Titanic Sank 108 Years Ago: What Was The Weather Like?

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Titanic sank 108 years ago: What was the weather like?

At the end of the first half of April, the most famous shipwreck in the world turns 108 years old. Much is already known about the history of the Titanic's construction and shipwreck. But what was the weather like on the night of the tragedy?

The history of the Titanic has already been explored by several historians from the design of the ship to its eternal grave in the depths of the North Atlantic. But to this day, it has been revisited over the generations, arousing interest, curiosity and commotion in people.

The Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the great era of steamships in the early 20th century, with the aim of being the largest and most luxurious ship in the world. Five years after its construction, it sank in less than 3 hours on its maiden voyage to New York on the fateful cold night between 14 and 15 April, 1912.

The voyage began when the Titanic left the port of Southampton (England) at 12:15 pm on 10 April 1912, with 953 passengers on board. At 6:35 pm, the transatlantic arrived in Cherbourg (France), where 22 passengers disembarked and another 274 boarded, leaving there at 8:10 pm. On the 11th, the Titanic arrived in Queenstown (Ireland) at 11:30 am, disembarking 7 passengers and embarking more 120. From Ireland, the ship left at 1:30 pm to cross the North Atlantic to New York with 1318 passengers and 889 crew.

Titanic departs Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland, today 1912--never to be seen afloat again: pic.twitter.com/CAKqcP641c

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) April 11, 2020

It was then at 11:39 pm on the cold night of 14 April, with no moonlight, no clouds and calm waters that some spotted the iceberg. All maneuvers to free the Titanic from collision were in vain, the ship hit the iceberg 1 minute after the ice was seen. From this moment, the ship began its shipwreck process (South East of Newfoundland in Canada) that lasted about 2h 40min, breaking in half just before the wreck was concluded at 2h20min on the 15th of April. Of all those on board, 1514 died and only 710 were saved.

Weather conditions during shipwreck

The reanalysis database (ERA20-C) allowed for an approximate reconstruction of atmospheric patterns at dawn on 15 April 1912. Preliminary analyses show that the wreck site was under the control of a very cold north air associated with high pressure in eastern Canada. The air temperature was approximately 4.1°C and the ocean temperature was approximately 7.3°C. Many deaths were due to hypothermia from low air and water temperatures.

Several reports commenting on the event spoke of the night being calm, quite cold and cloudless, suggesting that the Titanic sank inside or very close to a centre of high pressure. These reports corroborate the data from the reanalysis. That's because, by ERA20-C, there was an anti-cyclonic centre between eastern Canada and the Atlantic.

April 14, 1912, the fifth day of the voyage, RMS Titanic is moving very efficiently. By noon Titanic had travelled 546 miles since her last noon report. Several ice berg warnings were received, but the weather and conditions were great. https://t.co/HhqTWOyOiq pic.twitter.com/rhWQVIWFWF

— Titanic: Honor & Glory - VDR (@TitanicHG_VDR) April 14, 2020

However, it is important to consider that the reports describe that the night was windless, indicating a possible shift further East from the centre of the anticyclone compared to reanalysis. It is logical to think this, as winds rise from the inside out in a high pressure system. There are however uncertainties of the exact position of the system. Reconstructing atmospheric patterns from the past with the little data of the time reduces the reliability of the analysis.

Another meteorological curiosity associated with the Titanic is the cold front that the ship probably encountered at some point during its crossing through the waters of the North Atlantic. The data clearly shows the presence of a frontal system East of the wreck site and associated with low pressure in the Iceland region.

The fateful iceberg

With regard to the iceberg involved in the tragedy, astronomical and climatic studies led by Dr. Donald Olson, of the "Texas State physics faculty" reveal a series of events related to the appearance of ice in the Atlantic in April of that year. The researchers found that in January 1912, the moon reached its greatest perigee (greatest proximity to Earth) in 1400 years.

RMS #Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm 14 April 1912 & took 2 hours 40 minutes to sink. Originally designed to have 64 lifeboats, it ended up with only 20 for aesthetic reasons, & many were underused. Of an est. 2,208 people 706 survived - 492 passengers & 214 members of crew. pic.twitter.com/RcLf77Ilkk

— Maude Frome (@frome_maude) April 14, 2020

The proximity of the star to Earth strengthened the gravitational field, generating very high tides in the Greenland region that gave off a considerable number of icebergs. Ice transport to the South, right on the Titanic route, was related to the Labrador sea current.

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