Blame It On the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History

Science News,  August 12, 2006  

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BLAME IT ON THE RAIN: How the Weather Has Changed History

LAURA LEE

Short of catastrophic storms, changing weather conditions usually are only a minor inconvenience in this day and age. But historically, as author Lee reveals, the weather has affected the outcome of wars and political elections. It has meant the difference between life and death for explorers and women accused of being witches. Lee describes how natural weather phenomena, such as lightning and hail, were seen in past centuries as signs from God. One such storm in 1350, for instance, led to the signing of the treaty of Bretigny between France and England, vicious storms in the Atlantic Ocean contributed to England's defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588. The bitter cold of Russia's winters have been linked to Napoleon's defeat in 1812 and Hitler's in 1943. Ordinary rain clouds may have been the cause of the Hindenburg disaster. Lee describes how heat in 1967 set off racially charged riots across the United States and how a warm spell in 1991 led to the discovery in the Alps of the 5,000-year-old body of a hiker. Harper, 2006, 314 p., paperback, $13.95.

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