The Gazette of Really Small News

1596: English explorer Francis Drake dies. 1638: Spanish author Gonzalo de Cespedes y Meneses dies. 1731: Italian instrument-maker Bartolomeo Cristofori dies. 1851: American ornithologist and painter John James Audubon dies. 1901: Italian composer Giuseppi Verdi dies. 1910: English plumber Thomas Crapper dies. 2002: More than 1,100 people die in an explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria. 2013: In the southern B razilia n city of Santa Maria, 242 people die in a nightclub fire.

A sudden frost coated the Ocean Grove boardwalk and added an unexpected thrill to walking and driving around town before sunrise today.

Active birds left tracks on the Ocean Grove beach before dawn on Jan. 27.

Moment before sunrise, Ocean Grove, Jan. 27.

1996: In Delaware, convicted murderer Billy Bailey is the last person executed by hanging in the United States. 1999: More than 1,000 people die in an earthquake in western Colombia.

Container ships like the one seen on the horizon are a common sight at daybreak along the Jersey coast. This one was captured off Ocean Grove on Jan. 25.

The dome of the  Carousel Building on the Asbury Park boardwalk is reflected in icy Wesley Lake at dawn on Jan. 24.

41: After nearly four years of sadistic reign, Roman emperor Caligula is assassinated by his own Praetorian Guard. 1920: Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani dies. 1939:  Around 38,000 people die in an earthquake in Chillan, Chile. 2009: Twenty-six people die when Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France. 2011: In Russia, 35 people die in a bombing at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow.

Wind whipped the water off Ocean Grove at sunrise.

1556: More than 830,000 people die in an earthquake in China's Shaanxi province. 1570: James Stewart, regent for Scotland's baby king James VI, is the first politician to be assassinated by a firearm. 1803: Irish brewer Arthur Guinness dies. 1837: Irish composer John Field dies. 1883: French engraver Gustave Dore dies. 1909: Six people die in the collision between the RMS Republic and the SS Florida off the coast of Massachusetts. 1931: Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova dies. 1944: Norwegian artist Edvard Munch dies. 1981: American composer Samuel Barber dies. 1989: Spanish artist Salvador Dali dies. 2018: South African composer Hugh Masekela dies.

This butterfly was found preserved in cold-hardened sand on the Ocean Grove beach on Sunday, Jan. 20.

871: In England, the Saxons of West Essex lose the Battle of Basing to the Danelaw Vikings. 1879: In South Africa, the forces of the British Army lose the Battle of Isandlwana to the Zulu Kingdom. 1901: Queen Victoria dies after a reign of 64 years. 1905: Depending on the source, between 96 and 4,000 people in St. Petersburg, Russia, die when troops fire into a crowd marching to the Winter Palace with a petition for Czar Nicholas II. The incident becomes known as Bloody Sunday. 1973: In Nigeria, 176 people die when a chartered Boeing 707 explodes at Kano Airport. 2015: In Donetsk, Ukraine, 13 people die in an explosion near a trolley.

Snow on the dunes in front of Ocean Grove's Boardwalk Pavilion at dawn today might not be there tomorrow. Daytime temperatures could reach 50 this afternoon, as a January thaw continues.

You can bring your dog to the Ocean Grove beach and boardwalk until May 1, but be warned: Fido's got to be "leashed at all times," according to this sign near the north end of the boardwalk.

Sunrise at the north end dunes, Ocean Grove.

1535: In Paris, the government of Francis I continues to burn French Protestants at the stake for placing anti-Catholic posters around Paris and other French cities on the night of Oct. 17, 1534. 1793: Louis XVI is guillotined after the French Revolutionary government judges him guilty of treason. 1960: At Montego Bay, Jamaica, 37 people die in the crash of an Avianca jetliner. 1961: More than 400 workers die in the collapse of a mine in Coalbrook, Free State, South Africa. 2003: Twenty-nine people die in an earthquake in the Mexican state of Colima.

Ocean Grove, Jan. 20, 2018.

Police are asking people in Ocean Grove not to park on Main Avenue between New York and Central avenues on Thursday, Jan. 11, between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. The Neptune Township Department Public Works will begin what officials call "aggressive snow removal in the business district," police announced by way of social media. Thursday will mark one week since Winter Storm Grayson dumped 16.5 inches of snow on the area. Roads were cleared, but piles of snow have remained at corners and along curbs, blocking parking spaces and making getting around on foot difficult.

