The Blizzard of 1996

“The Blizzard of 96” clobbered the major cities of the Northeast from January 6th through the 9th back in 1996. Snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour continued for 36 hours in the Northeast Corridor resulting in many new snowfall records. 20” inches of snow fell in New York’s Central Park, making it the 3rd biggest snowfall ever there. Travel in the Big Apple was impossible, but New Yorkers took the storm in stride, many of them getting around on cross country skis.

In Washington, DC, 25 inches of snow paralyzed the Capitol City. Cars were buried in high drifts caused by high winds. 30 inches of snow fell in Philadelphia to set a new record, easily breaking the previous record of 21 inches. Some places in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia picked up three feet of snow. The Snowshoe Ski Resort in West Virginia picked up 48 inches. Additional accumulations followed in the Northeast Corridor from two storms in the following week.

The record snows set the stage for devastating floods two weeks later when snowmelt and heavy rains combined to push rivers over their banks from Virginia to New York. 100 people died in the storm, many of them from heart attacks while shoveling snow and automobile accidents. $2 billion in damage was attributed to the storm. Most airports from Washington DC to Boston were closed at various times during the blizzard. For the first time in 18 years that New York City school kids got a day off.

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