WINTER STORMS OF HIGH WINDS, EXTREME COLD, AND BLOWING SNOW, 1886, 1912 & 1931 Storms of this nature occur from time to time over practically all the northern part of the country east of the Rockies and, especially over the Great Plains, from eastern Montana and the Dakotas south into Texas. Those of special severity, accompanied by winds of 40 miles or more per hour, temperatures near zero, and driving snow that limits vision to a few yards, or even a few feet, are commonly called blizzards, though there is no precise definition of this term. In the western part o f Kansas, where wind velocities are often high during the advent of a cold wave and the snow is inclined to be dry and powdery, there have been numerous times in the early history of the State when travel has been difficult and, in some cases, hazardous. As late as the 1880’s, when buildings were few and far between and fences were practically non-existent in the western counties, the chief danger was becoming lost in blinding snow. With the advent of motor equipment and fenced highways it is always possible that a vehicle may be stalled in drifted snow during such a storm and occupants have difficulty in reaching shelter on account of low visibility cutting out all view of the landscape. However, there have been few, if any, fatalities on this account in recent years and better handling of livestock has reduced its loss to a minimum. General use of the telephone and radio has made it possible to distribute warnings of these storms well in advance and better, while fences and highways enable persons to reach shelter without too much difficulty. These occurrences of high winds and blowing, drifting, snow during extremely cold weather ordinarily cause so little inconvenience and suffering they are seldom reported, except casually in local newspapers, and no compilation of them has ever been made. Since 1880, records show but three outstanding occurrences of high winds, severe cold, and driving snow over the western two-thirds of the State that would ordinarily be classed as blizzards. These were in January 1886, February 1912, and March 1931. The eastern part of the State felt these only in modified form.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 16:44:58 +0000
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