Scarburg Meadhall Discussion Thread - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

littlemanpoet · 05-21-2015, 05:07 AM

A few points about this harsh winter.

It's the Fourth Age, the age of humans. No dark lord is to blame for it.

There is no human caused reason for a harsh winter, the technology is not available.

It can only come about by natural causes.

Historically, harsh winters were caused by volcanic explosions. Krakatoa comes to mind; so, to my mind, and would have to be our template. If so, then the winter would not be limited to winter months, but would, depending upon the size of the volcanic eruption, last well into spring, maybe have started the previous summer, and could within reason last longer than a year.

Thus, starvation would be the killer, and frostbite might or might not be an issue. All that would be needed is for temperatures to remain below that necessary for crops to grow.

This means that the sun would be dimmed and ash would have filled the sky for long periods, and would rain down on everything.

If we want a truly harsh winter, this seems like the only way to have it happen. Otherwise, all we could really, reasonably conjecture would be a tough winter that would not entail frostbite, starvation, or anything severe.

The only alternative to this would be a mini-ice age, which lasts centuries; I don't think we want to go there.

05-21-2015, 05:07 AM	#11
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	A few points about this harsh winter. It's the Fourth Age, the age of humans. No dark lord is to blame for it. There is no human caused reason for a harsh winter, the technology is not available. It can only come about by natural causes. Historically, harsh winters were caused by volcanic explosions. Krakatoa comes to mind; so, to my mind, and would have to be our template. If so, then the winter would not be limited to winter months, but would, depending upon the size of the volcanic eruption, last well into spring, maybe have started the previous summer, and could within reason last longer than a year. Thus, starvation would be the killer, and frostbite might or might not be an issue. All that would be needed is for temperatures to remain below that necessary for crops to grow. This means that the sun would be dimmed and ash would have filled the sky for long periods, and would rain down on everything. If we want a truly harsh winter, this seems like the only way to have it happen. Otherwise, all we could really, reasonably conjecture would be a tough winter that would not entail frostbite, starvation, or anything severe. The only alternative to this would be a mini-ice age, which lasts centuries; I don't think we want to go there.