1927: In Montreal, Canada, 78 children die in a fire at the Laurier Palace movie theater. 2011: In Iran, 77 people die in the crash of an Iran Air jetliner. 2014: In Yokkaichi, Japan, five people die in an explosion at Mitsubishi Materials chemical plant.

After 13 days of sub-freezing temperatures, Wesley Lake was still frozen on Monday, Jan. 8. The lake is expected to thaw starting today, when temperatures reach the low 40s. 

1536: Catherine of Aragon, the divorced wife of England's King Henry VIII, dies. 1830: English painter Thomas Lawrence dies. 1943: Physicist Nikola Tesla dies in New York City. 2012: Eleven people die when a hot-air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand. 2015: In Paris, 12 people die in a terrorist attack on the offices of the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo . 2015: At least 38 people die when a car bomb explodes outside a police academy in Sana'a, Yemen.

Cities like New York and Philadelphia touted warming centers for people who lost heat during Winter Storm Grayson and the Arctic blast that followed.  But people living along southern coastal Monmouth County were on their own, despite predictions of  temperatures near zero and wind chills dipping into double digits below zero. A survey of municipal websites, social media pages and tweets found no mention of warming centers for people affected by the loss of heat or insufficient heat either during Grayson, which dumped more than 16 inches of snow in some spots, or after, when the National Weather Service issued advisories for potentially dangerous wind chills into the weekend. Municipal tweets and posts emphasized a combination of local laws and common sense: parking during a snow emergency; clearing snow from around fire hydrants;  cold-weather safety; shoveling safety, and keeping sidewalks clear. Municipalities also provided updates on road and weather conditions,...

1839: In Ireland, several hundred people die and about 20 percent of houses in Dublin are destroyed in a windstorm. The event will become known as the Night of the Big Wind. 1989: In India, Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh are executed for conspiracy in the October 1984 assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. 2012: Twenty-six people die in a suicide bombing at a police station in Damascus, Syria. 2017: Five people die in a mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.

Heaps of plowed snow enhance the adventure of getting around on foot. This wall is at the intersection of Embury and Delaware avenues in Ocean Grove. Potentially harmful wind chills make navigating such obstacles more challenging. Winter Storm Grayson walloped the area with 16 1/2 inches of snow as it roared up the coast on Thursday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has extended a wind chill advisory until 10 a.m. Sunday. Wind chills are expected to range from 5 below 0 to 15 below 0, with temperatures ranging from a high of 14 to a low of 5, the NWS said. The temperature at 5 a.m. Saturday was 6, with a wind chill of 8 below 0. Wind chill can cause frostbite on exposed skin in 30 minutes, according to the NWS. The extreme cold can also cause hypothermia, or a decrease in body temperature. If you need to go out bundle up,wear hat and gloves, and watch how much time you spend outdoors.

The day-long scourge that was Winter Storm Grayson yesterday dumped more than 16 inches of snow around coastal Monmouth County and opened the door to the Arctic ice box. Temperatures today will range from a daytime high of 19F to a nighttime low of 6F, with winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The combined cold air and wind is expected to create wind chills ranging from 0 to 15 below. The NWS issued a wind chill advisory effective until noon Saturday. Extreme cold can induce hypothermia, and frost bite can occur in 30 minutes, the NWS said. If you're going outside, bundle up in layers, and wear hat and gloves.

871: In England, Aethelred of Wessex loses the Battle of Reading to the Danes. 1903: Topsy, an Asian circus elephant, dies by electrocution and strangling.  The owners of the Luna Park amusement park at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, put her down after several violent incidents. Her death by electrocution was filmed by Edison Studios for the movie Electrocuting an Elephant  as a demonstration of alternating current. 1960: French author Albert Camus dies. 1965: English poet T.S. Eliot dies. 1975: Italian author Carlo Levi dies. 1987: Sixteen people die when an Amtrak passenger train and Conrail engines collide in Chase, Maryland.

