4:56 PM

Welcome back to my blog
At present, I am waiting for hurricane Earl to pass by Connecticut while reflecting how lucky we are today to get advanced weather warnings. I made sure everything was secure outside and we had plenty of milk et al.

Arabia's consignees had little warning and could only relay on the  farmers almanac's which predicted long-range weather based on the previous year's weather. Newspapers often made mention of the weather and I wish I had paid more attention and documented more newspaper weather reports than I had.

Years ago in the Library of Congress' Newspaper Library, I read in an Omaha newspaper about a bad storm that happened a week earlier before Arabia sank. During that storm one of Arabia's consignees Armstrong & Clarks' had the roof blown off their newly built store so it must have been a strong tornado. I always wondered if this bad storm had any connection to the snag that sank her.
I have never been able to find farmer's almanacs for Nebraska, Iowa or Missouri and this got me to thinking.....and googling looking for any weather reports for 1856 and I found an article for Weather Reporting at Ft Randall 1856-1892.   prepared by the NOAA National Climatic Center in 2006. The reports began October 1st and that's almost a month after Steamboat Arabia sank. The article shows the first report recorded by the surgeon and it shows temperatures as high as 94 degrees in on October 3rd....


Ft. Randall is located north of Sioux City and that's where consignee Henry Tracy of Tracy & Papin, fled after he was accused of murder in 1858. The building below was completed in 1857 and can't you just imagine Henry Tracy standing there chatting with his friends.

Do read the article you'll enjoy it.....If you can find weather reports let me know...