Thus far, we have had the wal'mest and most pleasant winter weather within the memory of man. The fields are green, the cattle browse in the meadows, the frogs croak in the swamps, and the farmers plow in the fields —it has been May, not common December and January weather. On the 9th of this month, 1856, the thermometer stood at 5 below zero, in New York; on the 24th, 1857, t was 14 below zero, and in some parts of the State it was 30 and 40. The lakes, rivers, and ground were deeply frozen at this period last year, and for weeks it was intensely cold. Weatherology is a puzzling science; yet meteorologists agree, in general, that the quantity of atmospheric heat in each year is the same; that is, when we have a cold summer, it is succeeded by a warm winter, making up the difference of temperature. There is one feature of the weather to which we llave paid some attention, namely, the winds. Our weather depends on these entirely, but they are due to some cause or causes not yet fully understood, so as to be reduced to a science. During the early part of last winter the prevailing winds were northwest, north, and northeast-by-north. These brought bitter cold weather, and heavy snows. This winter, on the contrary, soft western breezes haye fanned our cheeks, and southeast winds have brought plentiful showers, sometimes accompanied with thunder and lightning—most unusual phenomena in Jannary. Many persons affirm that warm, open winters are generally followed by sickly s;.rings and summers. We have no reliable facts to warrant us in placing undoubted reliance in such statements. We hope they will not prove true in respect to the succeeding seasons to tllis winter. A letter now before us, from E. H. Cocklin, Cedar Valley, Iowa, describes the beautiful weather they have had in that State. Similar information has been derived from all the eastern, northern and western sections of our country. With a very few exceptions, the temperature has been above the freezing point some part of every day.
This article was originally published with the title "The Warm Weather" in Scientific American 13, 20, 157 (January 1858)
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican01231858-157b