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 Snowfall totals with the storm. | |
| Type | Blizzard Winter storm Nor'easter |
|---|---|
| Formed | January 27, 1966 |
| Dissipated | January 31, 1966 |
| Maximum snowfall or ice accretion | 103 inches (260 cm) Oswego, New York |
| Fatalities | 201 |
The Blizzard of 1966 was a nor'easter that impacted the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada from January 29 to February 1, 1966. Heavy lake effect snows preceded the cyclonic storm southeast of Lake Ontario. In and around the Lake Ontario snow belt, the storm period is considered to have lasted from January 27 to February 1, 1966, and the blizzard was a combination nor'easter and lake effect event in this region.[1]
Prior to the event, temperatures plunged to record low levels in central and northern New York as Arctic air dominated in the wake of an earlier cyclone. Syracuse, NY, tied its official record low of -26°F on January 26.[1]
Within days, at least 142 people had been killed – 31 had frozen to death, and 46 died in fires that started while they were trying to heat their homes.[2] Others died from heart attacks while shoveling snow or pushing cars, or from traffic accidents caused by slick roads.[3] The death toll reached 201 by Wednesday, February 2, as the storm eased.[4]
New Market, Alabama, recorded a state record low of -27°F on January 30.[1]
On Monday, January 31, federal government employees in Washington were excused from reporting to work,[5] and international airports were closed from Boston to Washington, D.C. The additional accumulation raised the snow level to 13 inches (33 cm) in Norfolk, Virginia.[6]
- ^ a b c Bassette, Kellen (2023). A History of Severe Weather to the Lee of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in Western, Central, and North-Central New York 1798-2022. Kellen Bassette. pp. 487–500. ISBN 978-1-0880-7520-3.
- ^ "Blizzard Rips Across Nation", Abilene (TX) Reporter-News, January 30, 1966, p5
- ^ "Blizzard's Death Toll Mounts To 142", The Morning Herald (Hagerstown MD), February 2, 1966, p1
- ^ "Massive Storm Eases; Death Toll Tops 200", The Pantagraph (Bloomington IL), February 2, 1966, p1
- ^ "BLIZZARD SNARLS EAST", Milwaukee Sentinel, January 31, 1966, p1
- ^ "60 Inch Snow in Oswego", Milwaukee Sentinel, February 1, 1966, p2