Scrappy
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I heard a reference to the snowfall total of 1786 and thought I'd look into it. Found this blip about a couple of storms from way back then, and some modern ones:
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February 18, 1717: The winter of 1716-1717 was one of the snowiest in history, with over five feet of snow falling in December alone. After several storms in January, snow covered the ground and drifted in some places to a height of twenty-five feet. Another storm started on February 18th and didn't end until the 22nd, with yet more snow on February 24th. By it's culmination, there were between ten and twenty feet of snow on the ground throughout New England. Homes were covered to the rooftops and the only means of transport was by snowshoes. Countless livestock and wild beasts died in the storm.
February 23, 1723: The Gale of 1723 brought tides 2-4 feet higher than ever recorded along the Massachusetts and New Hampshire coastline. At Gloucester, Mass. boats were pushed ashore and vessel travel along the "cut" was blocked by sand piled up by the surge. At Salem and Marblehead, the flood waters covered miles of the towns.
Winter of 1740-1741: This winter deserves mention as it was one of the coldest and snowiest in Essex County. The rivers in Salem, Mass. froze in October and on November 13th a snowstorm dropped over one foot of snow. The weather remained cold until November 22nd when a thaw began. It rained almost every day for the next three weeks, causing flooding of historic proportions. The Merrimac river rose fifteen feet and large amounts of fresh timber, intended for ship-building, drifted away. By December, the cold returned and the rivers froze once again, shutting down several mills. The Merrimac's ice cover measured 30 inches in March of 1741! In all there were twenty-seven storms in this historic winter.
Winter of 1747-1748: This winter season was marked by thirty snow storms. Essex County was hit particularly hard, with the snow and cold starting early and over four feet of snow still on the ground in February.
Winter of 1786: Another winter that started fiercely and early. By late November Salem harbor was frozen solid. The first of several snow storms arrived on December 4th. The storm raged for two days, leaving up to six feet of snow in Boston. The storm's exceedingly high tides caused flooding and several ships were wrecked from Newburyport to Marshfield. Within the week another storm hit, lasting for two days. With the additional snow fall it was estimated that its depth was greater than the record accumulation of 1716. A number of deaths were reported among people who tried to make their way in the snow, but were overcome in its swirling snow and cold.
February 21, 1802: A sudden storm erupted and quickly engulfed the coast. The blizzard lasted for almost a week and wrought havoc among vessels that were caught off guard out at sea. Among these were three ships out of Salem harbor: the Brutus, the Ulysses and the Volusia, all of which were destroyed off of Cape Cod. The crews of the Volusia and Ulysses survived. However, several men from the Brutus perished, most after reaching shore in a blizzard and finding no shelter on the frigid night.
March 11-14, 1888 The "Great White Hurricane" started as rain, but quickly turned to snow as temperatures dropped. As winds gusted up to 80 mph, the temperature dropped as low as 0 to 40 below along the eastern seaboard. Four hundred people died and hundreds of ships were destroyed during the storm. Snow accumulations ranged from 22 inches in NYC to 50 inches in Bennington, Vt
Could you imagine?!
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February 18, 1717: The winter of 1716-1717 was one of the snowiest in history, with over five feet of snow falling in December alone. After several storms in January, snow covered the ground and drifted in some places to a height of twenty-five feet. Another storm started on February 18th and didn't end until the 22nd, with yet more snow on February 24th. By it's culmination, there were between ten and twenty feet of snow on the ground throughout New England. Homes were covered to the rooftops and the only means of transport was by snowshoes. Countless livestock and wild beasts died in the storm.
February 23, 1723: The Gale of 1723 brought tides 2-4 feet higher than ever recorded along the Massachusetts and New Hampshire coastline. At Gloucester, Mass. boats were pushed ashore and vessel travel along the "cut" was blocked by sand piled up by the surge. At Salem and Marblehead, the flood waters covered miles of the towns.
Winter of 1740-1741: This winter deserves mention as it was one of the coldest and snowiest in Essex County. The rivers in Salem, Mass. froze in October and on November 13th a snowstorm dropped over one foot of snow. The weather remained cold until November 22nd when a thaw began. It rained almost every day for the next three weeks, causing flooding of historic proportions. The Merrimac river rose fifteen feet and large amounts of fresh timber, intended for ship-building, drifted away. By December, the cold returned and the rivers froze once again, shutting down several mills. The Merrimac's ice cover measured 30 inches in March of 1741! In all there were twenty-seven storms in this historic winter.
Winter of 1747-1748: This winter season was marked by thirty snow storms. Essex County was hit particularly hard, with the snow and cold starting early and over four feet of snow still on the ground in February.
Winter of 1786: Another winter that started fiercely and early. By late November Salem harbor was frozen solid. The first of several snow storms arrived on December 4th. The storm raged for two days, leaving up to six feet of snow in Boston. The storm's exceedingly high tides caused flooding and several ships were wrecked from Newburyport to Marshfield. Within the week another storm hit, lasting for two days. With the additional snow fall it was estimated that its depth was greater than the record accumulation of 1716. A number of deaths were reported among people who tried to make their way in the snow, but were overcome in its swirling snow and cold.
February 21, 1802: A sudden storm erupted and quickly engulfed the coast. The blizzard lasted for almost a week and wrought havoc among vessels that were caught off guard out at sea. Among these were three ships out of Salem harbor: the Brutus, the Ulysses and the Volusia, all of which were destroyed off of Cape Cod. The crews of the Volusia and Ulysses survived. However, several men from the Brutus perished, most after reaching shore in a blizzard and finding no shelter on the frigid night.
March 11-14, 1888 The "Great White Hurricane" started as rain, but quickly turned to snow as temperatures dropped. As winds gusted up to 80 mph, the temperature dropped as low as 0 to 40 below along the eastern seaboard. Four hundred people died and hundreds of ships were destroyed during the storm. Snow accumulations ranged from 22 inches in NYC to 50 inches in Bennington, Vt
Could you imagine?!