The National Weather Service (NWS)  has upgraded the region's winter storm warning to a blizzard warning, effective from 9 tonight to 7 tomorrow evening. Winds after midnight will become north 15 to 25 miles per hour, gusting up to 40 miles per hour. Winds during the day tomorrow will be northwest, between 30 and 36 miles per hour, with gusts up to 46 miles per hour. White-out conditions are possible. The area could see up to a foot of snow by the time the storm tapers off Thursday afternoon. Temperatures tomorrow will range from a daytime high of 31 to a nighttime low of 12. Wind chills could be below 0.

The impending nor'easter has forced the cancellation of Thursday trash collections in Neptune Township and Ocean Grove. Trash and recycling normally collected on Thursday in Neptune Township's Zone C trash and Zone C2 recycling will be picked up on Saturday, Jan. 6, officials said in a post on the township website and on social  media. Bins should be placed at the curb by 6 pm. Friday. Trash in Ocean Grove will be collected on the next regularly scheduled day, which is Monday, Jan. 8. For more information, go to www.neptunetownship.org.

The handwritten sign on Ralph the Ocean Grove Fisherman's perch says: "Down the Shore everything's alright," and everything was still all right at 10 this morning, fewer than 12 hours before a winter storm warning goes into effect. The intense nor'easter developing out at sea is expected to dump up to eight inches of snow upon coastal Monmouth County between late tonight and tomorrow evening. 

The National Weather Service (NWS)  has upgraded the region's winter storm watch to a winter storm warning as an off-shore nor'easter intensifies along the eastern seaboard. The warning starts at 9 tonight and lasts until 7 p.m. Thursday. It is unclear how much snow will fall in eastern Monmouth County. The NWS predicts total accumulations of up to eight inches along the coast. Heavy snow and blowing snow are possible, with wind gusts as high as 45 miles per hour. After daytime highs of 29F today and tomorrow, temperatures will fall into the teens, in what the NWS describes as wind-driven record cold. As of this posting, eastern Long Island and New England were expected to feel the brunt of the storm, getting up to or more than a foot of snow.

1795: Josiah Wedgwood, founder of the Wedgwood Company in England, dies. 1925: Benito Mussolini becomes dictator of Italy.

The Spring Lake Theatre Company will hold auditions for the musical Bye Bye Birdie  on Wednesday, Jan. 3 and Friday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Spring Lake Community House, Third and Madison avenues. Callbacks will be Monday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. Please prepare 16 to 32 bars of a musical theater song. Bring sheet music in the correct key; an accompanist will be provided. There will be a choreography combination for all auditions. Wear comfortable clothing for dancing and bring jazz or character shoes. Performance dates are Feb. 16, 17, 23 and 24, and March 2 and 3. Curtain is 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Feb. 24 and March 3. For more information, contact director Kerry White at kerrywhite@springlaketheatre.com.

1999: Sixty-eight people die in a snowstorm that pummels the American Midwest. 2000: English author Patrick O'Brian dies. 2006: Twelve people die in a coal mine explosion in Sago, West Virginia.

A local beekeeper warns that proposed rules limiting the number of hives per acre could have a negative effect on her business and on beekeepers around the state. In a post on social media, Mary Kosenski, of E&M Gold Beekeepers of Tinton Falls, said the limit "would severely impact our income, and our ability to run our business." Kosenski also warned that the hives of 1,000 New Jersey beekeepers would be considered illegal if the rules were approved. The state Division of Plant Industry has proposed limiting the number of hives per lot according to the amount of acreage. Non-commercial beekeepers who keep hives on a residential lot of one-quarter acre to fewer than five acres would be allowed no more than two hives per lot. Beekeepers who have commercial farms on the same acreage in a residential zone would be allowed to seek a waiver for up to 10 hives. Non-qualified commercial beekeepers on a commercial lot of the same size would be allowed to seek a waiver for u...

A wind chill advisory is in effect until 10 this morning. The National Weather Service (NWS) says wind chills will range from 0F to -10F. The temperature at 7:45 a.m. was 4F (-16C), with a wind chill of -10F. Make sure you wear a hat and gloves when you go out. Low wind chills can cause frostbite and hypothermia, according to the NWS.

69: Roman legions in what is now Germany mutiny against Emperor Galba. 404: In Rome, the Christian monk Telemachus is murdered by an angry mob when he tries to stop a gladiatorial fight. 1776: Norfolk, Virginia burns during the Revolutionary War. 1978: Two hundred and thirteen people die when an Air India jetliner crashes into the sea off the coast of Mumbai, India.