It’s hard to imagine a time where summer never arrives, but in 1816 the weather all over the world was affected by a natural catastrophic event and many people perished. A sudden drop in temperatures caused crazy weather patterns and massive food shortages. Sometimes this year in history is called “Eighteen Hundred and Nearly Frozen To Death.” Connecticut’s year without summer was devastating to its residents. Let’s take a look at the story behind this unforgettable time.
Connecticut's year without summer was plagued by snow, ice, famine, suicide, and more. It was a bleak time that seemed to be never-ending.
We know now that the strange weather was in part caused by one of the greatest volcanic eruptions in history. Mt. Tambora in Indonesia erupted on April 9, 1815.
The massive amounts of volcanic ash were propelled into the upper atmosphere. The ash was then dispersed by the jet stream all over the world. The dust choked the sun's ability to warm the Earth.
In Connecticut, there were ice storms, hail, sleet, and snow as late as July of that year. The temperatures fluctuated up to 30-40 degrees in a single day.
Some positive came from the winter without a summer. The lack of oats to feed horses was a likely inspiration for Karl Drais in Germany to seek new modes of transportation. He invented the draisine which was an early predecessor to the bicycle.
Author, Mary Shelly was forced to spend her vacation in Switzerland indoors. She and other literary friends created a contest to see who could pen the most frightening story and this led to her writing the novel, Frankenstein.
