Could the Pacific Ring of Fire Have Caused New England’s Worst Winter?
The year was 1717. After heavy snowfall in December 1716, by the new year there were already 5 feet on the ground in Massachusetts. Then, during January, it did not stop. By February 6, it lay in drifts up to 25 feet deep in some places(1). All this happened before “the worst of winter came to roost.” Sidney Perley wrote this in his 1891 book Historic Storms of New England.
The “Great Snow” period began on February 18 and did not stop until the 22nd. Then it started snowing again on the 24th and cut off all communications between houses and farms. Boston shut down, and authorities canceled church meetings.
(2). This was an extremely rare occurrence in Puritan New England.
Yet it was still not over. More snow fell on March 1, 4, and 7. After those storms, there were at least 40 inches of snow in Boston and more than 70 inches inland. The depth of the snow ranged between 8 and 16 feet across northern Massachusetts after the final storm(3).These storms were devastating to farmers. Heavy snow killed many domestic and wild animals. Historians estimate that it wiped out nearly 90 percent of the deer population. Starving wild animals, like bears and wolves, staged nightly raids on domestic animals trapped in the heavy snow. Orchards and fruit crops suffered major damages.
In Newbury, Massachusetts, the storms separated newlyweds Abraham and Abigail Adam’s. Abigail was several miles away from her husband, staying with her parents. After the last storm, Abraham put on his snowshoes and trekked 3 miles to her second-story bedroom window. On November 25, nine months later, the Adams family welcomed a baby.
Many meteorologists believe there is a relationship between volcanic activity and heavy snow events. There were several volcanic eruptions just before the winter of 1716/1717. These are, Mount Kirishima in Japan, Kelud in Indonesia and Taal volcano in the Philippines. The addition of ash and other particles into the atmosphere would block some of the sun’s energy. Consequently, less energy would reach Earth. This contributed to the worst winter ever. Our planet was in a mini ice age from 1350 AD until 1850 AD. This also played a role.(4)
(1) Historic Storms of New England by Sidney Perley Page 24
(2) Mighty Storms of New England by Eric P. Fisher Page 35
(3) Mighty Storms of New England by Eric P. Fisher Page 35
(4) https://www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/the-effects-of-the-little-ice-age/
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