Could you imagine waking up to a hard frost on the ground this morning?

It happened here this week in 1883.

According to the National Weather Service, it is not unusual for our area to see a light frost in the upper-30s in early or mid-May. But generally the last “hard” frost of the year (when temps drop to 28°F or lower for more than an hour) occurs by early April.

This wasn’t always the case, however.

On May 24, 1883, Lawrence County court official W.T. Nixon wrote in his diary, “There was quite a heavy frost last night and things look ‘peaked’ this morning. The beans and other things look burned and it is cold enough for fires and overcoats.”

The late “heavy frost” wasn’t just in Lawrence County, and it was apparently not a single-night occurrence. The Nashville ‘Daily American’ reported that the people of Memphis woke to a “heavy frost” on the morning on May 22. The report said, “A heavy frost occurred here this morning, early risers finding it thick enough to write their name on the plank sidewalks. As to its damaging crops, public opinion is divided. The frost would have been pretty heavy had the wind not been blowing. This is considered the latest ever known for the kind of weather we have been having.”

The frost came in the wake of an apparent cold front sweeping the nation from west to east. Heavy frosts were reported that week as far northwest as southern Missouri and “particularly in the sections of Illinois swept by the tornadoes last Friday night,” according to the Knoxville ‘Daily Chronicle,’ which also reported that a foot of snow fell near Lynchburg, Virginia the same night.

What is the latest spring frost you can remember in Lawrence County? Let us know in the comments!