Throw Back Thursday - The Winter of 1976 - 1977 |
By Vice President Michael (Mike) Roberts | |
March 1, 2023 | |
The winter of 1976-77 was extremely cold and harsh. For those of you not old enough to remember, although no major snow storms had occurred up until New Years, that was the year the upper Chesapeake Bay froze over, and supply ships were unable to get into the port of Baltimore. Some days recorded temperatures down in the teens, with wind chill factors much lower. Around here, everything was locked up frozen solid. The watermen were unable to get out, and I remember we couldn’t go duck hunting. Extreme, prolonged cold is also usually accompanied by an increase in home structural fires. Residents are using their furnaces more, and alternative sources of heat such as kerosene and electrical heaters, as well as wood stoves are being used more to keep warm. The possibilities of dwelling fires increase dramatically in these conditions. Additionally, due to the increased and prolonged use of these heating sources, the building materials and dwelling contents become extremely dry, like a tinder box. Once a fire starts, this combination results in extremely rapid, sometimes explosive fire spread and extraordinary heat production within a structure. News Articles courtesy of St. Mary’s County Library Enterprise Archives |
|