Extreme weather - not a modern phonomena
If you like a good grumble about the weather, it has been a great year for you with the extremes of hot and cold we have endured.
A look back at the history of Long Sutton and the surrounding area though shows that there have been many freak years over the centuries, but also that, in general, the winters have got warmer.
Rarely these days do we see the amount of snow or ice that we experienced this year and the relatively regular opportunity to skate on frozen ponds, rivers and ditches in the past is now a distant memory. Gone are the nostalgic days of ice on the inside of your bedroom window pane!
The History of Long Sutton has a number of references to severe winter weather (and the odd drought).
‘In 1614, heavy snowfalls, followed by vast flooding. In October 1859, there were thunderstorms and sharp frosts, which damaged the mangold (beet) crop. There was skating on Common Pit in Long Sutton on October 16.
January 12 1881 saw a heavy fall of snow, and on the 16th, a gale caused drifting to a height of 6ft, blocking the railway and interrupting telegraph services. January 22 1897 was one of the stormiest days experienced for years. About noon, the wind rose to a gale and so thickly did snow fall that it was impossible to see across the road. In 10 minutes, three or four inches fell, but because of the gale it drifted, completely blocking the railway tracks at several places.
August 1911 was a month of unrelenting sunshine and drought, which raised the dust, damaged meadows, and bathed the countryside in heat hazes.’
Some readers will remember…’ the terrible winter of 1947 when the district was held in the grip of ice (with) huge quantities of snow for weeks on end.
Other than the daily struggle to keep the main roads open - a battle waged for much of the time by volunteers and local farmers and their tractors - there was also the vital need to maintain household food and coal deliveries, there being few other forms of heating.
Cleared snow was piled above head high on the sides of some roads, so that they were like white tunnels; there were constant power cuts and many events were cancelled because travel and communication was difficult if not impossible. Despite this, the schools tried to keep open, and bus companies worked hard to keep the buses running. ‘
There have been many references this year to the heatwave and drought of 1976, but what is remembered less about that year was a violent storm with winds of up to 114mph and a tidal surge which swept down the North Sea in January uprooting millions of trees, devastating glasshouses, causing a great deal of flooding and resulting in 1.5 million insurance claims. Some 26 people died across the UK.
The scientists tell us extreme weather events are likely to get more frequent, but looking back, some of the events are just as extreme.
