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Frosts and Freezes

Frosts and Freezes in Mecklenburg County Before 1878

See also 

The entire list is available in chronological order and by day of the month, to make anniversaries easier to look up.

 

  • 1816, Year Without a Summer – The Charlotte Democrat (March 29, 1878, p.1, column 3) published an article about remarkable weather events and quoted a resident who remembered 1816, "the year without a summer." Frost and snow occurred well into the spring and early summer. The New England states and Midwest suffered the most that year. (The unseasonable cold in the United States that year was part of a global weather event: the eruption of Mt. Tambora in Indonesia spewed enough dust into the atmosphere to reduce the sunshine reaching Earth.)
  • April 3 and 4, 1875, April Freeze The Charlotte Democrat (April 19, 1875, p.3, column 3) reported a very heavy freeze on both nights and that the weather was intensely cold.
  • April 9, 1845, Late Frost Day - The Mecklenburg Jeffersonian (April 11, 1845, p.2, column 5) reported the "calamity" of a frost. "All tender vegetation was completely destroyed and many of the trees of the forest look as if they had been scotched by fire." Ice an inch thick resulted in "disastrous" consequences.
  • April 10, 1874, Late Frost dayThe Charlotte Democrat (April 14, 1874, p.3, column 3) mentioned that there was frost on April 10.
  • April 13, 1857, Late Frost Day – The North Carolina Whig (April 14, 1857) reported a late overight frost.
  • April, 15, 1858, Late Frost Day – The North Carolina Whig (April 20, 1858) reported “quite a frost” but had no reports of any damage.
  • April 19, 1876, Late Frost Day The Charlotte Democrat (April 24, 1876) Heavy frost mentioned.
  • April 20, 1848, Late Frost Day – Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that there was a frost on May 1. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017)
  • April 22, 1875, Late Frost Day – "The Late Cold Spell,"The Charlotte Democrat (April 26, 1875, p.3, column 1) reported frost on April 22 was "as heavy as we ever saw and looked like snow had fallen during the night."
  • April 23, 1871, Late Frost day The Charlotte Democrat (April 25, 1871) reported a heavy frost April 23.
  • April 23, 1872, Late Frost day The Charlotte Democrat (April 30, 1872) reported frost on April 23.
  • April 25, 1873, Late Frost day The Charlotte Democrat (May 06, 1873) mentioned that there was a heavy frost April 25
  • April 27, 1858, Late Frost day The Western Democrat (May 11, 1858) mentioned that there was a heavy frost on April 27 but it was not as destructive as it was feared.
  • May 1, 1854, Late Frost Day – Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that there was a sharp frost on May 1. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017)
  • May 7, 1845, Late Frost Day - The Mecklenburg Jeffersonian (May 30, 1845) stated that several gentlemen saw frost but there was not enough to do any injury.
  • May 9, 1855, Late Frost Day – The Diary of Mr. James Harvey Carson noted that there was frost this morning, but not enough to do much injury to vegetation.
  • May 9, 1867, Late Frost day The Western Democrat (May 14, 1867) mentioned that there was frost in some areas but that it did no harm.
  • May 13, 1848, Late Frost Day – Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that there was a sharp frost on May 13 and it killed six or seven acres of his cotton. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017)
  • May 18 and 19, 1875, Late Frost Day – Dr. J. D. Alexander in The History of Mecklenburg County wrote that frost was so heavy that crops were killed.
  • May 20-27, 1867, Cold in Late May The Western Democrat (May 28, 1867) reported that it was cold enough to make fire comfortable and blankets necessary at night.
  • May 23, 1867, Late Frost Day – From The Western Democrat (May 28, 1867) “We are assured that frost was visible in certain localities.”
  • May 30, 1845, Latest Date of Reported Frost – Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary on May 30, 1845 that there was cold dry weather and some frost. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017). This is the latest date that frost is reported in the sources that were reviewed.

 

Early Frost Days

  • September 15, 1860, Early Frost Day The Western Democrat (September 18, 1860) reported frost in the neighborhood on September 15. This is the earliest date that frost was reported in the sources reviewed.
  • September 24, 1848, Early Frost Day – Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that there was a light frost. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017)
  • September 27, 1875, Early Frost Day The Charlotte Democrat (October 4, 1875) reported the first frost was on September 27.
  • September 28,1858, Early Frost Day – The Western Democrat (October 5, 1858) reported that there had been "a pretty heavy frost in this section" on September 28.
  • September 28, 1876, Early Frost Day The Charlotte Democrat (October 02, 1876) mentioned the first frost was on September 28.
  • September 29, 1871, Early Frost Day The Charlotte Democrat (October 03, 1871) reported that the first killing frost on September 29 was thick enough to write names in it.
  • September 30 and October 1, 1857, Early Frost Day – The Western Democrat (October 06, 1857) reported that there was frost on September 30th and October 1.
  • October 4, 1841 Early Frost Day - The Mecklenburg Jeffersonian (October 5, 1841) reported the first frost of the season.
  • October 5, 1865, Early Frost Day The Western Democrat (October10, 1865) mentioned the first frost of 1865 was October 5.
  • October 7, 1873, Early Frost Day The Charlotte Democrat (October 14, 1873) stated that the first frost was on October 07.
  • October 8, 1849, Early Frost Day – Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that there was a very light frost on October 8 and 9. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017)
  • October 8, 1864, Early Frost Day The Western Democrat (October 11, 1864) reported the first frost of year was October 8.
  • October 8, 1867, Early Frost Day The Western Democrat (October 15, 1867) mentioned the first frost of the year was on October 8.
  • October 12, 1853, Early Frost Day – Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that there was a very light frost on October 12. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017)
  • October 12, 1872, Early Frost Day The Charlotte Democrat (October 15, 1872) mentioned a heavy frost on October 12.
  • October 13 and 14, 1843, Early Frost Day - Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that there was a killing frost on these two days. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017).
  • October 13, 1874, Early Frost Day The Charlotte Democrat (October 19, 1874) reported the first killing frost was on October 13
  • October 15, 1847, Early Frost Day - Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that the first frost was October 15th and it damaged the cotton leaves. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017
  • October 17 and 24, 1845, Early Frost Day – Brevard Davidson wrote in his diary that there was a sharp frost on October 24 which was the first to do any harm except one about a week prior. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017)
  • October 19, 20 and 21, 1846, Early Frost Day - The Mecklenburg Jeffersonian (October 23, 1846) reported very heavy white frosts on all these days. Brevard Davidson also wrote in his diary about the sharp frost on October 19th that killed most of the cotton blossoms. (Williams, Ann. The Rural Hill Farm Journals of Adam Brevard Davidson 1834-1856. Antebellum Books, 2017)
  • November 7, 1877, Early Frost Day The Charlotte Democrat (November 09, 1877) reported that the first killing frost was on November 07.