7 of the Worst Blizzards in U.S. History

Howling winds, snow measured in feet and loss of life add up to some of the worst blizzards in U.S. history.

As a wicked storm bears down on New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and elsewhere on the East Coast, the question isn’t whether it’ll be one of the worst blizzards in history, but just how high it’ll fall on the list.

What’s your most memorable snowstorm, the one everyone still shares stories about? How was your town affected? Tell us in comments below.

Here’s a look at seven monster storms – most of which took aim at the East Coast – and their impact:

• Storm of the Century: Barreling along the Eastern seaboard from Canada to Cuba, the March 12-15, 1993, storm combined a cyclone and blizzard. This mega-storm resulted in 310 deaths and up to $10 billion in damages. Hurricane-force winds demolished more than 15 homes on the eastern shore of Long Island. Despite the loss of life, officials say spot-on computer models allowed the National Weather Service to issue a severe storm warning two days before the storm hit. Governors in several states declared a state of emergency before any snow fell, which spared further loss of life, historians say.

• Blizzard of 1978: Northeastern residents shrugged off predictions of a big snow when just a few weeks before a forecast that called only for rain dumped 21 inches of snow on Boston. So, when snow began on Feb. 5, residents went to work and school as normal. Once the blizzard arrived with hurricane-strength winds and whiteout conditions, highways were filled with abandoned and buried cars. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, residents went without heat, water or electricity for more than a week, says History.com. An estimated 100 people died. The website The Blizzard of ‘78 describes the fear of drivers trapped – in a pre-cell phone era – on the roads: “The wind began to howl upwards of 70 miles per hour in the Boston area. … Each motorist soon faced a choice: Try to flee through a screaming blizzard to some unknown safety or stay and nurse the gas waiting for rescue as snow piled around the car. Many New Englanders would end up spending days in those automobiles and a few would not make it out alive.”

• Blizzard of 1996: The mix of snow and sleet that began Jan. 6 in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas ended Jan. 10 with nearly 200 deaths along the East Coast, says History.com. Most cities hit as the storm spun north up the seaboard received between 17 and 30 inches of snow, then many suffered flooding as temperatures climbed quickly after the storm passed. The blizzard and flooding caused an estimated $3 billion in damages, says AccuWeather.com, and killed 184 people, 30 from flooding. Pennsylvania was hardest-hit of the affected states with $1 billion in damages.

• Snowmageddon: Two blizzards in February 2010 broke snowfall records in the mid-Atlantic area, such as 32 inches of snow at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. After the second snowstorm in February, 68.1 percent of the country was covered by snow, says LiveScience.com.
  
  
• Christmas week 2010: Travelers along the East Coast were stranded when airlines canceled more than 7,000 flights from Dec. 26-27 that year. History.com says the blizzard included thundersnow, when heavy snow – rather than rain – is accompanied by thunder and lightning. Subway passengers in New York City were stranded for up to nine hours and buses were abandoned on snow-filled streets.
  
  
• Great Blizzard of 1888: More than 400 people in the Northeast died in this nor’easter, including 200 in New York, the worst death toll in United States history from a winter storm, according to LiveScience.com. More than 100 people died at sea after 200 ships sank off the East Coast, says The Daily Beast. The blizzard dumped between 40 and 50 inches of snow on March 11 and March 12, 1888, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. Drifts were 50-feet high in some area, says History.com.
  
  
• Armistice Day Storm 1940: Mild weather on Nov. 11 from Kansas to western Wisconsin was quickly followed by a blizzard. People were surprised by temperatures that plunged from the 60’s on Nov. 11 to single-digits in 24 hours, says the National Weather Service. Up to 26 inches of snow fell in Minnesota, while winds of 50 to 80 mph and heavy snows pummeled the Midwest. A total of 144 deaths were blamed on the storm, including duck hunters caught off-guard along the Mississippi River.

• See Also: What Makes A Snow Storm A Full-Blown Blizzard?