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Gunner
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER



SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER



It has been 105 years since the last great winter.



If we had to start a list of what would you do to prepare for the next "100
YEAR WINTER", name the first ten preparations. The paragraphs below are
excerpts from historical articles about the winter of 1898-1899. The
historical museum in Colorado stated that it snowed for the 30 days of the
month of Dec 1898 and the wind blew for the next 60 days. Log cabins were
covered up. Many died in their cabin, unable to get out. Dead cattle were
found in the spring 40' up in the forks of cotton wood trees.





-------------HISTORICAL PARAGRAPHS---------------

A nearly hurricane-strength gale, the most devastating seen in the Northeast
in 50 years, wiped out all the boats on Nov. 27, 1898, that were moored in
Vineyard Haven harbor -- 21 schooners, 40 boats in all.



February 1899: The Great Arctic Outbreak of '99 and the Great Eastern
Blizzard of '99 occurred this month. A snowstorm struck the Washington area
on February 8 dumping 14 inches of snow. Extreme cold settled in behind the
storm. Quantico recorded a record low of -20° F and Washington, DC
recorded -15° F. The blizzard struck on Valentine's Day dropping 21 inches
in Washington and Baltimore. Winds drove the snow into 10 foot drifts. These
blocked transportation lines into the city causing a major coal shortage
that resulted in rationing. Food was also rationed, though not as severely
as the coal. The storm had given Washington a snow depth of 34 inches
(almost 3 feet) and the city recorded its greatest monthly snow total with
35.2 inches. Its greatest seasonal snowfall total was reached that season
with 54.4 inches. Warrenton recorded 54 inches (four and a half feet) just
during the month of February, setting a state record for monthly snowfall.
That winter (1898-1899) was so cold over a large part of the US that ice
flowed from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico! The only other
time that this has been seen was on February 13, 1784, when ice flows
blocked the Mississippi River at New Orleans and then passed into the Gulf
of Mexico.



At Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada, the Arctic high pressure reached
31.42 inches on the barometer, Batty said, the highest ever recorded up to
that time.



From a sparse network of reporting stations, the coldest temperature
measured was 61 degrees below zero in Logan, Mont.



1899 - Old-Timers remember the winter of 1898-99. By March 21, 1899 the 22nd
snow of the season fell



The winter of 1898-1899 brought an epidemic of grippe - a type of flu - to
the city



The unusually severe winter of 1898-99 killed off probably half of the
alfalfa in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and many fields in the central
prairie states to the eastward were badly damaged



LOTS of info about the Portland and others in the 1898 storm that took more

than 500 lives (191 on the Portland alone) and wrecked a score of ships on

Cape Cod, and over 150 other ships on the Eastern seaboard, more than any

other storm in history Twenty-two vessels were driven ashore in Vineyard

Haven, Martha?Ts Vineyard. Most were damaged beyond repair.



The 1899 storm was good for around 45 inches of snow a bit to the southwest
of our Nation's Capital



Feb. 10, 1999 -An Arctic blast froze two-thirds of the nation, setting cold
temperature records that still stand today. A blizzard paralyzed the Eastern
Seaboard and for only the second time in recorded history, the Mississippi
River brought ice to the Gulf of Mexico.



Old City Hall has truly withstood the test of time," Gov. Ridge said. "Local
historians say the building's opening was postponed due to a citywide flu
epidemic in the winter of 1898



It was one of the two greatest eruptions in historic

times, the other being the Greek island Thera. Thera had the biggest bag

and threw 85 cubic miles of ejecta and Kracatoa had a slightly less

forceful pop but threw 100 cubic miles of ejecta. This produced the cold

winter of 1898. Archaeologists note it as a mini ice age as it is the

only time glaciers have advanced (grown rather) since prehistoric times.



This graveyard was one of the first places I visited when I arrived in
Dawson. Many of the wooden crosses and plaques date back to the terrible
winter of 1898, when so many met their deaths through starvation and disease
(and a few murders, as I recall).



A 600 foot snowshed was later extended to 997 feet with doors on the
Breckenridge end to keep out drifting snows. In 1898 a depot was built onto
the snowshed for the comfort of boarding passengers. Boreas Station had a
post office from January 2, 1896 to January 31, 1906, reported to be the
highest in the country.

All these amenities failed to foil Boreas winters. Elevation at the top of
the Pass is 11,481 feet. Winds are constant, strong and icy. Snow is
unending. The winter of 1898-99 was particularly severe. Snows began early;
by November, trains and tracks were under ten feet of snow. Clearing the
tracks, always costly and time-consuming became impossible and no train ran
between February 6 and April 24, 1899.



"M. F. Post and Francis E. Warren brought in about 15,000 head of cattle in
1882 from the eastern part of the state and located The Spur Ranch. All the
small herds owned by the settlers were sold to Post and Warren so they
controlled the cattle industry in the Green River Valley. The Spur Ranch
employed about 20 cowboys - for the summer roundup men came from miles
around - Bear Valley, Fort Bridger - to ride for strays. The cook for the
Spur Outfit would have as many as 40 men to cook for - a man named Wm.
Wilson nid called "Old Tug.' Following the winter of the deep snow and cold,
1889, all that were rounded up of the 15,000 head of cattle were 800 head."



The following winter was a long cold winter. This was the winter of 1899.
The children were sick with colds, and I don't suppose they had much to
doctor them with, and doubt if there was a doctor they could get. On the
15th of March, 1899 Arthur was very ill with pneumonia, and died. Father
made the little casket for him. I am sure it was almost more then they
could bear to have this little fellow die. He was only around 13 months
old. It was very cold. The LDS people were so good to father and mother,
and came in and helped them. They held only a graveside service. Mother
couldn't go because Walter was very ill. Then four days later, Walter died
on March 19, 1899

---------------------------------

PREPARATION

1. STRUCTURAL - Be prepared and equipped to keep snow off the roof and away
from the sidewalls of your home. Don't paint yourself into a corner with
the snow. Have a plan where to put it.

2. POWERLESS LIVING - Be prepared to deal with the impact of not having
power for several weeks. Make a list of the impact of 20 below without
power.

3.

4.


"No man shall be debarred the use of arms.
The laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm those only who are neither
inclined nor determined to commit crimes.
Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants.
They ought to be designated as laws not preventative but fearful of crimes,
produced by the tumultuous impression of a few isolated facts, and not by
thoughtful consideration of the inconveniences and advantages of a universal decree."
- Thomas Jefferson
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Karl Townsend
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

I'd be curious what Minnesota had that year. All the snow fall numbers and
temperatures sound pretty typical events for the north county.

I got a video somewhere of me running a good size snowblower on the barn
roof, no sidewalls on the barn, the snow was that high. Keeping my driveway
open that year was a piece of cake though. I've got a two stage blower that
goes on a 60+ horse tractor. We did get our township declared a federal
disaster area that year because of all the snow removal costs. We had one
township road with a 16 foot snowdrift clear across it. Had to get the
payloaders out every time the wind blew.

As to temperatures, 20 below ain't worth mentioning up here. Now I do
remember the 40 below days. I've only seen 50 below once and I had to get my
car, left outside, running. My nose kept freezing shut, I don't know what
they do in Alaska to solve this problem.

Karl




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XPRTEC
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

Big snip.......

I've only seen 50 below once and I had to get mycar, left outside, running. My

nose kept freezing shut, I don't know what they do in Alaska to solve this
problem.

Karl
-------------------
Well Karl I lived next door to a Military man stationed in Alaska for 4 years
and he said they did several things to their cars in the winter.

They use dipstick oil heaters and lights mounted to a board to slide under the
engine to heat the oil pan when it wasn't too cold out. When it got colder,
they usually set the idle a little higher and left the engine run all the time!
The usually drilled a hole in the carburetor cover while off the car, and
stuck duct tape over the hole. When they went to start car, they would get
engine turning over while somebody else shot starting fluid down the hole. The
they taped it back up.

In lower Michigan in 1978, we had a doozy of a snowstorm and 80 mph winds. My
wife got me out'a bed to help her open the kitchen door which was two concrete
steps higher off the ground.

I pulled the curtain back to see only a little hole throught the snow on the
window! I yelled for her to call the Police somebody had stolen our two cars!
When I tried to open the door it wouldn't budge. My garage wasnt connected to
house so there was an opening that the wind blew through about 7 feet of snow.
The cars were under that snow!!

