Jökull - 01.12.1986, Page 66

were mainly hard, especially 1720. However, there
were several very cold springs: 1712 (in the north, east
and west); 1713 (in the north); 1714 (in the north,
south and west); 1715 (in the north, east and west);
1717 (in the north, south and west); 1718 (in the north
and east but “good” in the west) and 1720 (in the
north and east). The summers this decade appear to
have been very variable regionally. For example, 1711
was good in some regions, such as the north, but cold
and snowy in the east. 1714 started out warm and wet
in the north, and then became dry and favourable. In
the east it was cold, and elsewhere it was wet. 1713,
1718 and 1719 were generally good summers. The
autumns were changeable with few extreme season's,
except for 1712 which, although “excellent” in the
north (Mœlifellsannáll) was “unusually wet and
sleety” in the east (Þingmúlaannált). Autumn 171.8
was generally good like the summer, but there was a
violent storm at the end of October which caused
shipwrecks in the west (Fitjaannáll continuation) and
the author of Vallaannáll remarked on the widespread
damage done to hay and buildings as well as the roof
of the church at Vellir which was attached to the farm
where he lived in Svarfaðardalur.
Sea ice was recorded in 1711, 1714, 1717 and 1718
but only one of these years, 1714, was a severe ice
year. In 1711, the only source to mention the ice is
Fitjaannáll, which states: “Sea ice off the northern
coast, seals caught on it.” As Fitjaannáll was written
in the west, and northern sources, such as Vallaannáll
and Mœlifellsannáll, do not mention the ice, it is
likely that this is an error.
1721-1730
The comparatively mild weather of the 171 Os con-
tinued into the 1720s and, as can be seen from Figure
2, the winter and spring seasons were similar in both
decades. The data suggest that summer conditions
were also similar. The regional variation is interest-
ing, however. There were four severe winters in the
north: 1722, 1724, 1728 and 1730. 1723 was mainly
cold. In the west, 1722, 1724 and 1728 were recorded
as severe. In the east, 1721, 1722, 1724, 1725 and
1728 were all severe. 1729 was severe to begin with.
In the south, only 1722 was recorded as severe (but
this may be partly due to lack of data for the south for
this period). The worst winters (in all districts) oc-
curred in 1722, 1724 and 1728. 1722 was a severe
spring in all districts except in the south. 1724 was
good in most places, 1725 and 1728 were severe in
most places, and 1729 was cold everywhere except in
the south. During these severe winters and springs, sea
ice was only present during 1728 and 1729. In 1728,
Sjávarborgarannáll records that: “Sea ice was first
seen on 3 April but came in earnest on 24 April. Much
sea fog. Ice lay all around the northern coast until 20
July.” The ice came again in 1729, or never moved
far away. There was also ice off the northwestern
coasts during these years. Sea ice was recorded in only
one other year this decade, 1726, (in the north and
northwest) when a good winter and spring occurred.
There were several good summers this decade,
especially in the early part. Inl722, 1723, 1724, 1725,
1726 and 1729, good summers were recorded in at
least two districts out of four. In 1721, the summer
was good in the east, in 1727 in the north, and in
1728 in the west. The summer of 1730 was the only
summer that was very wet in most areas and it was
also cold: “continual rain and bad weather during the
greater part of the summer” (B.S. Þingeyjarsýsla). In
the east, it was “very cold with snow and sleet” (B.S.
Múlasýsla). Sheriff Markús Bergþórsson, writing from
Ögur in ísafjord, said it was: “Hard with continual
rain and snow”(B.S. ísafjarðarsýsla). Autumns during
1721 to 1730 were on the whole unremarkable. There
was an eruption of Katla in 1721 and of Krafla in
1724. There was also an earthquake in Arnes district
in 1724. In 1725, there was an eruption near Hekla
and in 1728 in Mývatn. In 1727, a jökulhlaup (glacier
burst) occurred in Öræfajökull to the east of Síða.
1731-1740
Over the whole of Iceland, the winter-spring seasons
during 1731 to 1740 appear to have been far colder
than during the previous two decades (see Figure 2).
There was also some regional variability, however,
(see Figure 3). The 1730s appear to have been colder
in the west than they were in the north and south but,
in the north, these years were slightly milder than the
171 Os. Winters that were mainly severe in all regions
were: 1737, 1738 and 1739 (aithough both 1738 and
1739 started off as good in the east). 1734 was severe
everywhere except for the east, and 1735 was harsh in
the north and west. Mild winters were: 1731, 1733,
1736 (although the latter part of this winter was severe
in the east) and 1740. 1732 was good everywhere ex-
cept for the east. Severe springs were: 1731, 1734,
1735 and 1737. In 1732, there was a severe spring in
the east. Unfortunately, there are no data for the
north and south for this year, and western sources give
different accounts. Hvammsannáll, written in Dala-
sýsla, records a harsh spring, while Hítardalsannáll,
from Mýrasýsla, says it was good and dry. Only 1733
was an unqualified good spring in all districts, and
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