Although the Nation’s Capital avoided the prolific snowfall totals of 1 to 3 feet seen in parts of New York and New England yesterday, the city’s largest snowfall on record occurred on this date in 1922. Known as the “Knickerbocker Storm,” the snow began on January 27 and didn’t end until January 29. By the time it was over, a record of 28.0” had fallen in the Nation’s Capital.
Unlike the “Alberta Clipper” that brought this
season’s most appreciable snowfall to date (2.4” at National Airport on January
6), the “Knickerbocker Storm” was a coastal storm that had the ideal track to
bring copious snowfall to the Mid-Atlantic Region. A coastal storm, or “Nor’Easter” as they’re
commonly referred to, has the capacity to draw prodigious amounts of moisture
from the Atlantic Ocean.
The 1922 storm brought such a high volume of snow that
tragedy occurred at D.C.’s crowded Knickerbocker Theater. The tremendous weight of the snow caused the
roof on the theater to collapse while it was full of people. That roof collapse claimed almost 100 lives,
while many more were injured. That remains
one of the worst weather-related disasters in Washington, D.C., history.
More recently, there have been a series of major
snowfalls during the last two decades in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The January 1996 storm brought 17.1” of snow
to the Nation’s Capital, while a storm in February 2003 dumped 16.7”. The December 2009 storm brought 16.4”, while
the February 2010 blizzard over Superbowl weekend left 17.8” of snow. These are all in the Top Ten for DC
snowstorms, but nowhere near the amount that fell 93 years ago in the
“Knickerbocker Storm.”
Thanks, Chris! Didn't know about the Knickerbocker monster snow storm--amazing!!! I do, however, very much remember the blizzards of 1996, 2003 and 2010. At first these big snow storms seem exciting, but once power is lost and the digging out begins, they aren't much fun anymore. I feel badly for those people in New York and New England, but they're used to big snow storms and know how to effectively restore power and clear roads quickly. If they need help from nearby states, hopefully they'll ask for it.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how the different parts of the country handle high volumes of snow. Of course it depends on the population and population density but I like to think cities as a whole are getting better at dealing with major snowfalls like what NE saw this past week.
ReplyDelete