Blizzards

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Blizzards

Clearing the roads

The Donner Party

The Donner party was led by George Donner and James Reed they were a group of pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train and after a number of set backs they became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in November 1846 ,they had reached the Sierra Nevada, where they became trapped by an early, heavy snowfall near Truckee now Donner Lake. Their food supplies were very low, and in mid December some of the group set out on foot to obtain help. Rescuers from California attempted to reach the emigrants, but the first relief party could not get there until the middle of February 1847, almost four months after the wagon train became trapped.Some of these immigrants resorted to cannibalism to survive.Only 48 pioneers survived many had eaten the dead to survive.

The Great Blizzard of 1888

The Great Blizzard of 1888 or Great Blizzard of 88 happened between March 11 – March 14, 1888 it was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in the history of the United States of America. Snowfalls of 20–60 inches (51–152 cm) fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the winds were more than 45 miles per hour, snowdrifts were in excess of 50 feet . Railroads were shut down and people were confined to their houses for up to a week.The damage bill was $25 million 1888 dollars which is a equivalent to $660 million in 2015.

Brooklyn Bridge during the 1888 blizzard

The Iran Blizzard

The Iran Blizzard was in February 1972 approximately 4,000 people died. The winter storms, lasted from 3 - 9 February 1972, more than 10 feet of snow fell across rural areas in northwestern, central and southern Iran.Southern Iran received as much as 26 feet of snow, burying at least 4,000 people. According to rports the city of Ardakan and outlying villages were hardest hit, with no survivors in Kakkan or Kumar. In the northwest, near the border with Turkey, the village of Sheklab and the100 people that lived there were buried.The Iran blizzard remains the deadliest in history.

Great Britain and Ireland snowfall

The Great Britain and Ireland snowfall began on 1 Feb 2009. Some areas experienced their largest snowfall falls in 18 years. More than 30 centimetres of snow fell on parts of the North Downs and over 20 centimetres in parts of the London area.By the 6 February most of Great Britain and Ireland had snow cover.The icy conditions led to many casualties on roads and exposed areas the damage bill was £1.3 billion.

Satellite image of the February 2009 snow in England

Saskatchewan blizzard

The Saskatchewan Blizzard was on Jan 10, 2007 the storm struck northeastern British Columbia, central Alberta and central Saskatchewan. The storm hit the city of Saskatoon severely and is considered to be one of the worst storms in Saskatchewan's history. 25 cm snow fell in a day road conditions were bad during the storm, and highways around Saskatoon, North Battleford, Melfort and Wynyard were closed. Highway snowplow operators were on strike but returned to work in the interest of public safety.Two people died in the storm and the cost was $1 million.

Blizzard on January 10, 2007 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

White Hurricane of the Great Lakes

My father's family lived in Huron County Ontario Canada in 1913 when the White Hurricane hit the Great Lakes. We didn't "survive" it as we were slightly inland but my father remembered it his whole life and used to tell me stories of blizzards. This one came in off the Great Lakes as a blizzard with hurricane force winds and caused the most ship wrecks ever on the Great Lakes. I think it was most Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Twelve ships sank, nineteen were stranded or washed ashore. Two major storm fronts converged, fueled by the lakes' relatively warm waters to produce a November gale, with gusts up to 90 mph, along with 35-foot waves and snow squalls.

Lynne C Nash Fraser

White Hurricane map of storms over Great Lakes

• White Hurricane
• Great Lakes white Hurricane of 1913
• The Great 1913 Storm
• Frozen Fury

The Storm of the Century

The Storm of the Century, was known as the Great Blizzard of 1993, a large cyclonic storm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March 12, 1993. The storm stretched from Canada towards Central America, but its main impact was on the Eastern United States and Cuba. The cyclone moved through the Gulf of Mexico, and then through the Eastern United States before moving into Canada. Central Alabama and Georgia received 6 to 8 inches of snow , Birmingham, Alabama, received up to 12 inches with reports of 16 inches. There were hurricane force wind gusts and record low barometric pressures.In the United States, during the storm the storm over 10 million customers lost electric power. 318 people died during this storm.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhouse_Blizzard

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Sources

• How stuff wos.com - 10 Biggest Snowstorms of All Time
• Legends of America - Donner Party
• Info please - The Great White Hurricane
• Wikipedia - The Iran blizzard
• Wikipedia - Great Britain and Ireland snowfall
• Wikipedia - Saskatchewan blizzard
• Wikipedia - Storm of the Century

• White Hurricane
• Great Lakes white Hurricane of 1913
• The Great 1913 Storm
• Frozen Fury
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhouse_Blizzard