前几天暴雪的温度in the Northeast United States hovered around 50°F with rain in some places, according to the Web site, history.com. However, on rainy March 11, 1888, cold air from Canada came down and collided with southern Gulf Coast air, and temperatures plunged. Rain turned to snow, and the wind had gusts of up to 85 miles per hour.
During the storm and its aftermath, city dwellers in New York [photo below, 45th Street and Grand Central Depot (NOAA Photo Library/Historical National Weather Service Collection)]and elsewhere [photo at top, New Britain, Connecticut (Photo by F.W. Allerige)] faced challenges in getting around in the deep snow, whether on foot, by rail, or by wheeled vehicle. Snowdrifts and frozen switches stalled the non-electric elevated railroads. In addition to electrical shock, down electric wires posed a great fire hazard, especially since fire apparatus, like all other wheeled vehicles, had great difficulties maneuvering in the snow; in New York City drifts ranging ranged between four and eight feet high.
Among other effects, the Blizzard of 1888 motivated cities to “go underground” by putting electric and other utility lines underground (a moveFire and Water (Fire Engineering‘s predecessor) supported) and to build subways.
See commentary on the storm and the dangers of down wires from the March 17 (p. 133, left column, “No one who did not see it…”; p. 134, left column, “Commenting upon the the turning off….” and “Such a storm as struck New York….”); March 31 (p. 167, ” The “blizzard” that visited New York….”), May 5 (p. 245, right column, “Still another victim…” and “Since the above was put into type…”), and May 19, 1888 (p. 278, “The Perils of Overhead Wires.”) issues ofFire and WaterHERE.
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