SOLOMONS, Md. — After some very hot days, midsummer seems like an appropriate time to reminisce about colder times.
The Chesapeake Bay has seen some extraordinary winters over the centuries. Perhaps the most extreme was the winter of 1779-1780 during the Revolutionary War. It was one of the coldest winters the Chesapeake Bay region has ever experienced.
Waterways from Canada to North Carolina froze solid, including large portions of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. There were only a few days when the temperature rose above freezing that winter. With at least six blizzards that year, it was also one of the snowiest…