Ocean City experienced a rare phenomenon in February 1979 when the Atlantic Ocean allegedly “froze.”
During a severe cold spell, large ice flows from the Delaware Bay drifted down and piled up along the shoreline. In some places, the ice extended far out into the ocean giving the impression that it had actually frozen solid.
Some people walked across the ice and reported feeling waves rolling beneath them. Many recall the eerie quiet as the sound of breaking surf was silenced.
The Sinepuxent Bay froze solid and the Ocean City Pier lost more than 100 feet to the crushing ice. It was truly a winter to remember.
Photo courtesy of JD Quillin
Story courtesy of The Dispatch.
11 comments:
I was living there during this period and remember the ocean freezing, it did some damage to the pilings of the ocean city pier.
I had a shabby winter rental that was so cold ice formed inside the toilet bowl! City Hall let residents use the showers in the old gymnasium in City Hall because almost everyone's pipes were frozen.
I remember it well. The eeriest part was the silence -- no sound of breaking waves.
I seem to remember that happened in 1977 and not in 1979.
Can anyone else verify the year?
Also, that spring (1977) after that real cold winter were the most mosquitoes I have even seen on lower Delmarva! Thick clouds of `em!
I know the winter of 1977 is when the Chesapeake Bay froze over solid. Stands to reason that this was the same time the ocean froze. Here's an excerpt from the Baltimore Sun:
April 8, 2008
The Chesapeake Bay turned to ice in the winter of 1977, bringing life for most Marylanders to a freezing halt.
Temperatures plunged all across the eastern United States that winter. Forty-nine cities recorded new lows. Baltimore was one of them.
The bay began to freeze over by Christmas. Smith Island residents were among the first to feel the effects as the only inhabited off-shore island in the bay. And, in his first week in office, President Carter declared Maryland and Virginia to be disaster areas.
Thanks, 7:25 for that verification. The Bay did freeze over that same winter. They had the coast guard cutters daily breaking the ice in the bay channel that winter.
Do you remember all the mosquitoes the following spring?
I remember those days. I have newspaper clippings from that. I would say it is 1977. There were people driving cars on Tangier Sound.
It was the coldest weather round here. I do recall a quiet Ocean.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
'77, '78 & '79 were all exceptionally cold years! '79 also brought us the President's Day weekend blizzard w/ 20+" of snow.
I know Christmas of 82 was extremely cold. I remember having to use my brothers car and going to get my grandmother because no one elses car would even start because it was so cold.
I remember an icebreaker breaking the ice ahead of a fuel shipment coming up the Wicomico River.Maybe it was just an urban myth,but I heard at the time a guy attempted to drive a motorcycle across the ice to Smith Island.I have no idea if he made it or not,or if it even happened.
Boy you people are OLD!
Couldn't help it....I'm right there with you. LOL
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