An interestesting aside they didn't plow our road for nearly a week.
Snowmobilers got out and brought back milk and other things for my wife which
was very pregnant at the time.. An interesting thing happened.... as we could
look out our back windows and see the snowplows with V blades being pushed at
HIGH speed by big military vehicles to clear the snow which in drifts was very
high. Well you can imagine, cars under the snow that ran out of gas when they
got stuck luckily were abandoned, and the V shaped snow plow and pusher truck
just split the car into two!!!! Nobody was hurt, but it prompted the road
crews to change to huge truck mounted snow blowers and wait till the winds died
down. They then went went through after somebody led them and put bright
flags to designate cars covered with snow!
Worse snow storm I was ever in.
Jim
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Tony Hursh
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 10:50:49 +0000, Karl Townsend wrote:

My nose kept freezing shut, I don't know what
they do in Alaska to solve this problem.


Someone else mentioned dipstick heaters. Many Alaskans also have so-called
"headbolt heaters" that are basically heated water pumps that you splice
into your engine coolant system. You just plug in your car when you park
it. Most homes and businesses have electric outlets next to the parking
area specifically for this purpose.

Up on the North Slope, the oil companies typically leave trucks and
equipment running 7/24 in the winter.

-- Tony (former Alaskan, currently living in the subtropical regions of
Illinois :-)


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Carl Byrns
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 10:50:49 GMT, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:

I'd be curious what Minnesota had that year. All the snow fall numbers and
temperatures sound pretty typical events for the north county.

I got a video somewhere of me running a good size snowblower on the barn
roof, no sidewalls on the barn, the snow was that high. Keeping my driveway
open that year was a piece of cake though. I've got a two stage blower that
goes on a 60+ horse tractor. We did get our township declared a federal
disaster area that year because of all the snow removal costs. We had one
township road with a 16 foot snowdrift clear across it. Had to get the
payloaders out every time the wind blew.

As to temperatures, 20 below ain't worth mentioning up here. Now I do
remember the 40 below days. I've only seen 50 below once and I had to get my
car, left outside, running. My nose kept freezing shut, I don't know what
they do in Alaska to solve this problem.

Karl


I live in Central New York and a guy I used to work with has a picture
of himself standing in front of his one-story house after a heavy
snowfall. Except it's a two story house- he and his wife had to crawl
out a second story window.

I was in Minnesota in the fall once and remember that -20 was no big
deal.

Methinks some survivalists are creampuffs (no offense to Gunner).

-Carl





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Gunner
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 19:47:51 GMT, Carl Byrns
wrote:

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 10:50:49 GMT, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:

I'd be curious what Minnesota had that year. All the snow fall numbers and
temperatures sound pretty typical events for the north county.

I got a video somewhere of me running a good size snowblower on the barn
roof, no sidewalls on the barn, the snow was that high. Keeping my driveway
open that year was a piece of cake though. I've got a two stage blower that
goes on a 60+ horse tractor. We did get our township declared a federal
disaster area that year because of all the snow removal costs. We had one
township road with a 16 foot snowdrift clear across it. Had to get the
payloaders out every time the wind blew.

As to temperatures, 20 below ain't worth mentioning up here. Now I do
remember the 40 below days. I've only seen 50 below once and I had to get my
car, left outside, running. My nose kept freezing shut, I don't know what
they do in Alaska to solve this problem.

Karl


I live in Central New York and a guy I used to work with has a picture
of himself standing in front of his one-story house after a heavy
snowfall. Except it's a two story house- he and his wife had to crawl
out a second story window.

I was in Minnesota in the fall once and remember that -20 was no big
deal.

Methinks some survivalists are creampuffs (no offense to Gunner).

-Carl


Chuckle..I grew up in Northern Michigan..way up on Lake Superior...I
know a bit about snow. One of the first pictures of me, is of a tiny
version of me all swaddled up, held in my mothers arms as she sits on
the peak of the house ( 2 1/2 story)

I have regularly worked in -40F with a 40+ mph wind. (its a LOT of fun
replacing a blown carrier bearing on a F300 mounted drill rig when its
that cold....)

The article I posted is about what is called a Super Winter, one that
happens every hundred years or so..which we are over due for.
The evidence of them historically make the worst winter anyone of us
can remember..sorta balmy.

