Before our modern weather forecasting tools, a historic snowstorm struck the Northeast on March 11, 1888. The slow-moving coastal storm unleashed a relentless barrage of snow and strong winds, burying areas in Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and western New England under 30 to 50 inches of snow. Even New York City’s Central Park received 21 inches of snow, causing chaos as the city lacked the infrastructure to cope with such extreme weather. The storm claimed the lives of 400 people, leaving a devastating impact that lingers in the history books as one of New York City’s top five recorded snowstorms. Weather historian Christopher Burt aptly described it as “America’s Greatest Snow Disaster.” For more details on this historic blizzard, you can read a comprehensive summary here. Jonathan Erdman, a senior meteorologist at weather.com, has been passionately covering extreme and unusual weather events for over two decades. Connect with him on Bluesky and Facebook to explore more fascinating weather phenomena.
