It seems like every blizzard that hits the United States these days is "monstrous", "record-breaking", or "life-threatening". Given, some of them are, but most of the time it's just fluff (pun intended) to boost ratings.
To give you solid comparison to actually serious blizzards, here's some interesting facts and statistics on the worst blizzards in recorded American history.
The Great Blizzard of 1888
This storm is the worst by far in terms of deaths; it claimed over 400 lives.
In just 2 days, this monstrosity unloaded 40-40" of snow across New England.
The snowdrifts from this storm buried trains, cars, houses, and even sank over 200 ships from the enormous gusts of wind.
The Great Blizzard of 1899
Merely a decade later, New England was hit with another massive & deadly snow storm.
This one beat it's predecessor in terms of low temperatures and snowfall, but was not as deadly, thankfully.
The storm was so strong and massive that the snow began in Florida and made it's way all the way up the east coast, dropping 34" of snow in Jersey in a single day.
The Storm of the Century
This holds a special place on this list due to the fact that it was both a blizzard and a cyclone.
It was so huge it stretched all the way from Cuba to Canada!
It's death toll reached 310, cost over $6.6 billion in damage, and shut down the Southern United States for 3 days.
The White Hurricane
This was the deadliest winter storm to ever hit the Great Lakes.
On November 7, 1913, waves reached 35 feet high and wind speeds reached over 60 mph. Complete nightmare scenario.
More than 250 people perished in this horrific storm.
The Knickerbocker Storm
This storm gained it's name from the famous Knickerbocker Theater it destroyed.
3 feet of heavy, wet snow collapsed the roof of the theater, injuring 133 and killing 98.
Over 3 feet of snow fell on the Central Eastern coast over the course of 2 days.
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Now you really have some serious storms to go off of.
We haven't had winter storms nearly this bad in a long time, so the next time the weather man says "This is the big one", think twice about doubling up on milk and bread.
Stay warm out there!
Dan
Author / Ice Man / Yoga Instructor
FNDN