Gunner

No 220-pound thug can threaten the well-being or dignity of a 110-pound
woman who has two pounds of iron to even things out. Is that evil?
Is that wrong? People who object to weapons aren't abolishing violence,
they're begging for the rule of brute force, when the biggest, strongest
animals among men were always automatically "right". Guns end that,
and social democracy is a hollow farce without an armed populace to make
it work.
- L. Neil Smith
  #7   Report Post  
Carl Byrns
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

On Sat, 6 Dec 2003 16:51:28 -0800, "Ken Davey"
wrote:


Winter of '66 I had a rental on the west shore of the Lake of Two Mountains
just west of Montreal.
A blizzard came up overnight and huge drifts covered most of the local
roads.


Oh, yeah. I was just a kid, but I remember my dad tunnelling though
the snow to the street. Like something from 'Hogan's Heros'.
We lived across the street from the fire department which meant our
street was plowed early and often- the firemen delivered food to
trapped residents via snowmobile.
Took about a week to find our car in the snowdrifts.

-Carl
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Ken Davey
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

Carl Byrns wrote:
On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 10:50:49 GMT, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:

I'd be curious what Minnesota had that year. All the snow fall
numbers and temperatures sound pretty typical events for the north
county.

I got a video somewhere of me running a good size snowblower on the
barn roof, no sidewalls on the barn, the snow was that high. Keeping
my driveway open that year was a piece of cake though. I've got a
two stage blower that goes on a 60+ horse tractor. We did get our
township declared a federal disaster area that year because of all
the snow removal costs. We had one township road with a 16 foot
snowdrift clear across it. Had to get the payloaders out every time
the wind blew.

As to temperatures, 20 below ain't worth mentioning up here. Now I do
remember the 40 below days. I've only seen 50 below once and I had
to get my car, left outside, running. My nose kept freezing shut, I
don't know what they do in Alaska to solve this problem.

Karl


I live in Central New York and a guy I used to work with has a picture
of himself standing in front of his one-story house after a heavy
snowfall. Except it's a two story house- he and his wife had to crawl
out a second story window.

I was in Minnesota in the fall once and remember that -20 was no big
deal.

Methinks some survivalists are creampuffs (no offense to Gunner).

-Carl


Winter of '66 I had a rental on the west shore of the Lake of Two Mountains
just west of Montreal.
A blizzard came up overnight and huge drifts covered most of the local
roads. Where my car was parked there was no snow. Swept clear by the wind
off the lake. In front of the house - a big two and a half story structure,
a drift had formed that more or less exactly matched the height and lengh if
it. Finding that the ordinary snow removal equipment that the village
operated was less than effective they had hired the services of a huge
grader. The grader came down the road and when the operator saw the drift in
front of the house he stopped. Then, equipped with more confidence than
experience he backed up a hundred yards and took a run at it. The entire
machine just plain vanished! An hour and a half later, with the help of a
small cat and a tow truck it was extricated. The operator, now a humbled
man, allowed as how he thought he was going to die in that drift!
Ah; Winters past.
Ken.


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Joel Corwith
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER


I have regularly worked in -40F with a 40+ mph wind. (its a LOT of fun
replacing a blown carrier bearing on a F300 mounted drill rig when its
that cold....)


I replaced a car battery in July. It was 110 or 113 and I was in a
shadeless Checker asphalt parking lot and managed to drop a socket down into
the engine compartment. Somewhere near the exhaust manifold if I recall
correctly. Cold is for wimps,....

Joel. phx


The article I posted is about what is called a Super Winter, one that
happens every hundred years or so..which we are over due for.
The evidence of them historically make the worst winter anyone of us
can remember..sorta balmy.

Gunner



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Gunner
 
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Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

On Sun, 7 Dec 2003 09:42:24 -0700, "Joel Corwith"
wrote:


I have regularly worked in -40F with a 40+ mph wind. (its a LOT of fun
replacing a blown carrier bearing on a F300 mounted drill rig when its
that cold....)


I replaced a car battery in July. It was 110 or 113 and I was in a
shadeless Checker asphalt parking lot and managed to drop a socket down into
the engine compartment. Somewhere near the exhaust manifold if I recall
correctly. Cold is for wimps,....

Joel. phx


Is that like pulling the tranny on a pickup in the middle of an
asphalt parking lot, just outside of Bakersfield in late september,
and watching the jack stands sink into the blacktop?

Been there, done that...

Gunner



The article I posted is about what is called a Super Winter, one that
happens every hundred years or so..which we are over due for.
The evidence of them historically make the worst winter anyone of us
can remember..sorta balmy.

