Brace for the blizzard with these vintage winter storm pictures
Winter Storm Jonas is hours away from blanketing the northeast in snow, with Washington D.C. expected to receive the brunt of the deluge. To prepare everyone for the storm, we’ve assembled some images from other historically heavy blizzards.
Pull on your mukluks and gloves and take a gander.
The Great Blizzard of 1888
A truly terrible storm, the blizzard hit New York City and parts of New England for three days, reportedly killing around 200 people. New Yorkers even claimed they were able to cross the East River on foot at after the first day.
The Blizzard of 1899
This storm was notable for affecting areas in the Southern United States more than anywhere else. Here are some people having a snowball fight on the steps of the capitol building in Tallahassee, Florida.
1930 Chicago Blizzard
Chicago is basically under blizzard conditions from late November until May, but in 1930 the city was hit especially hard, capping the snowiest winter in the city’s history.
The Mount Shasta Storm of 1959
According to the NOAA, this blizzard had the largest snowfall from a single storm in North America ever, hitting the Northern California communities of Mount Shasta City and Weed. The storm covered a small area though, so its damage was minimized.
The Blizzard of 1967
Another heavy storm in the Midwest, this one also hit Chicago pretty hard, and suddenly, as hundreds of cars and city buses were simply abandoned.
The 1971 Quebec and Ontario Blizzard
This storm pummeled eastern Canada with motorists across the two provinces abandoning their cars. Drifts in Montreal were reported as high as six feet.
The Blizzard of ’77
This storm crippled Western New York and Southern Ontario and inspired a pretty good Nada Surf song.
The Northeastern United States Blizzard of 1978
A terrible storm that killed over 100 people and dropped over two feet of snow on Boston.
The Storm of the Century, 1993
Affecting people in 26 states and parts of Canada, it dumped a great amount of snow in a short amount of time. Described as a “snowicane” the storm ultimately killed over 300 people.
Snowpocalypse 2011
A big, big storm that stretched from the midwest to the Atlantic, leaving behind a trail of power outages, cancelled flights, and yes, abandoned cars.
Yes, the Snowpocalypse surprised many people, and also inspired one of the great front page photos of all time:
Stay safe, everyone.
David Matthews operates the Wayback Machine on Fusion.net—hop on. Got a tip? Email him: [email protected]