Disasters
New York City (NYC)
Blizzard of 1947
Blizzard of 1947
Similar to the Great Blizzard of 1888, the blizzard of 1947 was an
unexpected visitor, ready to wreak havoc on the post-holiday calm that
had settled over NYC. The weather bureau predicted cloudiness and cold
winds throughout the day, but little mention was made of snow
accumulation. On December 26, 1947, snowflakes began their descent
unexpectedly and within the next 24 hours the city was covered by 26.4
inches of white mounds, with snow falling at the rate of 3 inches per
hour. Although the blizzard of 1888 had a more powerful impact, claiming
up to 400 lives and destroying communication systems all across the
north Atlantic States, one distinguishing factor puts the blizzard of
1947 in the ranks of the strongest snow storms to ever hit the NYC
region: quantity of snow fall.
The blizzard of 1947 was fed by the moist weather traveling up from the
Gulf Stream and cold weather coming from the north, but what made it
different was an absence of high wind speeds and below zero temperatures
that made the blizzard of 1888 so deadly. The blizzard of 1947 was known
as a mesoscale storm; instead of affecting a vast area evenly, it
descended on one spot with a concentrated force.
NYC's transportation systems were devastated, cars and buses were
stranded in the streets and train stations faced delays of up to 12
hours. The estimated number of people killed by the storm was 77 and it
was widely speculated that if temperatures were colder and wind speeds
more severe this number would have been much higher. Other issues that
developed during this crisis was a lack of efficient snow plows, slow
police response due to inadequate staffing to manage the overwhelming
activity of phone lines and difficulty with delivery of crucial supplies
to people and local businesses. Although the exact figure is unknown,
the damage caused by this storm is estimated at several millions of
dollars.
Visit Additional NYC Blizzards:
Great Blizzard of 1888
1996
2006
2010
2016
Blizzards Defined
Source:
hnn.us-blizzards1947
NYC.gov-nychazards
rarenewspapers.com
journalsentinelonline.com
nj.com-blizzard of 1947