NEW YORK (PIX11) – This week, massive chunks of ice have been floating down the Hudson River, causing ferry delays between New York City and Hoboken.
While that may seem extreme by today’s standards, it’s nothing compared to what happened in the 1800s and early 1900s — when the river actually froze solid.
NYC forecast and PIX11’s Weather Center
On Jan. 25, 1821, The New York Times reported that people were commuting across the frozen Hudson by walking and even skating between Manhattan and Jersey City. The river had become a true “ice bridge,” the result of a brutally cold winter with temperatures well below zero for weeks at a time. This was the coldest winter in New York City’s history and remains the case today. The intense cold also froze the East River, creating ice bridges connecting Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan.
For decades, similar freezes were fairly common. The Hudson regularly froze north of New York City, connecting Newburgh and Beacon with thick ice strong enough to support horse-drawn carriages and heavy traffic.
Notable winters in 1917-1918, 1934, and 1947 also brought widespread freezing, forcing the use of icebreakers to keep shipping lanes open. Still, none matched the historic freeze of 1821.
Today, conditions are very different…