The Blizzard of 1888

        The blizzard of 1888, also known as “The Great White Hurricane,”  ranged from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine in March 11-14.  To this date it has been by far the biggest blizzard in United States history! The blizzard began as heavy rainfall but turned to snow when the temperature dropped to zero when a cold front from the north west descended upon the area. It caused up to 50 inches of snow in some areas with gusts of wind up to 80 miles per hour! Causing snow drifts of up to 50 ft high that can easily buried trains and many buildings. Leading to over 400 deaths with an additional 100 deaths of people at sea trapped or their ships sunk with frozen harbors. The snow resulted in New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Maryland being isolated for over a week and many telephone lines down. Causing over 25 million dollars in damage over a billion dollars in todays money. As a result, of this storm New York and many other states Began burying their telephone lines and the creation of the first subway 9 years later in Massachusetts.