The Great Blizzard of 1888, also known as the Great Blizzard of '88 or the Great White Hurricane (March 11–14, 1888), was one of the most severe recorded blizzards and deadliest blizzard in American history. The storm paralyzed the East Coast from Chesapeake Bay to Maine, Railway and telegraph lines were disabled, and this provided the impetus to move these pieces of infrastructure underground. Emergency services were also affected during this blizzard.

Meteorological history

thumb|right|Streets in New York City as the storm hit. Many overhead wires broke and presented a hazard to city dwellers.

thumb|right|[[Brooklyn Bridge during the blizzard]]

The weather was unseasonably mild just before the blizzard, with heavy rains that turned to snow as temperatures dropped rapidly. The storm began in earnest shortly after midnight on March 12 and continued unabated for a full day and a half. In a 2007 article, the National Weather Service estimated that this nor'easter dumped as much as of snow in parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, while parts of New Jersey and New York had up to . Most of northern Vermont received from to .

Drifts averaged , over the tops of houses from New York to New England, with reports of drifts covering three-story houses. The highest drift was recorded in Gravesend, Brooklyn at . of snow fell in Saratoga Springs, New York; in Albany, New York; in New Haven, Connecticut; and in New York City. The storm also produced severe winds; wind gusts were reported, although the highest official report in New York City was , with a gust reported at Block Island. The New York Stock Exchange was closed for two days. A full two day weather-related closure would not occur again until Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Similarly, telegraph infrastructure was disabled, isolating Montreal and most of the large northeastern U.S. cities from Washington, D.C. to Boston for days. Following the storm, New York began placing its telegraph and telephone infrastructure underground to prevent their destruction.

Fire stations were immobilized, and property loss from fire alone was estimated at $25 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Efforts were made to push the snow into the Atlantic Ocean. Severe flooding occurred after the storm due to melting snow, especially in the Brooklyn area, which was susceptible to flooding because of its topography.

Roscoe Conkling, an influential Republican politician, died a few weeks after attempting to walk home during the blizzard.

On October 1, 1888, an article appeared in the first issue of the National Geographic Society magazine about the great blizzard. It was written by Edward Everett Hayden and described the blizzard and the courageous and successful struggle, told by boat-keeper Robert Robinson, of the crew from the pilot-boat Charles H. Marshall, No. 3.

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File:Blizzard 1888 Grand Central NY.jpg|45th Street and Grand Central Depot, Manhattan, March 12

File:Brooklyn blizzard 1888.jpg|Park Place in Brooklyn, March 14

File:Brooklyn Museum - Blizzard of March 1888, Brooklyn - Breading G. Way - overall.jpg|Brooklyn children after the blizzard

File:StereoviewNewBritainCTGrandStMar131888BlizzardFWAllderige enh.jpg|New Britain, Connecticut, March 13

File:Stebbins-11-Cythera.jpg|Cythera, lost with all aboard in the blizzard

File:Bone-valley-trail.jpg|Bone Valley Trail, where a herd of cattle froze

File:(King1893NYC) pg047 THE BLIZZARD OF MARCH 1888 (PHOTO BY LANGILL).jpg|14th Street, New York City, "just after the storm" (March 14)

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References

Further reading

  • "The Great Storm of March 11 to 14, 1888", National Geographic Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1889 (audio) Accessed April 17, 2012
  • NOAA: Major winter storms Accessed April 17, 2012
  • Blizzard 1888, US Government images Accessed April 17, 2012
  • National Snow and Ice Data Center: "Have Snow Shovel, Will Travel" Accessed April 17, 2012
  • http://cslib.cdmhost.com/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15019coll17 Connecticut State Library Blizzard of 1888 Photographic Collection