New Yorkers are bracing for a powerful winter storm that is expected to batter the city with more than a foot of snow and blistering winds over the weekend.
New York City is no stranger to heavy snowfall. In January, an immense snowstorm dumped 11 inches of snow in Central Park and shattered low-temperature records.
But this storm will be windier and wetter, with near-blizzard conditions that are expected to blanket New York City with 12 to 20 inches of snow, with a chance of 24 inches or more possible. It has prompted the first blizzard warning issued for the city since 2017, according to the Weather Service.
Here are the five biggest snowstorms in New York City history, according to the National Weather Service, and the damage they did in the city.
Jan. 22-24, 2016: 27.5 inches
A blizzard in January 2016 was the biggest snowstorm in New York City since records began in 1869. The storm, propelled by tropical-storm-force winds, was a swirling mass with a reach of nearly 1,000 miles that brought a record snowfall of 27.5 inches in Central Park, tore down trees and power lines and flooded low-lying beaches.
The storm pummeled the city with as much as three inches of snow an hour. At least 18 people died in the storm, most while attempting to drive on icy highways or shovel snow in the winds.
It even prevented Joseph R. Biden Jr., who was vice president at the time, from returning to Washington from Istanbul, where he had met with the Turkish president.
Feb. 11-12, 2006: 26.9 inches
Dubbed the Blizzard of ’06, a winter storm in February 2006 cloaked cities up and down the East Coast with between 12 and 27 inches of snow, breaking records. A total of 26.9 inches of snow fell in Central Park, dropping at rates of 3 to 5 inches an hour.
This snowstorm was not technically a blizzard in the city, but it met the criteria on Long Island, where winds were at least 35 m.p.h. and visibility was less than a quarter mile.
It upended travel for thousands, who were stranded at airports. The Long Island Rail Road canceled service into and out of Pennsylvania Station, and Metro-North service to the northern suburbs was suspended.
Dec. 26-27, 1947: 26.4 inches
A major winter storm in 1947 was first detected early on Christmas Day in the Southeast. The U.S. Weather Bureau forecast “cloudy with occasional snow ending during the afternoon” for New York City.
That proved to be a grave understatement.
The storm swung up the East Coast toward the city, where more than three inches of snow fell in an hour. A total of 26.4 inches of snow blanketed Central Park, and 77 people were killed.
The economic loss from the storm in the New York area “must be measured in the millions of dollars,” according to a report released in 1948 by Benjamin Parry, chief meteorologist of New York’s Weather Bureau.
Still, the snowstorm was not categorized as a blizzard, as temperatures never dropped below 24 degrees and the wind never surpassed 30 m.p.h.
March 12-14, 1888: 21 inches
What began as rain at midnight turned into a blizzard by daybreak, just as New Yorkers were making their daily commutes to work.
Bankers and government workers offered “fabulous sums” of up to $40 to carriage drivers who would take them back to their homes uptown. By midday, the streets were littered with deserted trucks and wagons. Telegraph and telephone wires had snapped from their poles.
The notorious Blizzard of ’88 paralyzed the entire region with 21 inches of snow and whipping winds of 85 m.p.h. Travel was halted, communication systems broke down and many New Yorkers were stranded in their homes with little food.
Approximately 200 New Yorkers died in the storm.
Feb. 25-26, 2010: 20.9 inches
Weeks after a snowstorm closed schools in New York City and prompted emergency warnings, a dangerous winter storm pummeled the city again with a total of 20.9 inches of snow.
Tens of thousands in the region were without power. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg closed all public schools for a second time that year.
“We’ve had one storm after another,” Ross Dickman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service for the New York City area, told The New York Times. “That’s what people are going to remember.”
Ashley Ahn covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
The post Here Are the Five Biggest Snowstorms in New York City Since 1869 appeared first on New York Times.
