Cold front that made Fenway Park's first game chilly also impacted the sinking of the Titanic
More than a century ago, a change in winds altered the fate of the ship touted as "unsinkable."
By
Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 15, 2020 4:54 PM EDT
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution unveiled rare footage from the Titanic wreckage filmed in 1986. The ship sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg.
On April 14, 1912, the water of the Atlantic Ocean was relatively calm around the pride of the British White Star Line -- a commissioned ship boasted to be "unsinkable." The glassy water reflected the clear, starlit sky as a large Arctic air mass moved over the area. The winds had shifted to the northwest earlier, setting the following night for an infamous course in history.
The early 1900s had hit a steep incline in the advancement of technology. The first decade of the 20th century had brought the invention of the vacuum cleaner, the air conditioner and the electric washing machine. Taking the initiative to keep expanding the reach of science and technology, British White Star Line commissioned the building of the largest ship ever constructed -- one that would even be boasted as "unsinkable": The Titanic.
On its maiden voyage, the ship embarked from the British Isles at Queenstown, Ireland, on Thursday, April 11, 1912. The carefully charted course would take the ship to New England, where fans at Fenway Park were celebrating the Boston Red Sox 2-0 victory over Harvard University. It was the first game ever played at the stadium, christened with snow flurries in the early-spring cold.
On April 12, a cold front associated with these Fenway flurries would be to the west and north of the Titanic, which the ship would pass through on Sunday, April 14. The more amicable temperature of 60 degrees began to drop.
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The winds changed. The noon temperature of 50 degrees sank to a chilly 39 by 7:30 p.m.; the northwestern winds reached 25 mph. By nighttime, temperatures were below freezing and the winds no more than a gentle zephyr. As a result, the water reflected the clear, starlit sky like a mirror, disturbed only by the large ship cutting through it.
"Icebergs were known to be in the region, but the calm winds made spotting them difficult," former AccuWeather Senior Vice President Evan Myers said. "To spot icebergs during the night, lookouts searched for wind-driven waves breaking around their bases, but because of the calm weather, this effect did not occur."
The seas were calm, but the flow of northwestern wind behind the front had steered a giant ice field toward the ship that fateful night.
This April 10, 1912, file photo shows the liner Titanic as it leaves Southampton, England, on her maiden voyage. (AP photo)
"Icebergs more or less do what the current tells them," Richard Alley, a professor of geosciences at Penn State University, told Accuweather.
At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg, later estimated to weigh up to 300,000 tons. The ship's hull was torn open, and the vessel carrying more than 2,000 passengers began to take on water.
Hours earlier, before the winds had changed, the coldest water had not been pushed around the ship. The water temperature is estimated to have been as high as 50 degrees -- a temperature more survivable than the estimated low of 29 degrees that it fell to.
"Even though many people went into the water and survived the initial crash and sinking, the extremely cold water temperature caused almost all in the water to suffer hypothermia and die quickly," Myers said.
At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, near Newfoundland, less than three hours after colliding with the iceberg, the unsinkable ship had sunk.
Of the roughly 2,208 people on board, more than 1,500 lost their lives, including the architect of the Titanic, Thomas Andrews. Only 700 people survived. After the sinking of the Titanic, the United States and 12 other countries formed the International Ice Patrol to warn ships of icebergs in the North Atlantic.
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News / Weather News
Cold front that made Fenway Park's first game chilly also impacted the sinking of the Titanic
More than a century ago, a change in winds altered the fate of the ship touted as "unsinkable."
By Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 15, 2020 4:54 PM EDT
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution unveiled rare footage from the Titanic wreckage filmed in 1986. The ship sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg.
On April 14, 1912, the water of the Atlantic Ocean was relatively calm around the pride of the British White Star Line -- a commissioned ship boasted to be "unsinkable." The glassy water reflected the clear, starlit sky as a large Arctic air mass moved over the area. The winds had shifted to the northwest earlier, setting the following night for an infamous course in history.
The early 1900s had hit a steep incline in the advancement of technology. The first decade of the 20th century had brought the invention of the vacuum cleaner, the air conditioner and the electric washing machine. Taking the initiative to keep expanding the reach of science and technology, British White Star Line commissioned the building of the largest ship ever constructed -- one that would even be boasted as "unsinkable": The Titanic.
On its maiden voyage, the ship embarked from the British Isles at Queenstown, Ireland, on Thursday, April 11, 1912. The carefully charted course would take the ship to New England, where fans at Fenway Park were celebrating the Boston Red Sox 2-0 victory over Harvard University. It was the first game ever played at the stadium, christened with snow flurries in the early-spring cold.
On April 12, a cold front associated with these Fenway flurries would be to the west and north of the Titanic, which the ship would pass through on Sunday, April 14. The more amicable temperature of 60 degrees began to drop.
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The winds changed. The noon temperature of 50 degrees sank to a chilly 39 by 7:30 p.m.; the northwestern winds reached 25 mph. By nighttime, temperatures were below freezing and the winds no more than a gentle zephyr. As a result, the water reflected the clear, starlit sky like a mirror, disturbed only by the large ship cutting through it.
"Icebergs were known to be in the region, but the calm winds made spotting them difficult," former AccuWeather Senior Vice President Evan Myers said. "To spot icebergs during the night, lookouts searched for wind-driven waves breaking around their bases, but because of the calm weather, this effect did not occur."
The seas were calm, but the flow of northwestern wind behind the front had steered a giant ice field toward the ship that fateful night.
This April 10, 1912, file photo shows the liner Titanic as it leaves Southampton, England, on her maiden voyage. (AP photo)
"Icebergs more or less do what the current tells them," Richard Alley, a professor of geosciences at Penn State University, told Accuweather.
At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg, later estimated to weigh up to 300,000 tons. The ship's hull was torn open, and the vessel carrying more than 2,000 passengers began to take on water.
Hours earlier, before the winds had changed, the coldest water had not been pushed around the ship. The water temperature is estimated to have been as high as 50 degrees -- a temperature more survivable than the estimated low of 29 degrees that it fell to.
"Even though many people went into the water and survived the initial crash and sinking, the extremely cold water temperature caused almost all in the water to suffer hypothermia and die quickly," Myers said.
At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, near Newfoundland, less than three hours after colliding with the iceberg, the unsinkable ship had sunk.
Of the roughly 2,208 people on board, more than 1,500 lost their lives, including the architect of the Titanic, Thomas Andrews. Only 700 people survived. After the sinking of the Titanic, the United States and 12 other countries formed the International Ice Patrol to warn ships of icebergs in the North Atlantic.
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