On the eve of what hopefully is the news medias version of tabloid weather, I thought it appropriate to reprise the story about the Great White Hurricane of 1888 and Yonkers. The Great Blizzard of 1888 (March 11 – March 14, 1888) was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in the history of the United States of America. Snowfalls of 20–60 inches fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and sustained winds of more than 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) produced snowdrifts in excess of 50 feet. Railroads were shut down and people were confined to their houses for up to a week. Remember this was before gas engines and trucks... all was done by shovel and horse drawn cart!!! Here is how it went immediately before: The weather preceding the blizzard was unseasonably mild 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. The National Weather Service estimated this Noreaster dumped as much as 50 inches of snow in parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, while parts of New Jersey and New York had up to 40 inches. Most of northern Vermont received from 20 inches to 30 inches in this storm. Drifts were reported to average 30–40 feet (YES FEET), over the tops of houses from New York to New England, with reports of drifts covering 3-story houses. The highest drift (52 feet) was recorded in Gravesend, New York (Brooklyn). (CAN YOU IMAGINE!!!) The storm also produced severe winds; 80 miles per hour (129 km/h) wind gusts were reported. New Yorks Central Park Observatory reported a minimum temperature of 6 °F and a daytime average of 9 °F on March 13, the coldest ever for March. The storm, referred to as the “Great White Hurricane”, paralyzed the East Coast from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine, as well as the Atlantic provinces of Canada. 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. In New York, neither rail nor road transport was possible anywhere for days and drifts across the New York–New Haven rail line at Westport, Connecticut took eight days to clear; transportation gridlock as a result of the storm was partially responsible for the creation of the first underground subway system in the United States, which opened nine years later in Boston. The New York Stock Exchange was closed for two days. Fire stations were immobilized, and property loss from fire alone was estimated at $25 million. 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. Efforts were made to push the snow into the Atlantic Ocean. More than 400 people died from the storm and the ensuing cold, including 200 in New York City alone. Lets hope that we dont see this again ... Below is Getty Square with the Getty House across the street and the second photo is on the side of St. Johns Church in Getty Square....
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 02:21:49 +0000
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