Summers around here are never really cool - some are just hotter than others. But one year from the early 1800s stands out for its chilly weather to such an extent that it's gone down in history as "The Year without a Summer."

In 1815, a volcano named Mount Tambora in Indonesia exploded violently in what was probably the largest volcanic eruption in the world in the last few centuries. Debris was thrown 25 miles into the atmosphere where winds spread the dust around the globe. This high-altitude debris reflected a tiny percentage of sunlight back to space for months afterward, producing a sort of "global cooling" the next year, 1816.

The summer of 1816 was unusually cool in Europe and the eastern United States. A weather observer in our area reported an average August temperature of 66^oF, which is almost 10^oF cooler than what's now considered "normal." He described the month this way: "Such a cheerless, desponding, melancholy summer month, entered upon its duties so perfectly chilled, as to be unable to raise one sunny day." In fact, on this day in 1816, some low-lying areas from North Carolina to New England actually got frost, bringing a very early end to the growing season.