Some of the Deadliest Snowstorms in History

These New England storms just may have a pattern.

Kayla A. Harmon, PaperClip Staff/Writer

Contrary to popular belief, some of the most destructive snowstorms that have hit the Northeast in the past 50 years have occurred during the beginning of what should be spring, in the month of March, rather than during the core winter months of December, January, or February. This may come as a surprise to some, because normally most snowfall is over by the month of March, but below is a list of the top five most damaging winter storms that have hit the Northeastern area in the last 50 years, in order from past to present.

1.) March 3rd-March 5th, 1960: This huge snowstorm dumped more than 10 inches of snow in the first day in states all the way from Virginia to Maine. Coastal New England, including Boston, Massachusetts, was hit particularly hard, which resulted in all road and rail traffic to come to a halt during and even days after the storm hit. Although Boston had only received a total of 19.8 inches, which was a city record at the time, higher snowfall totals were recorded elsewhere in the state of Massachusetts including 31.3 inches in Nantucket, Cape Cod.

2.) March 11th-March 14th, 1988: The Blizzard of 88’, punished the Northeast with the most snowfall “in living memory”, according to weather reports at the time. Cities were shut down for days as residents of the Northeast area hunkered down against 85 mph winds. Official snowfall totals included 50 inches in one Connecticut town, where a snowdrift was reported to stand 38 feet tall. As many as 400 people were killed either in the actual storm or in the cold aftermath. The Blizzard of 88’, remains among the top five snowstorms in the history of New York City.

3.) March 12th-March 14th, 1993: Known as the ‘Storm of the Century’, this intense storm produced huge amounts of snow all the way from Tennessee to the Canadian border, with many locations in the Northeast breaking their snowfall records. In upstate New York, over 40 inches of snowfall was recorded along with 60-80 mph winds that blew snowdrifts up to 20 feet high. This storm was so deadly that over 300 deaths were attributed to it. The Superstorm of 1993 was more significant than most hurricanes or tornado outbreaks and ranks among the deadliest and most costly weather events of the 20th century.

4.) March 31st-April 1st, 1997: On March 30th, 1997, temperatures in the city of Boston, Massachusetts were in the 60s all day long. The very next day, the massive ‘April Fool’s Day Blizzard’, hit the Northeast, dumping nearly as much snow in those two days as Boston had received all the rest of that winter, with a total of 25.4 inches of snowfall. The storm dumped rain, sleet, and snow from Maryland to Maine leaving more than 700,000 people along the coast without power and as much as three feet of snow on the ground by the time the snow stopped falling.

5.) March 14th-March 15th, 2017: “Hopefully this storm will be the last hoorah of this winter’s snow, happy shoveling.”-Portsmouth, New Hampshire School’s Superintendent Steve Zadravek left in a voicemail for parents on Monday night, informing them that Tuesday, March 14th will be the fourth and hopefully the final snow day of the year. Winter storm ‘Stella’, which has been categorized as a nor’easter, produced extremely high rates of snowfall in the Northeast, with reported rates up to 7 inches every hour in upstate New York. New York City reportedly received one foot of snow in the first four hours of the storm on Tuesday, even before the storm was at it’s worst, and by the end of the day on Wednesday, the state of NY had a snowfall total of 42 inches near the state’s capital. Nor’easter Stella, is now ranked as one of the top 10 worst snowstorms to occur in the month of March over the Northeastern coast, due to its destructive wind gusts that were up to 70 mph in many New England states, tearing down trees and power lines, causing tens of thousands of people to lose power in the state of Massachusetts alone. Nor’easter Stella, is the only snowstorm to have occurred in the month of March, since the last March snowstorm that hit the Northeast in 1997, almost 20 years ago today. “Of course this recent blizzard was as big, as it was dangerous, but out of the five that you named to me, I would hands down have to say that the snowstorm that happened back in 1988, was what seemed to be the longest, coldest, and most damaging blizzard to hit the Northeast. I was living in Connecticut at the time and I vividly remember not being able to see more than maybe five feet in front of me as well as measuring about 44 inches of snow that was in front of the door to my house. That was more snow than I had ever seen in all of my years living there. I will never forget it,”

Said Todd Sweet, a Portsmouth, NH Local who was born and raised in Canterbury, Connecticut.