This Date in Weather History

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The term blizzard has found a significant spot in our language. A blizzard is officially defined as a storm with "considerable falling or blowing snow" and winds in excess of 35 mph with visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for at least 3 hours. The term has been applied to many snowstorms in American history, most notably the Blizzard of ’88. The term has also been used for snow events that did not meet the criteria – but where big snowstorms none the less. But the term wasn’t even invented until March 14 1870. The Editor of the Dakota Republican of Vermillion South Dakota described the storm: "A violent snowstorm, driven by a heavy NW wind, and continued three whole days and nights. The weather was intensely cold and the heavy fall, flying before a furious wind - blowing as only the prairie winds can blow - rendered traveling exceedingly uncomfortable and dangerous, if not almost impossible." This storm referred to as a blizzard. A baseball team was named after it: The "Northern Blizzards", of Estherville Iowa. The manager said that "We confess to a certain liking for it, because it's at once startling, curious and positively suggestive of the furious and all victorious tempests which are experienced in this northwestern clime."

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Records show that early settlers to what would become the Mid-Atlantic and New England states report of huge snowstorms dating back to the 1600s. Native American tales tell of deep snow and powerful winds from well before that time in the region. But modern city life and dense population was not yet established. By the 1880s though the population of Northeast cites had skyrocketed. In Philadelphia the population went from 120,000 in 1850 to 850,000 in 1880. NYC from 700,000 in 1850 to almost 2 million in 1880. With all those people packed into now modern rising cities and dependent on public services to allow people to get around and supply lines for basics like food major snow storms had a profound impact. In the decades prior to 1888 there had been no large snowstorm to impact the cities in the area. That all changed starting on March 11, 1888 and reached it’s height on March 13. In what would go down in history as the fabled Blizzard of ’88. The storm was slow to organize on the mid-Atlantic coast with 10” in Philadelphia, then it strengthened rapidly turning into a bomb cyclone. When the snow stopped flying the damage was done; more than 20” in New York 45” in Albany and New Haven Conn. New York City ground to a near halt in the face of massive snow drifts and powerful winds from the storm. Wind gusts were recorded at 85 miles per hour in New York City. Along with heavy snow, there was a complete whiteout in the city. Despite drifts that reached the second story of some buildings, many city residents trudged out to New York’s elevated trains to go to work, only to find many of them blocked by snow drifts and unable to move. Up to 15,000 people were stranded on the elevated trains. In addition to the elevated trains; telegraph lines, water mains and gas lines were also located above ground making them prone to freezing, which they did because record cold accompanied the storm, temperatures plunged into the teens as far south as North Carolina. At the time, approximately one in every four Americans lived in the area between Washington DC and Boston, more than 400 people perished in the storm. Even though it happened more than 130 years ago it is still the benchmark that all other storms are measured by in the region.

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Tamarack, California sits up in the high Sierra of that state at an elevation of 6,913 feet. Located just south of Reno and Lake Tahoe it is home to one of the premiere ski venues in the United States and even the world for that matter, and for good reason. Snowfall averages an incredible 443” a year. Because of its location in the High Sierra it is prone to getting hit by one strong pacific storm after another loaded with copious amounts of moisture that sometimes stream all the way from the central pacific. That moisture stream, often known as the Pineapple Express is a direct link all the way from the Hawaiian Islands and beyond. During the winter of 1911 the central part of California was impacted by one snowstorm after another. By March 11, 1911 snow on the ground measured 471” – the greatest snow depth ever measured in one place in the United States, a record that still holds today. Tamarack also holds the record for greatest seasonal snowfall in California: during the winter of 1906−1907, it received 883”. It’s no wonder so many skiers make the trip there every winter.

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The Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack occurred on March 9, 1862,. It was the first battle between ironclad warships. The Northern-built Merrimack, a conventional steam frigate, had been salvaged by the Confederates from the Norfolk navy yard. With her upper hull cut away and armored with iron, this 263-foot ship resembled, according to one contemporary source, “a floating barn roof.” The ship had destroyed a fleet of wooden warships off Newport News, Virginia in the days leading up to the battle. The Union ironclad Monitor arrived the night of March 8. This 172-foot “Yankee Cheese Box on a raft,” with its water-level decks and armored revolving gun turret, represented an entirely new concept of naval design. Thus the stage was set for the dramatic naval battle of March 9, with crowds of Union and Confederate supporters watching from the decks of nearby vessels and the shores on either side. They passed back and forth on opposite courses. Both crews lacked training; firing was ineffective. The Monitor could fire only once in seven or eight minutes but was faster and more maneuverable than her larger Confederate opponent. Both ships suffered some damage and retired. Because of the sheer weight of the ship and lack of maneuverability the previous days success of the Merrimack and the battle itself was only possible because of calm weather that allowed for smooth waters. In fact weather reports indicate the sky was clear and sunny with no wind. Even though the battle was inconclusive - it showed the superiority of the iron clad or metal covered ships and the engineering improved rapidly. Historians said that the battle made all navies that existed in the world at the time obsolete, and brought into existence modern naval warfare.

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Tropical systems that reach Hurricane strength in a region near Australia are known as Cyclones. Cyclones that impact the northern and east coast of Australia are fairly common, but the strongest systems usually steer north of the Island Continent. But on March 5, 1899 one of the most powerful Tropical Cyclones ever to strike the region caused unimaginable damage. Cyclone Mahina was the deadliest cyclone in recorded Australian history, and also likely the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. A pearling fleet, based at Thursday Island, Queensland was anchored in the bay before the storm. Within an hour, the storm drove much of the fleet ashore or onto the Great Barrier Reef. An eyewitness reported that a 48-foot storm surge swept over their camp at Barrow Point atop a 40-foot high ridge and reached 3 miles inland, the largest storm surge ever recorded. The exact number of those that died is unknown – but was probably close to 500.

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