scammers took advantage of the mass hysteria and began selling sugar pills marketed as “anti-comet pills.”
The comet came and went without incident, save for the death of King Edward VII which only those still holding onto the old superstitions linked to the comet.
It has made one more visit since then, this time in 1986 and scientists were prepared with new technology which allowed the release of unmanned space probes to fly by the comet, sending back images and providing the closest look at the comet to date.
Halley’s Comet last appeared in 1986. Next appearance will be July 28th 2061.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/halleys-comet-1910
The French scientist Camille Flammarion warned that Earth would pass through the comet’s tail. According to Flammarion, there was a chance that “cyanogen gas would impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet.”
A 1907 Kentucky paper wondered if the comet would smash into the Earth.
“Cyanogen is a very deadly poison,” the New York Times helpfully pointed out. “A grain of its potassium salt touched to the tongue [is] sufficient to cause instant death.”
Flammarion’s warning set off a panic that swept the globe.
The Ogden Standard warned of “Coming End of World,” followed by Flamillion’s warning that “Halley’s Comet May Snuff Out Life on the Earth.”
The San Francisco Call reported, “Comet May Kill All Earth Life Says Scientist.” The paper put its hope for the survival of the species on the fact that “most astronomers do not agree with Flammarion,” noting, “the tail of the comet is of almost inconceivable rarification.” In short, the cyanogen gas was too dispersed to impregnate the entire atmosphere.
The scientific debate didn’t stop less scrupulous people from taking advantage of the situation. Suddenly, anti-comet pills flooded the market. One promised to serve as “an elixir for escaping the wrath of the heavens.”
Gas masks became best-sellers and some even bought up “comet-protecting umbrellas.”
The situation grew so bad that police arrested two Texans for selling sugar pills as comet remedies. Yet demand for comet cures was so high that police reluctantly released the snake-oil salesmen.
What effect would the comet have? A letter to the Royal Observatory worried whether the comet could “cause the Pacific to change basins with the Atlantic, and the primeval forests of North and South America to be swept by the briny avalanche over the sandy plains of the great Sahara, tumbling over and over with houses, ships, sharks, whales, and all sorts of living things in one heterogeneous mass of chaotic confusion.”
Chaotic confusion was the order of the day as the Halley’s Comet approached in 1910.
THE CONCLUSION ON THE NEXT PAGE
On April 20, 1910, people first spotted Halley’s Comet approaching Earth. Would the comet destroy life? Would it portend a change in royal power, as Bede had predicted? Earth waited with bated breath.
On May 6, 1910, with the comet bright in the sky, England’s King Edward VII died in his bed. Had the comet claimed its first victim?
Halley’s Comet would travel closest to Earth on May 18, 1910. Worried people looked to the skies and counted down their last days. Some women even stuffed cloth in their door frames to block the deadly cyanogen gas.
Keppler & Schwarzmann/Library of CongressPuck Magazine portrayed the comet as a “Heavenly Porter” sweeping over the Earth (holding a comet-proof umbrella).
“Terror occasioned by the near approach of Halley’s comet had seized hold of a large part of the population of Chicago,” the New York Times reported on May 18.
And New York wasn’t immune. “Some of the more superstitious in the sections largely inhabited by foreigners were on the verge of panic,” the paper related. “Many prayed on bended knees in the streets and parks.”
Across the Atlantic in France, crowds gathered to watch the world end. And yet the comet passed by without snuffing out life. Earth had escaped the comet’s wrath.
Flammarion refused to admit defeat, however. The scientist proclaimed that several observers “had certain olfactory experiences, which are described variously as a smell of burning vegetables, or a marsh, or of acetylene.”
It’s easy to look back at the 1910 Halley’s Comet panic and dismiss the fears as superstitious. Yet unlike earlier comet panics, the 1910 panic was backed by science.
With Flammarion warning about cyanogen gas suffocating life on Earth, it’s no surprise many ran out to buy gas masks.
Edward Emerson Barnard/Wikimedia CommonsA photograph of Halley’s Comet taken May 29, 1910.
And 1910 wasn’t the last time people panicked about a comet. When the Hale-Bopp comet reached Earth in 1997, members of the Heaven’s Gate cult committed mass suicide to ascend to an alien spacecraft they believed was hidden behind the comet.
When the comet NEOWISE appeared in March 2020, conspiracy theorists blamed the COVID-19 pandemic on the comet.
What will Halley’s Comet bring when it next circles past the Earth in 2062? Only time will tell.
So it's no surprise they blamed this unprecedented snowstorm and freeze in late April on Halley's Comet!
Of course it was the natural variation of the weather and climate that caused it and I will contend that the very long lived, strong at times La Nina was a huge factor.
This is also the current weather pattern(long lived La Nina) that has caused the long lived drought out West to the Plains, with absolute confidence and a factor with the recent cold east of that(moderate confidence).
Graphs below were used because they visually depict past events so well for readers here but are not updated with recent years.
https://psl.noaa.gov/enso/mei.ext/
 |
https://psl.noaa.gov/enso/mei.ext/
Here's the latest on our long lived La Nina:
I'm avoiding turning this into a climate change discussion but just want to use this link to show where the PDO and AMO were in 1910:
PDO BELOW
http://appinsys.com/globalwarming/SixtyYearCycle.htm
Global Temperature below
Also, fwiw keep in mind that 1910 was during the quietest sunspot cycle since the Dalton Minimum of the early 1800s. Actually, that one and the prior two prior cycles were weak.
Thanks Larry,
Excellent. I forgot about that one:
https://www.netzerowatch.com/solar-activity-and-the-next-maunder-minimum/
Larry, I was making a weather post on a site called "I grew up in Evansville" earlier and bumped into my last post there from last year and it included the link below in which I very much neglected your comment on the snow event that got so much attention this time!
Evansville IN snowfall record
11 responses |
Started by metmike - April 21, 2021, 12:28 p.m.
