On the eve of a snowstorm—and let’s remember, it is winter so they happen!—we’re once again facing the familiar sight of thinning grocery shelves and people acting a little less kind than they probably should. .. give them a pass. They know what what they do.
The media has a way of doing a number on your brain, turning every weather event into its own personal Armageddon.
But we’ve been here before. We’ve lived through snowstorm doomsdays in the past, and we made it through every single one of them. We’ll make it through this one too.
Whether we get six inches or twenty-six, rest assured: life will go on. Bills will still be due. The roads will eventually clear. The storm will pass.
So on the eve of the event, instead of panicking, let’s go back in time. Let’s take a look at other moments when grocery stores were empty, nerves were frayed, and everyone swore this was the one that would change everything..
A stroll down a snowy Amnesia Lane… coming right up.
The darkness our ancestors faced: they had to jump to spat!
March 11, 1888 was unseasonably mild. Just after midnight on the 12th, things changed. A massive Nor’Easter began to swirl, and the great Blizzard of 1888 began.. Railway and telegraph lines were disabled, and this provided the impetus to move these pieces of infrastructure underground. Emergency services were also affected.. Parts of Jersey had 40 inches of snow.. Further north, there were reports of 50 inches with even higher snow drifts.. All life ground to a sudden halt.
1922 saw the onset of the roaring 20s.. and boy did winter roar that year. The Knickerbocker storm was a blizzard that occurred on January 27–28, 1922 in the upper South and middle Atlantic United States. The storm took its name from the resulting collapse of the Knickerbocker Theatre in Washington, D.C. shortly after 9 p.m. on January 28 which killed 98 people and injured 133!
The North East had a “Great American cold Wave” hit in 1936.. February 1936 was the coldest February on record in the contiguous U.S., narrowly eclipsing February 1899.. up to 100 people died in 36’s wave due to highway accidents from snow and ice..
The December 1960 nor’easter was a significant early-season winter storm that impacted the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the United States. Moderate to heavy snowfall fell from West Virginia to eastern Maine, amounting to 10 inches or more in parts of 13 states and peaking at 21.4 in at Newark, New Jersey. The storm was accompanied by strong winds, gusting to over 90 mph in coastal New England, and left in its wake a dangerously cold air mass..
Back in 2010, when the United States was experiencing a cold winter situation, Live Science reported that the climate of the time may have reminded some of their childhood in the 1970s! At that time in January 2010, snow covered a vast majority of the United States of America.. In the 1970s, a massive 1977 Blizzard hit New York and Ontario with 50 foot drifts and arctic cold..
On the afternoon and evening of March 2, 1980, North Carolina experienced a major winter storm with heavy snow across the entire state and near blizzard conditions in the eastern part of the state. Widespread snowfall totals of 12 to 18 inches were observed over Eastern North Carolina, with localized amounts ranging up to 22 inches at Morehead City and 25 inches at Elizabeth City, with unofficial reports of up to 30 inches at Emerald Isle and Cherry Point.
The fabulous 90s
The famed STORM OF THE CENTURY struck in 1993 when I was just 12 years old.. This is the first time I can say with certainly and concreteness that I lived through a monumental storm of epic proportion.. I recall forecasters almost nervous on the Weather Channel and local TV.. I can remember school being canceled for over a week, and then the snow itself not melting for weeks into the spring of that year.. Heavy snow was first reported in highland areas as far south as Alabama and northern Georgia, with Union County, Georgia reporting up to 35 inches of snow in the north Georgia mountains. Birmingham, Alabama, reported a rare 13 inches of snow. The Florida Panhandle reported up to 4 inches of snow, with hurricane-force wind gusts and record low barometric pressures. Between Louisiana and Cuba, the hurricane-force winds produced high storm surges across the big bend of Florida which, in combination with scattered tornadoes, killed dozens of people.
The Blizzard of 1996 was a severe nor’easter that paralyzed the United States East Coast with up to 4 feet of wind-driven snow from January 6 to January 8, 1996. This storm was a classic example of a nor’easter, but the storm would not have been as historically significant without the presence of the arctic high pressure system located to the north of New York. It was followed by another storm, an Alberta Clipper, on January 12, then unusually warm weather and torrential rain which caused rapid melting and river flooding.
At the age of 15, I remember this storm creating havoc and 20 foot mountains of plowed snow on roadways.. and then flooding rains, all within a few days..
First there was a monumental Christmas Day blizzard in 2002 when virtually all holiday travel and family dinners became frozen to a halt.. it was a BAD Christmas memory. one of the dullest of my life–but AOL IM and other stone age internet technologies kept me occupied..
The Blizzard of 2003, also known as the Presidents’ Day Storm II or simply PDII, was a historical and record-breaking snowstorm on the East Coast of the United States and Canada, which lasted from February 14 to February 19, 2003:
Just one month later in 2003, another massive storm hit on ST. Patrick’s Day:
And who can forget.. In 2007, a major ice storm crippled Pennsylvania on Valentine’s Day.. two feet of snow in some places.. and interstate traffic brought to a half for over 2 days in other places..
Another similar blizzard hit in December 2010 just in time for Christmas..
And the 20 teens were not doe snowing yet..
There were a lot, lot more than what was listed here. Perhaps little snow events, squall lines, or even ice and slop storms that stuck in your brain rent free for your life because of how much it may have affected you, friends, or family..
Snow does something in its silence. We become humbled at the actions of Mother Nature.. we are condemned by her, humored by her, and so often in awe of her majesty and beauty. Depending on your love of snow or hate, you will have a certain mood when snow begins falling.
But we have been here before.. And we have bounced out.
Be happy.
Winter comes only once a year. But there are times it seems that its ‘once a year’ lasts sooooooo very long…..
As far as tomorrow? We have solar charged up our Martha Clarendon index. We are no where near a troubling ‘storm of the century’ rating, but she is landing on concerning. Keep drinking tea Martha. Andre is not here yet.
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