By David E. Hubler
Contributor, EDM Digest
With the January blizzards and flooding in the West and this month’s massive storms in the Northeast, the winter of 2016-2017 is shaping up as one for the record books. So it might be instructional – and perhaps reassuring – to look back on some of the greatest snowfalls in U.S. history, as compiled mainly from the History Channel and LiveScience. Here are our top storms in chronological order:
March 11-14, 1888, the Great White Hurricane
When wind-chill temperatures plunged to minus 40 degrees accompanied by strong winds, the Northeast was buried in snow and drifts as high as 50 feet, hence the storm’s name. The storm is also known as the Children’s Blizzard because teachers foolishly sent schoolchildren home on foot during the worst of the storm. The blizzard immobilized New York and Boston especially, blocking roads and wiping out telephone, telegraph and rail service for days. The nor’easter dumped 40 to 50 inches of snow on Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. Post-storm fires and flooding caused millions of dollars (billions in today’s dollar) in damage. The disaster resulted in more than 400 deaths, including 200 in New York City alone. Partly in response to the 1888 storm and the massive gridlock it wrought, New York and Boston soon wisely broke ground on the country’s first underground subway systems.
November 7-10, 1913, the White Hurricane
This blizzard with hurricane-force winds was the largest inland maritime disaster in U.S. history. Two low-pressure systems merged and intensified over Lake Huron creating blizzard conditions and hurricane-force winds for the better part of four days. More than 250 people died and at least a dozen ships were wrecked. Waves crested at 35 feet and the storm’s sustained winds reached 90 mph. Navigation became impossible because of whiteout conditions and ice accumulated on vessels. During one six-hour period on November 9, eight ships and 187 lives were lost.
January 27-28, 1922, the Knickerbocker Storm
The Knickerbocker Storm battered the upper South and Middle Atlantic states for two days. A record-breaking 28 inches of snow fell on Washington, D.C. When the storm abated on the evening of January 28, several hundred people went to watch a silent film at the Knickerbocker Theatre, then the largest and most modern movie house in the city. During intermission, the theater’s flat roof caved in under the weight of the wet snow (see above). Concrete, bricks and metal rained down onto the audience and killed 98 patrons and injured 133 others. It was one of the deadliest storms in Washington’s history. As much as 3 feet of snow fell in the Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania region during the blizzard.
November 11, 1940, the Armistice Day Blizzard
Frigid northern air collided with warm Gulf Coast moisture to create an exploding bomb (meteorological terminology for a large drop in pressure) over the Midwest. Forecasters had not recognized the severity of the blizzard, which developed quickly with fierce winds and 20-foot snowdrifts. In the wake of the storm, Max Conrad, a pioneering light plane pilot based in Winona, Minnesota, flew up and down the Mississippi River looking for survivors and dropping supplies to them. By the time the blizzard tapered off the next day, Minneapolis St. Paul had received 16.7 inches of snow. A total of 154 deaths were linked to the storm, 49 in Minnesota including about 25 duck hunters who were not dressed for the severe weather. Thirteen people died in Illinois, 13 in Wisconsin, and 4 in Michigan.
November 24-27, 1950, the Great Appalachian Storm
The Great Appalachian Storm formed over North Carolina before looping around Ohio. The storm’s heavy rains, winds and blizzard devastated much of the Southeast on Thanksgiving weekend 1950. It was one of the most damaging and meteorologically unique winter storms to strike the eastern United States. For example, Pittsburgh received 30.5 inches of snow and temperatures in the single digits while Buffalo, New York, 200 miles to the north, had no snow and temperatures in the 40s. New York City recorded a peak wind gust of 94 mph and Newark, New Jersey, recorded a 108 mph wind gust. Up to 57 inches of snow blanketed the central Appalachians. It was the costliest storm on record up to that time and was responsible for 353 deaths.
January 9, 1975, the Super Bowl Blizzard
The Super Bowl Blizzard, also known as Minnesota’s Storm of the Century, takes the trophy for the most unusual storm. While the Pittsburgh Steelers were defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX in New Orleans, a record low-pressure system sparked tornadoes in the Southeast before heading into the upper Midwest. There the storm turned to heavy snows and frigid temperatures which killed more than 100,000 farm animals. Unlike many winter storms that sweep down from Canada, the Super Bowl Blizzard started in the Pacific and crossed the Rocky Mountains. As it headed across the Great Plains the storm stirred the first of 45 tornadoes. In the Midwest, the front mixed with Arctic air from the north and warm Gulf of Mexico moisture, the classic ingredients for a winter blizzard. Heavy snows and winds killed 58 people.
