Birkel quoted in Down East article about summer of 1816
Sean Birkel was cited in an article about the cold summer of 1816 titled “Weather Patterns” in the July issue of Down East magazine.
The “year without a summer” 200 years ago was near the end of the Little Ice Age and Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted, releasing ash that resulted in a “volcanic winter.” In Maine, it snowed 9 inches in June in Madawaska and crop failures reportedly caused food shortages.
Birkel, the Maine state climatologist and University of Maine research assistant professor with the Climate Change Institute, said it’s highly likely Maine will experience another abnormally cold summer because the Northeast is vulnerable to the effects of volcanic eruptions in the tropics, Iceland and the Aleutian Islands. But, he said, the effects of a freakishly cold summer “probably wouldn’t be as devastating today” since much of the food Mainers eat comes from other destinations.