Remembering the weather

 

Today it rained here for the first time in a long time. It felt like we had to learn a new way of being, from dressing for the weather to realizing it takes longer for the brakes to kick in when driving. But that's modern day stuff. The weather affected our ancestors as well, sometimes in profound ways. Think of droughts, floods, bitter snowstorms, they all took their toll.

Have you ever thought of the effect of weather on your own ancestors? Many of them were probably farmers, more in tune with how the seasons affected the land. Even city dwellers' lives can be altered by weather events. Floods come to mind. But what of ice storms, blizzards and hail?

I read of one such event in Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City, which told a story of the smog that choked London in December of 1952. More recent life changing weather comes to mind thinking of hurricanes, tornados and cyclones. I've written before about how the Regina Cyclone affected my grandfather when he lived in that city in 1912, which makes me wonder if more of my family has experienced life altering weather events. So if you're wondering why your family immigrated of migrated maybe a look at the weather of the time might provide a clue. 

Sources:

Dawson, Kate Winkler, Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City, Hachette Book Group, New York, 2017