Gunner



No 220-pound thug can threaten the well-being or dignity of a 110-pound
woman who has two pounds of iron to even things out. Is that evil?
Is that wrong? People who object to weapons aren't abolishing violence,
they're begging for the rule of brute force, when the biggest, strongest
animals among men were always automatically "right". Guns end that,
and social democracy is a hollow farce without an armed populace to make
it work.
- L. Neil Smith
  #12   Report Post  
Gunner
 
Posts: n/a
Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

On Sun, 7 Dec 2003 17:03:30 -0600, Jim Kovar
wrote:

In article ,
says...
Chuckle..I grew up in Northern Michigan..way up on Lake Superior...I
know a bit about snow.


Where did you live up here? Maybe we know some of the same people.

Jim Kovar
Vulcan, Mi


Dad was raised in Houghton, Mom in Calumet. Still have lots of
relatives in Copper Harbor, Larium, L'anse etc. Granddad was the
Swift Meat distributor for much of the UP for 60 + yrs. I was raised
in Hancock until I was 9ish, then we went to the LP.

Dad worked as a watchmaker for a number of years when I was tiny,
then went to work for Thorton Construction (very old friends of the
family) an then we played Construction Gypsies for a few years,
finally settling in Grayling, where I graduated from highschool, and
Dad started his own Jewlery store and ran it for 30 odd years.

Wieber & Co and Wieber & Son was the meat distributorship..very wide
spread. Ive found old balogna knives with the family name and logo at
yard sales etc when back there.

Im told that Bishop Baraga held mass in Great great grandpas home on
more than one occasion. The house Dad was raised in, was torn down in
the 70s/80s when they widened the road through Tech in Hougton, but I
remember it was about 400 ft from the door of the Student Union. When
the 9 kids grew up (lots of Drs, Lawyers and politicians..Aunt Mary
Moffit was Mayor of Manistique for many years), and left the nest,
they rented out the upper floors to the professors at Tech. Which is
where I learned all manner of things, such as saber dueling, down in
the basement from the Techs fencing and German instructor..( I still
think he was an escaped Nazi...) A number of the kin folk became
Jesuit brothers and teachers as well.
My sister is a Soo Tech grad.

We used to rent the Copper Harbor Lighthouse after the automated
system went in and the whole family would spend the summer there.
Uncle on Moms side had something to do with the Coasties and Power
Squadrons..I dont recall much, though his son and daughter live and
work up there now..both nurses IIRC. Grandma had a chalet on La La
bell, which I think one of the cousins bought and expanded after she
married a French architect.

Vulcan..your almost a Cheese head eh? LOL. Nearly a flat lander G

Gunner

No 220-pound thug can threaten the well-being or dignity of a 110-pound
woman who has two pounds of iron to even things out. Is that evil?
Is that wrong? People who object to weapons aren't abolishing violence,
they're begging for the rule of brute force, when the biggest, strongest
animals among men were always automatically "right". Guns end that,
and social democracy is a hollow farce without an armed populace to make
it work.
- L. Neil Smith
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pyotr filipivich
 
Posts: n/a
Default SURVIVING THE 100 YEAR WINTER

A city wide blackout at Sat, 06 Dec 2003 10:50:49 GMT did not prevent "Karl
Townsend" from posting to
rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
I'd be curious what Minnesota had that year. All the snow fall numbers and
temperatures sound pretty typical events for the north county.

I got a video somewhere of me running a good size snowblower on the barn
roof, no sidewalls on the barn, the snow was that high. Keeping my driveway
open that year was a piece of cake though. I've got a two stage blower that
goes on a 60+ horse tractor. We did get our township declared a federal
disaster area that year because of all the snow removal costs. We had one
township road with a 16 foot snowdrift clear across it. Had to get the
payloaders out every time the wind blew.

As to temperatures, 20 below ain't worth mentioning up here. Now I do
remember the 40 below days. I've only seen 50 below once and I had to get my
car, left outside, running. My nose kept freezing shut, I don't know what
they do in Alaska to solve this problem.


I remember a song my father used to sing, about the Frozen Logger.

About how he left his lover (having kissed her so hard, he broke her jaw)
and forgot his Mac, wandering bravely homeward at 48 below. When it got to 100
below he merely buttoned up his vest.
What the hey, it was spring.



--
pyotr filipivich
We didn't have these sorts of problems when I was a boy,
back when snakes wore shoes and dirt was $2 a pound,
if you could find it. We had to make our own from rocks!
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