February 5-7, 1978, the Tardy Blizzard
Early on February 5, when a predicted snowfall for the Northeast failed to materialize, New Englanders went about their daily lives. Later that day, however, hurricane-force winds and whiteout conditions caught them by surprise. The storm quickly buried roads and highways, forcing gridlocked drivers and passengers to abandon their vehicles or be buried along with them. Massive snowdrifts trapped families in their homes and workers in their offices. Record snowfalls in Massachusetts and Rhode Island left residents without heat, water or electricity for more than a week. The nor’easter claimed an estimated 100 lives. Roughly 10,000 area residents were forced to take refuge in shelters. Severe flooding damaged or destroyed homes from the Long Island Sound to Cape Cod Bay.
March 12-15, 1993, The Storm of the Century
The mid-March blizzard was the National Weather Service’s first successful five-day forecast of a storm’s severity. Sophisticated new computer models allowed the NWS to issue a severe storm warning two days in advance. For the first time, governors could declare a state of emergency before a single snowflake fell. The widespread storm affected at least 26 states from northern Florida up through eastern Canada. The blizzard shut down the South for three days, dumping several feet of snow on regions that typically see less than an inch in a year. The storm forced local officials to create emergency plans on the fly. On the East Coast, hurricane-force winds and giant swells swept more than 15 homes on eastern Long Island out to sea. In the end, the storm resulted in 310 deaths and $6.6 billion in damages.
January 6-10, 1996, The “Blizzard” of 1996
Not technically a blizzard (defined as a large snowfall with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibility of less than 1/4 mile for at least 3 hours), this storm nevertheless paralyzed much of the East Coast with heavy, wet snow. It started with cold air coming from Canada and colliding with relatively warm winds from the Gulf of Mexico. On the evening of January 6, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and surrounding areas were hit by snow and sleet. The storm made its way north over the next few days, breaking snowfall records along the way. By the time the storm subsided, it had deposited between 17 and 30 inches of snow on every city along the Eastern seaboard. It also claimed 154 lives, many of whom died in traffic accidents. Thirty-three others died in flooding caused by melting snow in rapidly rising temperatures.
February 2010, The Blizzard Trio or ‘Snoverkill’
The shortest month managed to squeeze in three blizzards, all within a span of 20 days. A major winter storm crippled the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region the first week of February. This storm began during the evening of February 4 and continued through February 7, and brought record or near-record snowfall totals at the three major Washington D.C. airports. On February 9, a second major snowstorm produced high winds and heavy snow from Washington, D.C., to Boston. This storm dumped several more inches on top of the snow already on the ground. By the time the second storm cleared the East Coast, thousands of flights had been cancelled and Amtrak had suspended service in the hardest hit areas. Local rail and bus service was also disrupted. And on February 25-27, a slow-moving system crippled the Northeast yet again, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power. The nor’easter brought hurricane-force sustained winds to coastal New England. The heaviest snow, 12 to 24 inches, fell across a wide area of interior New England, New York, and Pennsylvania.
December 26-27, 2010, A Thundersnow Storm
The East Coast missed a very white Christmas by 24 hours when the fifth major storm of the season struck the following day and raged until the next afternoon. More than 7,000 flights were cancelled leaving thousands of travelers stranded. The post-holiday storm featured a rare meteorological event known as thundersnow, in which thunder and lightning are accompanied by heavy snow rather than rain. New York City’s transportation system took a particular beating, with passengers stranded in the subway for up to nine hours and city buses were left abandoned on unplowed streets. The deepest snowfall was recorded across the Hudson River in suburban Rahway, New Jersey, which received 32 inches.
About the Author
David E. Hubler brings a variety of government, journalism and teaching experience to his position as a Quality Assurance Editor at APUS. David’s professional background includes serving as a senior editor at CIA and the Voice of America. He has also been a managing editor for several business-to-business and business-to-government publishing companies. David has taught high school English in Connecticut and freshman composition at Northern Virginia Community College. He has a master’s degree for Teachers of English from the University of New Hampshire and a B.A. in English from New York University. In March 2017, Rowman & Littlefield will publish the paperback edition of David’s latest book, “The Nats and the Grays, How Baseball in the Nation’s Capital Survived WWII and Changed the Game Forever.”
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