BIOD #439 - Brooklyn Bridge - Blizzard of 1888 - 14 March
English: Snow-covered train tracks, rooftops and arches of the Brooklyn Bridge seen from the rear of a train during the Blizzard of 1888
Date 14 March 1888
This image comes from the Google-hosted LIFE Photo Archive where it is available under the filename f1756b4593ffe14fb5.
Author Wallace G. Levison
Here’s an excellent (short) account of this famous blizzard:
daily.jstor.org/blizzard-of-1888/
vlab.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage/-/the-children-s-blizzard
That winter's tragedies didn't end there.
The weekend of March 10, 1888 started off rather pleasantly in the Northeast: Saturday brought early spring weather, complete with growing grass, chirping birds, and budding trees. However, by Sunday afternoon, the temperature had suddenly dropped and rain began to fall. Come Monday morning, the rain changed to snow and the warm breezes transformed into powerful gusts of at least 50 miles per hour. Before long, the snowfall amounts reached 40 to 50 inches with snow drifts between 30 and 40 feet deep.
The storm cut off and immobilized east coast cities, crippling transportation and affecting one quarter of the U.S. population. The storm became legendary in New York City: as the economy was struggling, most workers went to their jobs regardless of the weather conditions. As a result, there were numerous accounts of people stranded and freezing to death. More than 400 people died from this storm, 200 in New York City alone. Additionally, the winds were so fierce that more than 200 vessels were destroyed up and down the eastern seaboard, resulting in the death of 100 seamen.
The failure of the Signal Service to issue a "Cold Wave Warning" for these two calamitous blizzards became a motivating factor for moving the meteorological service out of the War Department so as to improve forecasting and preparedness efforts. Two years later, the legislation creating the Weather Bureau under the Dept. of Agriculture was signed by President Benjamin Harrison on October 1, 1890.
BIOD #439 - Brooklyn Bridge - Blizzard of 1888 - 14 March
English: Snow-covered train tracks, rooftops and arches of the Brooklyn Bridge seen from the rear of a train during the Blizzard of 1888
Date 14 March 1888
This image comes from the Google-hosted LIFE Photo Archive where it is available under the filename f1756b4593ffe14fb5.
Author Wallace G. Levison
Here’s an excellent (short) account of this famous blizzard:
daily.jstor.org/blizzard-of-1888/
vlab.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage/-/the-children-s-blizzard
That winter's tragedies didn't end there.
The weekend of March 10, 1888 started off rather pleasantly in the Northeast: Saturday brought early spring weather, complete with growing grass, chirping birds, and budding trees. However, by Sunday afternoon, the temperature had suddenly dropped and rain began to fall. Come Monday morning, the rain changed to snow and the warm breezes transformed into powerful gusts of at least 50 miles per hour. Before long, the snowfall amounts reached 40 to 50 inches with snow drifts between 30 and 40 feet deep.
The storm cut off and immobilized east coast cities, crippling transportation and affecting one quarter of the U.S. population. The storm became legendary in New York City: as the economy was struggling, most workers went to their jobs regardless of the weather conditions. As a result, there were numerous accounts of people stranded and freezing to death. More than 400 people died from this storm, 200 in New York City alone. Additionally, the winds were so fierce that more than 200 vessels were destroyed up and down the eastern seaboard, resulting in the death of 100 seamen.
The failure of the Signal Service to issue a "Cold Wave Warning" for these two calamitous blizzards became a motivating factor for moving the meteorological service out of the War Department so as to improve forecasting and preparedness efforts. Two years later, the legislation creating the Weather Bureau under the Dept. of Agriculture was signed by President Benjamin Harrison on October 1, 1890.