Weather Rambling — March 1880

It appeared to be an early spring.

“The present outlook is not favorable for a good maple sugaring season,” the Elizabethtown Post & Gazette reported on March 4, 1880.

“Sleighing has entirely disappeared, and, as a result, no ore is now carted to New Russia,” the Mineville correspondent reported.

But it was only a temporary warming trend.

“The mild weather is superseded by cold, bubbly roads in place of wind. The song of the robin is hushed and naught, but the singing of the nor’east wind is heard,” the Post & Gazette reported on March 11.

“A slight snowfall occurred on Friday last, owning principally to the efforts of the Bloomingdale weather prophet, he deeming it necessary for the promotion of the maple sugar interests.”

The snow continued.

“About four inches of snow fell in this locality on Tuesday,” the Post & Gazette reported on March 18. “Poets may sing of ‘the beautiful snow,’ but the tidy housekeeper won’t join in the sentiments at this season of the year. There is too much mud and sand picked up with snow by Number 10 boots which have been worn since last fall.”

It was still snowing at the end of the month.

“From four to six inches of snow fell in this locality the night of the 27th and morning of the 28th,” the Post & Gazette reported on April 1. “Sleighing was indulged in the 28th, but, of course, it was going to and from church. Some of the ‘meetings,’ however, were a long way out of the village.”

In other 19th century March weather news collected from historic newspapers of the region:

1853

“The Hudson River is open. The first boat from New York to Albany came through the 21st,” The Elizabethtown Post reported on March 25.

1861

“A furious storm raged here yesterday. Nearly a foot of snow fell, giving quite a wintry aspect,” The Fort Edward Ledger reported on March 22.

1882

“Last Saturday morning an attempt was made to force sleighing on the light snow which had fallen the previous evening,” the Ticonderoga Sentinel reported on March 17.

“Lake Champlain is free of ice from Whitehall to Cheever ore bed,” the Sentinel reported on March 24.

1891

“Twenty degrees below zero, the lowest in 1891, so far, was shown by the mercury here last night,” the Whitehall correspondent reported in The Granville Sentinel on March 6.

“The mercury registered eight degrees below zero Monday night,” the Shushan correspondent reported.”

It was not too cold for snow.

“Six inches of snow fell Wednesday and the sleighing is again first class,” the Sentinel reported. “Sunday night was one of the coldest of the season, the mercury ranging from 17 to 26 below zero in this section. And yet, a few days ago many were predicting green grass and robins.”

Those predictions did prove true, in time.

“Sleighing is a thing of the past. Robins and blue birds have put in an appearance here,” the Putnam correspondent reported in the Sentinel on March 20.

“Some of the farmers have started to plow,” the North Hebron correspondent reported.”

Mud replaced snow on the roads.

“Farmers report the frost all out of the ground,” the Sentinel reported. “The roads were in such condition Monday that slate teams could haul but three or four squares of what they usually draw, ten or fifteen.”

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