The Year Without a Summer

I was a little surprised this morning to see a trough of such depth pushing down into Northern California. It’s no wonder the onshore flow has been in full force , with temperatures running below normal. My best guess is that we’re going to come away from this summer being below normal. I’ve already seen some indications that other parts of the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing cooler than normal weather including Anchorage, Alaska. Is this another year without a summer like in 1816 – Not hardly.

The year without a summer was actually caused by the major eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. The resulting volcanic ash cloud encircled the globe, plunging the planet into a prolonged cold period. The summer of 1816 saw widespread crop failures, freezing temperatures in July and abnormally rainy weather. The weather forced Mary Shelley and her friends to stay indoors, so they decided to have a contest to write the scariest story. Frankenstein was born out of Shelley’s imagination that dark, rainy and cold summer.

We’re along way from 1816 and in fact the weather’s been downright lovely. I hope you have a great day.