Jökull - 01.12.1986, Side 73

1784
The winter of 1783 to 1784 not only began early
but was very severe and long-lasting in most districts.
Governor Thodal wrote that the severity of this winter
surpassed that of 1781 to 1782. Although the early
part of the winter was very cold, the worst part seems
to have been from January onwards. Magnús Ketils-
son, in Dalasýsla, wrote:
Up to Christmas, winter was tolerable, but later it was
extremely severe. All the earth became covered, not just
with snow, but with hard ice, which not even the
horses, let alone the sheep, could dig through. This
situation lasted to the end of April. The frost was not
merely severe, but was long-lasting. Often for five days
in a row the thermometer would be eighteen degrees
and more below freezing, and seldom less than twelve
degrees.
As with the temperature readings given earlier, it is
not certain which units were used here. The Sheriff of
Suður-Múlasýsla noted that all fjords were frozen over
on 20 February, and this was something that haid not
occurred for thirty-eight years. (He is probably refer-
nng to the very severe ice year of 1745 — in fact
thirty-nine years before.) The account from Norður-
Múlasýsla described how travellers rode and sledged
on the ice.
This was also a heavy sea-ice year. The ice was first
seen off the northem coast in January, and off the east
°n round March 7. According to the Sheriff of Suður-
Múlasýsla the ice extended for as far as the eye could
see from the tops of mountains. This large extent of
lce is also mentioned in the report from Barðastrand-
arsýsla.
Almost all sources state that the severe winter con-
tinued to the end of April.Thodal recorded that the
month of May was excellent; there was no frost or
snow, just good weather with reasonable rain. How-
ever, most other sources record a very cold spring.
The Sheriff of Mýrasýsla wrote that, since May, the
Weather was somewhat milder, but it was mostly cold
and damp. In Norður-Múlasýsla, the Sheriff noted
that the ice (not the sea ice) did not leave the fjord
before June, and it was not until it did that the severe
Weather was finally stopped by a warm southerly
wind.
The summer of 1784 was cold in most districts.
Some sources also complain of wet weather. Magnús
Ketilsson wrote:
The greatest danger for the hay harvest is the very wet
weather which now reigns (13 August) so none of the
hay is harvested.
According to the Sheriff of Suður-Múlasýsla, the sum-
mer was continually cold due to foggy weather, The
account from Norður-Múlasýsla gives some intferest-
ing details:
From the end of May to the beginning of July the
weather was milder .. . due to a warm southerly wind.
During this short time an incredible amount of snow
thawed, so all running rivers and streams burst their
banks, and these floods did much damage, bringing
mud, gravel, etc., on to the fields. Even houses were
washed away. The water in Jökulsá rose to a great
height. After that the weather changed suddenly to
extreme cold with frost and strong northerly winds.
This continued for about twelve days. Then the air be-
came milder but up to now (15 September) this has
alternated with continual northerly winds, frost and
sleet, with very few days which could be called sum-
mer-like. As in the previous two years, the Greenland
ice has been off the coast from the end of February to
well into summer. This would probably have come
right into land, if there had not been ice formed there
already .. . The grass growth is no better than last year,
and in some places worse.
Jón Jónsson wrote that the first few days of June
were good, then it became very cold, with icebergs in
Eyjafjord. After that the weather improved, but it was
very dry which was not good for the grass. However,
rain fell at the end of June and beginning of July. The
weather was then quite good until around 7 July when
it became colder. From the 11 to 17 July it was dry
with night frosts. Jón speculated on the reasons for the
poor grass growth. This might be due to the effects of
the brown mist last year, but “the cause could also be
that the ground has had the goodness taken from it
due to the recent unusual amount of sea ice, and the
accompanying great frosts and continual cold”. From
18 July onward the weather was better, with some
rain. The first week of August was harsh. The second
was cold and stormy. The third week was stormy, but
not cold, while the fourth week had much night frost.
The autumn of 1784 seems to have been reasonable
in most places, although in some districts, particularly
in the west, there were complaints of wet weather.
The Sheriff of Norður-Múlasýsla wrote:
After the ship left, the weather was as good and mild as
anyone could remember at this time of autumn, and
quite the opposite to last year. This weather lasted to
around mid November.
Jón Jónsson recorded that, in September, the weather
was often cold and frosty, but it was often good too.
The first three weeks or so of October were quite
good, but after that it became winter-like and snowy.
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