I had intended to list a number of you at my Comment #56, but my computer has been acting funny when I try to back arrow or forward arrow, so please look at Comment #56. Actually I had thought that Krakatoa might be good for 1876 but when I checked it was 1883, which does work for the NY blizzard of 1888. The 1816 year with no summer was the result of Tambora in 1815. The icebergs that killed the Titanic, and the deadly failure of a South Pole expedition in 1912 may have resulted from the enormous Katmai eruption in 1911. So check out those 18, 19, and 20th century charts linked at #56 and correlate some of your own favorite history events.
I don’t remember 1977 as being unusually bad in the mid Atlantic area. I do remember being in Iowa City in the winter of 1956-57 when the morning temperature for a week was between 25 and 27 below, and nice girls did not wear pants to class. The next year leotards were very in fashion. I also remember the “Big Snow of ‘47 when I was nine years old. There was 27’ of snow in NJ not far from NY City. I was wading in snow up to my armpits. My father shoveled a path to the sidewalk and I made a cave in the wall for my toddler brother to hide in. Frankly I don’t think the weather is getting colder based on personal experience on the East Coast and the middle west. We do seem to be getting more rain here, and greater storm severity with flooding.
I don’t remember 47 as I was not born yet. I do remember doing chores im deep snow and cold in the middle 50’s though. In the 90’s in eastern Colorado I worked outside construction all winter at temps to -45F. The warmest was still -20F for January.
I have no studied volcanic action/ cold weather. Only what I have read and it does make sense.