The winter of 1935-1936 was a severe one with lower than normal temperatures. As of early March, it was estimated that the snowpack in Northern New England averaged about 7.5 inches of water. Deep snow also covered the ground across Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York state. Early in March 1936, a warm, moisture-laden front moved into the area from the Ohio Valley to New England and stalled, warming temperatures as well as producing heavy rainfall. As the snow started to melt and the rains fell streams and rivers began to fill and the ground became soggy and saturated.. But this time almost the entire snow cover from New England had melted and with the ground already water logged and the rivers full serve flooding ensued. In many locations, this was the most severe flooding that has ever been experienced. The height of the flood when the waters peaked was March 22, 1936. Floods in Pittsburgh where more than 6” than ever recorded, almost 9 feet higher in Hartford and many other locations on that day would see flooding records not surpassed since. 107 lives were lost and $270 million dollars in damage or more than $5 billion in 2020 dollars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.