For two weeks, the season played a trick that no American cannon could manage. A massive, stationary high-pressure system settled over the eastern seaboard. From Maine to Georgia, the weather turned unusually mild, dry, and stubbornly calm. But the real drama unfolded at sea.
Most people think the harsh winter at Valley Forge was the low point of the American Revolutionary War. But few know about the strange, deadly autumn that came before it—and how a bizarre weather event in Virginia turned the tide. weather seasons in america
But here’s where the autumn season became the secret hero: unpredictable fall winds and shifting currents—part of the same weird weather system—kept the British fleet from entering the bay. For days, the wind blew consistently from the northeast, pinning the British ships out to sea. The French, who had anchored inside the bay, were sheltered. Every time the British tried to break through, autumn gusts slammed their sails and pushed them back. For two weeks, the season played a trick
Meanwhile, on land, the dry autumn weather gave Washington’s army a gift: hard, dusty roads that allowed them to haul their heavy siege artillery all the way from New York in record time. A wet October would have turned the roads into mud pits, stranding the cannons. Instead, clear, crisp autumn days let Washington dig siege lines around Yorktown with terrifying speed. But the real drama unfolded at sea