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"The Great Snow of 1717" blanketed New England in a series of four storms, leaving nearly four feet on the ground and drifts up to 25 feet high.
"The Washington and Jefferson Snowstorm" is so named because it trapped both men at their homes with snow up to three feet deep throughoutMaryland and Virginia.
Named after the Revolutionary War troops stationed in Rhode Island, drifts were reported to be 15 feet high after this storm.
"The Long Storm" went down in history as the snowiest on record for that month. Stretching from Maryland to Maine, up to a foot-and-a-half of snow coated the region.
A powerful storm buffeted New York City, Long Island, and southern New England, accompanied by gale-force winds and destructive tides that severely damaged many ships and harbors.
"The Cold Storm" produced severe blizzard conditions along much of the eastern seaboard. Temperatures fell below 9 below zero Fahrenheit, and snowfalls were between one and two feet deep.
The "Blizzard of '88" produced temperatures plummeting well below zero degrees Fahrenheit, ravaging gusts of wind and deep snow drifts that stranded several cities, leaving them without transportation or communication. New York City suffered the most damage, particularly to its harbor areas.
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Photograph of a horse drawn sleigh taken on March 18, 1888, during the Great Blizzard. (Courtesy of the Historic National Weather Service Collection.) Larger version (43k). |
The Great Blizzard of March 12, 1888. New York, New York. (Courtesy of the Historic National Weather Service Collection.) Larger version (43k). |
The "Portland Storm" was named after the ship that sank off the coast of Cape Cod, the S.S. Portland. High winds and moderately heavy snows accompanied the storm.
The "Knickerbocker Storm" dumped over two feet of heavy snow on Washington D.C. causing the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre to collapse, killing nearly 100 people.
A post-Christmas storm caught New York residents by surprise, dropping two feet of snow in 24 hours.
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An aerial view of an expressway in Chicago, paralyzed after a blizzard, January 26-27, 1967. (Courtesy of the Historical National Weather Service Collection.) Larger version (44k). |
A series of record-breaking storms battered the west coast of Lake Michigan, hitting Chicago the hardest, shutting nearly everything down. Looting of the unattended stores became rampant, and it took the city over two weeks to clear the major highways and roads.
New York City became trapped under a foot-and-a-half of snow. Commuters became stranded in their cars, schools closed, and travelers were stuck at airports, which were also forced to close. To make matters worse, many of the snow plows had become buried by snow in their storage lots and had to be dug out before they could be used. The city and outlying suburbs were forced to hire 10,000 shovelers and workers to clear the streets.
Ontario, Canada and western New York state were slammed by a storm that killed 28 people and shut down the city of Buffalo for over a week. Highways were clogged with thousands of stranded vehicles, and people became trapped at schools, stores and offices, where they were forced to spend the night because they could not make it home through the blizzard.
The "Blizzard of the Century" ravaged the southern mid-Atlantic states from Alabama to Massachusetts, accompanied in other states by severe weather disturbances such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, and floods. Snow fell at rates between an inch and two inches an hour in some areas, and many locations experienced record-breaking snowfalls and record snow depths.
The Blizzard of 1996 was responsible for over 100 deaths and brought much of the eastern United States to a complete halt. Schools, offices and airports were closed for several days in some areas as roads were impassable. Compounding problems, two subsequent storms blasted the same areas within the following week-and-a-half.
