Remember last September when the devastating fires in California and Oregon caused hazy skies in Pennsylvania? Every now and then a powerful event, such as the very violent eruption of a volcano, can cause weather problems half way around the world. The present speed of our communications informs us almost
As a change from the current snow, here are some photos of Red Lion snows of years past. They are from a collection of photographs taken by D. Miriam Smith, long-time chronicler of the Red Lion area. The collection has been shared with me by Nancy Hedrick for sharing with
Summer brings thunder and lightning. Here is an account of a quite powerful lightning strike at St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church in Codorus Township. It is from the June 28, 1887 York Gazette. FEARS OF LIGHTNING—During the storm on Monday, the 20th inst., about noon, the lightning struck the Stone (St.
The July 16, 1953 Gazette and Daily carried an article on Harry C. Arnold, superintendent at the York Water Company; he had been recording the weather at the York Pumping Station since 1915. He used three instruments: “an alcohol thermometer which records both the running temperature and the day’s minimum,
As I was perusing the Hanover photograph files at York County Heritage Trust, I stumbled upon these striking images showcasing the aftermath of the 1915 Hanover tornado. The devastation left in its wake was truly awe-inspiring, making it difficult to fathom the extent of destruction. Surprisingly, amidst the chaos,
In a post last week I noted that the Flood of 1933 took out two covered bridges at Muddy Creek Forks. Felton is further upstream on the north branch of Muddy Creek, but in a valley, so waters rage and overflow in a heavy storm. Below are just a couple
No wonder York County can’t claim any covered bridges anymore. Hurricane Agnes destroyed the last one, at Bentzel’s Mill, in 1972. Previous storms and floods took their toll of many others over the years. Lila Fourhman-Shaull, Director of Library and Archives at York County Heritage Trust just shared an August
“Pekin Drake,” sculpture by Charles Rudy I have been doing research for a future York Sunday News column on York born and raised sculptor, Charles Rudy. I’ll share more on his life and works later, but considering the weather conditions we have had for the past couple of weeks, I
Sleighing party drawn by Lewis Miller I just sat down to blog about an entirely different subject when it struck me that I had never shared my February 2007 York Sunday News column on the big snowstorm of 1831. At that time, I pointed out that we have been fortunate
You know how when it is really windy we sometimes exaggerate and say we were almost blown over. According to the York Dispatch of April 26, 1928, Rev. Dr. Milton K. Foster didn’t have to exaggerate: