Great Blizzard of 1888
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2008-07-04T01:25:05Z
Vinny Burgoo
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Spelling: "climactic" --> "climatic"
{{dablink|This article is about the blizzard which affected the eastern United States and Canada. For the blizzard which affected the Great Plains in the same year, see [[Schoolhouse Blizzard]].}}
{{Infobox winter storm|name=Great Blizzard of 1888
|image location=1888031210pm.gif
|image name=[[surface weather analysis|Surface analysis]] of Blizzard on March 12, 1888 at 10 pm
|stormtype=[[Winter storm]]
|date formed=[[March 11]], [[1888]]
|date dissipated=[[March 14]], [[1888]]
|maximum amount=58.0 inches (147.0 cm)
|pressure=982 hPa
|total damages (USD)=$25,000,000 (1888 dollars), $1.2 billion (2008 dollars)
|total fatalities=400
|areas affected=Mid-Atlantic coast
}}
The '''Great Blizzard of 1888''' ([[March 11]] – [[March 14]] [[1888]]) was one of the most severe [[blizzard]]s in [[United States]] recorded history. Snowfalls of 40-50 inches (102-127 cm) fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and sustained winds of over {{convert|45|mph|km/h|0}} produced [[snowdrift]]s in excess of {{convert|50|ft|m|1}}. Railroads were shut down and people were confined to their houses for up to a week. People tried to go to work for fear of losing their jobs. Almost 30 of them in New York alone froze to death on their way home after they found there was no electricity.<ref name=douglas>{{cite book | last = Douglas | first = Paul | title = Restless Skies | publisher = [[Barnes & Noble|Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc]]. | date = 2004 | pages = 12-13 | id = ISBN 0-7607-6133-2 }}</ref>
==Storm details==
[[Image:Blizzard 1888 01.jpg|thumb|180px|left|Streets in New York City as the storm hit. Many of these overhead wires were broken and presented a hazardous obstacle to the city dwellers.<ref>{{cite web | title = Building the invisible city | publisher = Virtual New York | url = http://www.vny.cuny.edu/blizzard/building/building.html | accessdate = 2007-05-10 }}</ref>]]
The weather preceding the blizzard was unseasonably mild with heavy [[rain]]s that turned to snow as temperatures dropped rapidly.<ref name=douglas />
The storm began in earnest shortly after midnight on March 12, and continued unabated for a full day and a half. The [[National Weather Service]] estimated this incredible [[Nor'easter]] dumped {{convert|50|in|m|1}} of snow in [[Connecticut]] and [[Massachusetts]] while [[New Jersey]] and the state of [[New York]] had {{convert|40|in|m|1}}.<ref name= Big>{{cite web |url=http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/climate/big.php |title=Biggest Snowstorms in the United States: From 1888 to Present |accessdate=2007-12-21 |format= |work=NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI }}</ref> Most of northern [[Vermont]] received from {{convert|20|in|cm|1}} to {{convert|30|in|cm|1}} in this storm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www5.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim60/states/Clim_VT_01.pdf |title= Climate of Vermont |accessdate=2007-12-21 |format=pdf |work=National Climatic Data Center}}</ref>
Drifts were reported to be 25-40 feet, over the tops of houses from New York to New England, with reports of drifts covering 3-story houses. The highest drift ({{convert|52|ft|m|1}}) was recorded in [[Gravesend, Brooklyn|Gravesend, New York]]. Fifty eight inches of snow was reported in [[Saratoga Springs, New York]]; 48 inches in [[Albany, New York]]; 45 inches of snow in [[New Haven, Connecticut]]; and 22 inches of snow in [[New York City]].<ref name=NCDC>{{cite web |url=http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/blizzard/blizz.txt |title= The Big One! A Review of the March 12-14, 1993 "Storm of the Century" [With comparisons to the Blizzard of 1888] |accessdate=2007-12-21 |format= |work=National Climatic Data Center }}</ref> The storm also produced severe winds; {{convert|80|mph|km/h|0}} wind gusts were reported, although the highest official report in New York City was {{convert|40|mph|km/h|0}}, with a {{convert|54|mph|km/h|0}} gust reported at [[Block Island]].<ref name=NCDC/> New York's Central Park Observatory reported a minimum temperature of {{convert|6|°F|°C|1}}, and a daytime average of {{convert|9|°F|°C|1}} on March 13, the coldest ever for March.<ref name=NCDC/>
==Effects==
The storm, referred to as the '''Great White Hurricane''', paralyzed the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] from the [[Chesapeake Bay]] to [[Maine]],<ref name= Big/> as well as the [[Atlantic Canada|Atlantic provinces of Canada]].<ref name=douglas /> [[Telegraph]] [[infrastructure]] was disabled, isolating [[New York]], [[Boston]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Baltimore]], and [[Washington, D.C.]] for days. From Chesapeake Bay through the New England area, over 200 ships were either grounded or wrecked, resulting in the deaths of at least 100 seamen.<ref name=NCDC/>
In New York, neither rail nor road transport was possible anywhere for days,<ref name=Christiano>{{cite web | url = http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/1888-blizzard.html | title =The Blizzard of 1888; the Impact of this Devastating Storm on New York Transit}}</ref> and drifts across the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad|New York—New Haven rail line]] at [[Westport, Connecticut]] took [[New Haven Line#History|eight days]] to clear; [[transportation]] gridlock as a result of the storm was partially responsible for the creation of the first underground [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority|subway]] system in the United States, which opened nine years later in Boston.<ref>
{{cite web| url = http://www.massmoments.com/moment.cfm?mid=77 | title = Blizzard shuts down Massachusetts | publisher= Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities | quote = Perhaps the most important legacy of the Blizzard of 1888 was the Boston subway system. Alarmed by the paralysis and economic damage the storm caused, Boston decided to build a subway.}}<div><div/>{{cite web | url = http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/1888-blizzard.html | title =The Blizzard of 1888; the Impact of this Devastating Storm on New York Transit | quote =There is no overstating the significant impact this tragedy had on the metropolis, especially on transportation. The resulting standstill on the elevated lines resulted in the city adopting a plan to build subways.}}</ref>
[[Fire station]]s were immobilized, and property loss from [[fire]] alone was estimated at $25 million.<ref name=Christiano/> Severe flooding occurred after the storm due to melting snow—especially in the [[Brooklyn]] area, which was more susceptible to serious flooding due to its [[topography]].<ref name=NCDC/> Efforts were made to push the snow into the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Over 400 people died from the storm and the ensuing cold, including 200 in New York City alone.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/program_areas/wxhisttdy/index.php?url=Mar12 |title=On Mar 12 in weather history... |accessdate=2007-12-21 |format= |work=NWS Northern Indiana Weather History }}</ref><ref name=NCDC/>
==Pictures==
<gallery>
Image:Brooklyn blizzard 1888.jpg|Park Place in [[Brooklyn]], [[March 14]]
Image:StereoviewNewBritainCTGrandStMar131888BlizzardFWAllderige.jpg|[[New Britain, Connecticut]], [[March 13]]
</gallery>
==See also==
*[[Blizzard]]
*[[Nor'easter]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*[http://www.infoplease.com/spot/blizzard1.html Borgna Brunner, "The Great White Hurricane"]
*{{cite news
| last =
| first =
| coauthors =
| title = In a Blizzard's Grasp
| work =
| pages =
| language =
| publisher = The New York Times
| date = March 13, 1888
| url = http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C00E7D8173AE033A25750C1A9659C94699FD7CF
| accessdate = 2007-12-21}}
[[Category:Blizzards in the United States]]
[[Category:Nor'easters]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in New York]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Natural disasters in Maryland]]
[[Category:1888 meteorology]]
[[Category:1888 natural disasters]]
[[de:Großer Schneesturm (1888)]]