There were more than a few very cold years back then.
Galveston bay froze over in 1886. Nine years later, southeast TX got 2 ft of snow.
There was a bad one in 1882 as well, apparently. The coldest one I remember was in the past fifteen years or so, we got a few quite big snowfalls early one, then that pretty much stopped, but the temps stayed so low (”the high today was six!”) the big piles the plow had made stuck around. The last big pile near my workplace, dirty and solid ice by then, defied spring conditions until May.
“Galveston bay froze over in 1886. Nine years later, southeast TX got 2 ft of snow.”
OK, if you can say “I could deal with that,” back then, no home had indoor plumbing. I.e., use a pan or brave the weather to get to the outhouse!
What is this winter’s forecast?