Weather rambling — Mother nature’s battlefield
Children build snow forts and tourism promoters design ice castles.
But it takes Mother Nature to turn downtown Glens Falls into a winter battle ground.
Twenty inches of snow fell on Glens Falls on Feb. 21, 1873, the heaviest snow fall so far that season.
“All day, from early morn, the vast cloud of snow came down, not in fistful gusts — now fast, now slow — but calmly, sedately, earnestly, as if each pearly drop had a secret, noiseless mission to perform,” The Glen’s Falls Republican reported on Feb. 25, 1873. “At night, when the army of shovelers ventured forth, Glen Street presented the appearance of a well-fortified battle ground with its long line of breast works rising nearly neck high.”
In 1876, there was concern that there might not be an ice harvest on the Hudson River if temperatures stayed unseasonably warm.
“The prospects for a full crop are poor,” The Glen’s Falls Republican reported Jan. 25, 1876. “The season for starting ice generally commences about the end of December and ends when the houses are filled early in February,” yet had not even begun.
Freezing temperatures and snow did come.
“Six inches of ‘beautiful snow’ received a welcome greeting Wednesday morning (Feb. 2),” the Putnam correspondent reported in The Granville Sentinel on Feb. 4.
Lake Champlain froze completely Feb. 3, the latest since 1870, when it did not freeze over until Feb. 23.
“The mercury slipped right down to 16 degrees below zero Thursday morning,” The Glen’s Falls Republican reported on Feb. 8, 1876. “The previous night was one of the most intensely cold of the season.”
“The ice is good and is splendid for filling ice houses, of which advantage is being taken by several,” the Bolton correspondent to The Republican reported on Feb. 8.
“Several thousand tons of ice has been secured during the past week,” the Lake George correspondent reported on Feb. 22.
There was a brief thaw, at least in some communities, on Feb. 7.
“Last Sunday the sleighing was excellent and everybody appeared to be taking advantage of it,” The Granville Sentinel reported on Feb.11, 1876. “During the night it commenced to thaw and rain, and by Monday afternoon the beautiful snow had disappeared.”
It had been a consistently good winter for loggers, but it looked as if the season would be over soon, barring a change in weather, the Stony Creek correspondent reported in the Republican on Feb. 15.
“Twelve or fourteen inches of snow fell on the night of the 9th. Business is brisk and teams are in good demand at two-and-a-half and three dollars a day. Whatever is done must be done quickly in the shape of log drawing, unless we should be fortunate enough to get six weeks sleighing in March.”
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