Good account of a Blizzard near my hometown that I knew nothing about.
Apparently, drawings were heavily used in the newspapers at the time - I didn't know that. Interesting that there were photos of the Blizzard too.
Of course, forecasting was in its infancy & the weatherman of the day were looking at a scientific approach, where the farmers and seamen would have been a whole lot more knowledgeable, if the forecasters would have listened. ( )

Short book that tells the history of a severe blizzard that hit the Northeastern US in March, 1888. Though the storm covered many states, from Virginia to Maine, the story is focused on the area around New York City. It contains stories of individuals who miraculously survived and many who did not. Back then, weather forecasting was still pretty primitive, and telegraph communications were easily disrupted. Near the end, the author recounts some of the improvements that were made in disaster planning as a result. It provides enough historic details to give readers a good idea about how people lived in those days and how different it is from today. ( )

Blizzard describes an unbelievebly huge blizzard which hit the U.S. East Coast in the late 1880's.

We tend to criticize the weather bureau today when their forecasts are slightly off, and some storms may miss us, others may possibly impact us unexpectedly, but we're generally aware of what to expect in our region. Blizzard points out what can happen when there's absolutely no warning of a major storm. Today, we'll hear about major storms like Katrina or Hurricane Sandy days in advance. In the late 1880's, as this book points out, forecasts were far from the sophistication of today. When the storm of the century hits, before the days of effective snow clearing or advance warning, you can only imagine the consequences. And if you can't quite imagine the consequences, this book will give you a good idea of the impacts on people's lives.
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00015662

A delightful story about a child's experience with a snow day that turns into several days. The snow day starts at school. The snow day goes on through the night and into the next day. The children play while dad works to shovel snow. The snow lingers for days and food is getting scarce in the home. A child gets creative and finds a way out of the snow. He sets out for food (without his parents) to the closest town. The story ends well. A good book to have in a winter bin.