The Worst Blizzards of All Time

As the snow began to fall on Jan. 26th, most Chicagoans were able to make it to school and work. The commute home, however, was a disaster. As eight inches of snow blanketed the city by noon, transportation systems shut down and commuters were left stranded in their cars, or their offices or in a hotel, if they could find a room. By the 28th, the city had dug itself out from the blizzard, but more than 60 people died in what was termed the most disruptive event in the city’s history since the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Although Atlanta has been known to weather an occasional snowstorm, the city was hit with a paralyzing blizzard in January of 1940. Instead of the typical two to four inches of snow dumped on the city by an average Atlanta storm, the Great Atlanta Blizzard covered the Southern capital with more than 10 inches of the white stuff, closing schools and transportation and downing power lines. But in Virginia, Farmville was hit even worse by the same storm – the town 55 miles southwest of Richmond was buried in 24 inches of snow.

The Blizzard of 1978 stretched from New England to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Snow totals ranged from 27 inches in Boston to 16 inches in Philadelphia. About 100 people died,10,000 sought emergency shelter, and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, including many along the New England and Long Island coastline. All told, the storm caused $520 million in damages, which equates to almost $2.2 billion in 2021 dollars.

The Knickerbocker Storm got its name from a tragic event related to the blizzard. So much snow fell on the Knickerbocker Theatre in Washington, D.C. that the roof collapsed, killing 98 people and injuring 133 at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 28. The nation’s capital took the brunt of the accumulation with a blanket of 28 inches, but Maryland and Virginia were also covered with heavy snow.

Not known for significant snowstorms, northwestern Oklahoma was inundated with 36 inches in the town of Buffalo, creating 20-foot high snow drifts. Yet nearby cities in the Oklahoma Panhandle received light snow of only two to three inches. Thousands of head of livestock were lost in the storm, but the precipitation gave the parched area some relief.

Residents of the Northern Rockies and Plains states got their wish for a white Christmas when the area was struck by a Category 5 or “extreme” event on the Regional Snowfall Index Scale, leaving travelers stranded during a busy holiday week. Hardest hit was South Dakota, where more than 30 inches of snow fell. Minnesota received 26 inches. The storm reportedly claimed 21 lives.

Prior to the 2009 Christmas Blizzard, the Northern Plains endured another hellish snowstorm. Snowfall reached up to 38 inches, with drifts as high as 40 feet in some locations. Across the Great Plains, 18 people reportedly died and tens of thousands of livestock perished. Businesses, schools, and transportation were halted for days as power lines were destroyed.

The Blizzard of 1920 buried parts of northern Colorado under two to three feet of snow. But as the Berthoud Bulletin described the event, the snow started to fall early one Saturday morning and continued until Sunday night. By Monday, the dig-out had started and life resumed as normal soon afterwards.

December 1929 in northern Texas started warmly with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Yet the weather took a severe turn on December 17, when temperatures plunged to a frigid 40º. Although the height of the storm lasted only 24 hours, some cities recorded more than 20 inches of snow. The highest total was in Hillsboro, where 26 inches fell – a record for a 24-hour snowfall in the Lone Star State that still stands today.

In early 1943, people in the Northern Rockies were enjoying a relatively mild winter with average temperatures of 33º – which for that part of the country qualifies as mild. Yet a Category 5 storm blanketed areas of Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the latter half of January.

Covering a large swath of the Midwest, the Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011 reached into New Mexico and northern Texas and into Eastern Canada. The snow began to fall on Jan. 31, and didn’t let up until Feb. 2. Wisconsin was particularly hard hit, with snow totals reaching nearly 24 inches in some places.

A blizzard is never welcome any time of year, but when it occurs around a busy holiday travel season its effects are even worse. In late November of 1993, a storm swept across the Upper Midwest, dumping massive amounts of snow in South Dakota and Minnesota. Westport, South Dakota weathered the highest total at 32 inches.

Late 1985 brought snow and freezing temperatures to the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains in this post-Thanksgiving Day blizzard, with a foot of snow and winds of 40 miles per in some areas. Yet the blizzard didn’t stop a match between the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers played in a driving snowstorm at Lambeau. Green Bay won.

The Blizzard of 1988 covered a swath of land from Oklahoma to North Carolina, with the Carolina mountains covered in 16 inches of snow. Chattanooga, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama, received more than 10 inches each of powdery snow.

A mild winter across the U.S. was interrupted when a severe snowstorm hit the South in late February. On March 2, Raleigh, North Carolina recorded a historic 17.8 inches in just one day — a record that stood until 2000. According to local reports at the time, Asheville received seven inches, Greensboro 20 inches, and Fayetteville more than two feet.

The Storm of the Century, also known as the Superstorm of 1993, was one of the most costly and deadliest weather disasters of the 20th century. It cut across the South and up along the East Coast to Maine. Snow totals ranged from nearly 60 inches in Mount LeConte, Tennessee, to less than an inch in Raleigh, North Carolina. The storm led to more than 300 deaths and $2 billion in damages in 1993 dollars — equivalent to almost $3.7 billion today.

A rare springtime blizzard left parts of the Northern Rockies and Plains buried under four feet of snow. The storm also produced tornadoes that crashed into homes and businesses in the Plains. An AP report quoted snowplow drivers saying the snow was so high it was like driving through a brick wall.

Snow began to fall on Washington, D.C. on January 6, and soon the storm moved up the Eastern Seaboard. Newark, New Jersey, was hit with 28 inches, while Providence, Rhode Island, received 32 inches and Philadelphia 30 inches. When it was all over, 154 people had lost their lives and the region suffered $1 billion in damages.

Severe cold temperatures affected every state east of the Rockies and reached down into the deep South with Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina frozen under -34 degrees. Florida’s citrus industry suffered $2.5 billion in losses from the “freeze of the century.”

The Upper Midwest was spooked by a blizzard on Halloween Day of 1991, with heavy snowfall and ice. Duluth, Minnesota, received nearly 37 inches of snow, a record that held until 1994. Interesting fact: The same weather pattern that began in the Northeast and was the basis for the book “The Perfect Storm,” about the tragic sinking of a fishing vessel off the Nova Scotia coast, was responsible for the Halloween Day blizzard.

The Regional Snowfall Index (RSI), a NOAA-developed system to assess the impact of snowstorms in different regions of the U.S., ranked this blizzard as a Category 5, or extreme, event — one of only 26 storms so classified since 1900. Arkansas bore the brunt of the storm, with Mount Vernon accumulating 30 inches of snow and six other communities getting at least two feet. The state capital, Little Rock, got off comparatively lightly with 11.6 inches of snow and 1.5 inches of sleet.

Boston took a direct hit from the “100-Hour Storm” in late February 1969. Logan Airport was covered by more than 26 inches. More than 70 inches fell at Pinkham Notch Base Station in New Hampshire.

No further information is available about this storm.

On Thanksgiving weekend, the Central Appalachians weathered a massive storm, part blizzard, part hurricane. Colburn Creek, West Virginia, had to dig out from under 62 inches of snow. Eastern Kentucky was also hard hit with more than a foot of snow. The storm impacted 22 states, with hurricane force winds felt as far north as New Hampshire. The death total reached more than 300.

The Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region endured one its worst winter storms in late January of 1978. In addition to massive snow totals, the storm whipped up near-hurricane strength winds, earning the event its “White Hurricane” moniker. Ohio bore the brunt of the bad weather, with 51 people dying in that state. But across the area businesses, schools, and transportation were closed for days.