My interpretation of Astromet's comments on the upcoming global cooling indicates (to me) that he believes that this period will be worse than the cooling period of the 1880s. There has been much talk this year of the extremes of weather that have been experienced (e.g. the Texas and Louisiana floods). Read the sections of this document (link provided by Sigurdur) for the periods 1877-1880 of so, our last great cooling period, and you will see descriptions of some truely extreme weather all over the World. This was a period straddling the transition of a multi-cycle downturn which was not as great as what is being forecast. A true gem of documentary climate literature.
Also read the sections on the years 1790-1830 for an enlightening description of the Dalton Minimum.
This, of course, was at a time when ocean temperatures were colder than today ... so the accumulated heat may provide a buffer. But ... we don't know how fast the oceans can cool.
I, for one, hope this is all wrong. I've lived in Alaska and have experienced a wee bit of cold. I do not like it.
www.breadandbutterscience.com/Weather.pdfOne example for the winter of 1794-95 (Early in the Dalton Minimum)
Winter of 1794 / 1795 A.D. Scotland was pounded by a massive snowstorm. In one single night, snow
fell to the depth of eight or ten feet (2.4-3.0 meters), and in some places the loftiest trees were entirely
covered. By this one night’s storm seventeen shepherds lost their lives, and thousands of sheep, besides
other animals were destroyed. One farmer alone lost fourteen hundred sheep. After the storm had
somewhat disappeared; there were found collected together (by its violence) in one spot, the dead bodies
of two men, one woman, forty-five dogs, three horses, nine black cattle, one hundred and eighty hares,
and one thousand eight hundred and forty sheep.30
A London newspaper said that on 1 January 1795, the cold was so intense in England; that the River
Thames froze over in ten minutes while the tide was turning.1
In 1795 in Paris, France, there were 42 days of frost.58, 80
The cold and snow of 1795 killed the olive trees in France. In Montpellier, it froze continuously from
January 15 to 26. The coldest day was on January 17th when the temperature dropped to 15.8° F (-9° C).
In Paris, the thermometer was -10.3° F (-23.5° C) on January 25, and there was forty-two consecutive
days of frost.79
During the winter, the Seine River in France was frozen at the Bridge “Pont de la Tournelle” in Paris
from 25 December 1794 until 28 January 1795. Wagons drove near Liege, Belgium on the Meuse River.
The Zuiderzee was frozen and the sound was ice covered.62
There were great floods throughout England caused by the melting snow in February 1795. A great part
of the bridges were either damaged or destroyed.41, 43, 56
The winter of 1794-95 in Europe was remarkably long and severe. In Paris, France, there were 42 frost
days in succession. On 25 January, there was the greatest cold ever seen in Paris. The thermometer
dropped to -10.3° F (-23.5° C). In London, England, the lowest temperature on the same day was 8.0° F
(-13.3° C). On the banks of the Rhône River, near Geneva, Switzerland at midnight the temperature fell
to 6.8° F (-14° C). The Main, the Scheldt, the Rhine and the Seine rivers were frozen so thick, that they
were crossed by wagons and army detachments in several places.