A note on the frequency of occurrence of severe winters as evidenced in monastery and historical records from Greece during the period 1200?1900 A.D.

Abstract

Monastery and historical records for Greece during the period 1200–1900 A.D. have been used to obtain the number of “severe” winters which occurred during this time period. A winter was considered as being “severe” if long duration of snow cover and/or freezing of lakes in Greece were archived. Evidence is presented that the coldest periods in Greece during the period 1200–1900 A.D. occurred in the first half of the 15th century, in the second half of the 17th and in the 19th century. Geographical coherence is indicated with other areas in Europe, e.g., with The Netherlands, where historical records exist over the same period. The number of severe winters in 50-year intervals does show a positive correlation with the volcanic dust veil index.