The cold year of 1855

[Weather-history]

Looking back at 1855, a cold year with an annual CET of 8.02

Jan: 2.4 (-0.2)

Feb: -1.7 (-5.6)

Mar: 3.3 (-2.2)

Apr: 7.1 (-0.9)

May: 8.8 (-2.

Jun: 13.3 (-1.4)

Jul: 16.8 (+0.7)

Aug: 15.7 (+0.4)

Sep: 13.2 (+0.2)

Oct: 9.7 (0.0)

Nov: 5.3 (-1.0)

Dec: 2.4 (-2.1)

February: 3rd coldest ever recorded: 6th-23rd Feb 1855: -3.71

May: 4th coldest ever recorded despite a warm spell from the 24th to 27th. Take out that warm spell and the rest of the month just average 7.9C

1855: 17th coldest year ever recorded

Spring 1855: 12th coldest ever recorded

The first 5 months of 1855 are the 4th coldest ever recorded with a CET mean of 3.98

Winter 1854-55 is the 9th driest winter ever recorded, January the 4th driest on record

July and October were particularly wet

1855 is the 17th driest year on record on the back of 1854 which is the 4th driest year on record

Edited October 30, 2006 by Mr_Data

[Weather-history]

Some diary accounts of 1855

Father Ryan of Carn, Ireland

1855: The frost commenced on the 5th of January and continued increasing in intensity until a party of twenty persons crossed upon the Ice from Dreenan (a townland on Boa Island in Lower Lough Erne) onto Muckross Point. (About three miles west from Pettigo towards Belleek)

On the 17th of February at Pettigo the snow fell to cover the ground about six inches.

On the 22nd 23rd a Very warm and genial sun. The snow still covering the ground. N. Ryan

Great Snow on the 24th of February 1855.

On the 26th thaw.

On the 5th of March no spade or plough can enter the ground more than three inches. The frost under that depth is fully twelve inches; no field labour anywhere March [1st] 1855

March 7th Frost so hard that a spade can not enter the ground in the rear of my house Dated as above 1855.

March 14th The frost still in the mountains impenetrable to spade or plough.

April 23rd Potatoes planted. Turf cut on May 10th

May 3rd A great fall of snow and on this date no appearance of grass and the bushes and trees I may say without leaves. May 10th 1855

Sept. 1st 1855: After high winds and heavy rain for a week preceding, the weather has become fine 3rd a very hot day Potatoes doing well. The corn shorn It has been the calmest summer I have ever completed? at L(ough) Derg and it has been my 29th completed on that celebrated spot. (Everyone remembers the number of times they have completed the arduous Lough Derg Pilgrimage)

October 11th After a long continuation of the finest weather for handing corn sheaves this day has set in with heavy rain, the only wet day the 7th of August. N Ryan A fine crop of potatoes scarcely any affected by blight

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~m...sc/fthrryan.htm

Diary of Charles Tiplady Jan. 21. About this time a very severe frost commenced, and continued without intermission until the 20th February. All the large rivers in the Kingdom - Thames, Sever, Mersey, Exe, Dee, Ribble, &c. - were frozen over. Great distress in Liverpool, and bread-riots.

Feb. 18. Sunday. A sort of Fair was held on Rishton Reservoir; from 8,000 to 10,000 people visited it, the ice was two feet thick.

Feb. 22. Frost continues in unabated rigour.

Feb. 23. Yesterday the cold was intense; about 3 p.m, the wind veered to the south-east, and at 6 o'clock snow began to fall, and continued falling during the night.

Feb. 24-25. Thaw thoroughly set in, and lasted until March 1st.

Feb. 27. Went to London on the Gas Question. 28th, Appeared before Lord Redesdale in Committee; did pretty well; saw ice on the Thames.

May. 4. This year, up to this date, we cannot have had less than one hundred nights of severe frost.

May. 31. Dreadfully cold winds, winterly and wet.

http://www.cottontown.org/page.cfm?languag...amp;pageID=1877

[MAF]

Ice on the Thames!! i would love to see that. and 2 feet thick ice on Rishton Reservoir.now thats cold.

Thanks for that Mr D as ever fascinating facts on our weather history

[Somerset Squall]

A very interesting account.

[Weather-history]

One side note, February 1855 is when the famous Devil's footprints mysteriously appeared in snow in south Devon.

http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/fortean/devils_foot.html

[Hiya]

Another cold winter, another war.

Something fishy there, I'll get to the bottom of it one day!

[Weather-history]

Guardian/Observer reports from February 1855

7th 

10th 

14th

17th

21st

24th

25th 

 

28th

Mar 3rd

[BruenSryan]

Feb 1855 is the 5th coldest month on record at the long-standing Phoenix Park station in Dublin. 

Jan 1881 -0.5C

Dec 1878 -0.1C

Feb 1895 0.1C

Dec 2010 0.1C

Feb 1855 0.2C

[Summer8906]

On 30/10/2006 at 08:43, Weather-history said:

Looking back at 1855, a cold year with an annual CET of 8.02

Jan: 2.4 (-0.2)

Feb: -1.7 (-5.6)

Mar: 3.3 (-2.2)

Apr: 7.1 (-0.9)

May: 8.8 (-2. https%3A%2F%2Ff1.nwstatic.co.uk%2Fforum%2Fuploads%2Femoticons%2Fdefault_doh.gif

Jun: 13.3 (-1.4)

Jul: 16.8 (+0.7)

Aug: 15.7 (+0.4)

Sep: 13.2 (+0.2)

Oct: 9.7 (0.0)

Nov: 5.3 (-1.0)

Dec: 2.4 (-2.1)

February: 3rd coldest ever recorded: 6th-23rd Feb 1855: -3.71

May: 4th coldest ever recorded despite a warm spell from the 24th to 27th. Take out that warm spell and the rest of the month just average 7.9C

1855: 17th coldest year ever recorded

Spring 1855: 12th coldest ever recorded

The first 5 months of 1855 are the 4th coldest ever recorded with a CET mean of 3.98

Winter 1854-55 is the 9th driest winter ever recorded, January the 4th driest on record

July and October were particularly wet

1855 is the 17th driest year on record on the back of 1854 which is the 4th driest year on record

So my initial thoughts of "mid summer looked OK" was not the case. I'd suspect the July CET was due to warm, muggy nights with not especially warm days: in fact fairly typical for a post-2007 summer month!

The winter proper looked interesting though.