By John Kocet, Senior Meteorologist
Mar 11, 2011; 4:00 PM ET
In March 1888, one of the worst blizzards in the memory of man dealt a devastating blow to the Northeast.
What made this storm quite unusual is that many areas had rain before any snow fell.
A synoptic weather map of March 12th shows the storm centered south of New England with a cold front extending from the storm center due north through eastern Connecticut and Massachusetts. West of that line, the storm was all snow; to the east, it was still raining.
Hardest hit were New England and the eastern flank of New York. Snowfall was crippling, reaching 50 inches in some locations.
The storm generated winds to hurricane force that blew the snow into drifts that were two stories high. Entire trains were stranded in some of these mountainous drifts.
The huge tally of snow fell as a vast amount of ocean moisture was catapulted westward over much colder air that covered the interior. In addition, the storm made a complete loop south of New England, giving it two whole days to wreak havoc.
Over the years that have passed, many storms have come and gone, but none has achieved such long-lasting fame as the Great Blizzard of 1888.
There was another severe blizzard in 1888 which has gotten less recognition, probably because it hit the less populated Great Plains. The so-called Schoolhouse Blizzard took the lives of over 200 people, many of whom were school children that got caught out in the elements.
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