The Most Devastating Winter Storms In US History

The United States spans multiple climates, and while some states are more infamous for experiencing extreme winter weather, almost every state in the Union has seen intense ice storms, blizzards and even hurricanes during the winter months. The National Weather Service has been tracking storms across the country since its initial inception in 1890. Since then, Americans have seen catastrophes that have dumped dizzying amounts of snow, knocked out power and telephone lines, and caused millions or billions of dollars in damage. Many of these frigid storms have even turned deadly. Between loss of life, property damage and historical impact, here are the worst winter storms to hit the United States over the past 100-plus years.

Also known as the Schoolhouse Blizzard, the tragic Children's Blizzard of January 1888 caused the death of more than 200 people, most of them children. Happening a few months before the Great Blizzard later that year, this storm hit the Northwest Plains region of the United States, affecting areas that weren't even U.S states yet. The storm descended with no warning signs. The temperature plummeted 100 degrees in just 24 hours to minus 40 degrees F, and 60 mph winds caused 15-foot snowdrifts. Adults working in the fields and children walking home from school that day were caught in the blizzard.

Also known as the Mataafa Blow or the Great Lakes Storm of 1905, the winter cyclone blew through the Great Lakes region with gale-force winds and heavy snow. The storm destroyed or damaged about 30 vessels and earned its name from causing the shipwreck of a steamer named Mataafa, which left nine crew members dead after dramatically splitting in half. In total, the storm killed 36 seamen, causing shipping losses of more than $3.5 million in 1905 dollars and led to water safety improvements on Lake Superior.

One of the most legendary storms in North Dakota history struck in March 1920 and killed 34 people. Snowfall blocked the railroads and knocked out all telephone lines except one running from Fargo to Minneapolis. A young girl named Hazel Miner was memorialized in folk stories and songs after the storm. She died trying to save the lives of her younger brother and sister.

Armistice Day was a holiday celebrating the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. But the date took on a different meaning for Midwesterners after 1940. That year, states from Kansas to Michigan were slammed by a blizzard that wasn't in the weather forecast. The day started out mild, so hundreds of people were out and about enjoying the holiday. However, temperatures plummeted and heavy rain quickly turned to heavy snow. Snowdrifts 20 feet high buried people, shut down roads and left trains stranded. The blizzard killed more than 150 people as well as livestock and crops, causing millions in damage.

The Blizzard of 1949 paralyzed the Great Plains for months, making it one of the worst winter storms in the region's history. Heavy snow and strong winds formed insurmountable snowdrifts that stranded households and towns. President Harry Truman declared the region a disaster zone, and food and medical supplies for isolated people and livestock had to be dropped in by airplanes. Forty people were killed across Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, and ranchers lost more than 150,000 cattle and sheep.

A coastal storm blew heavy snow over the Mid-Atlantic through New England in February 1958, with some areas seeing 14-foot-tall walls of snow and snowdrifts that consumed entire houses. Helicopters rescued several people and air-dropped food for stranded people and cattle. The blizzard claimed 43 lives and caused $50 million in property damage.

For three days in 1962, the most extreme nor'easter on record pounded the mid-Atlantic coast with winds as intense as a hurricane, up to 60 mph. The storm caused record flooding from England down to Florida and dumped large quantities of snow inland. Up to 42 inches of snow was measured in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia, and snow fell as far south as Alabama. The storm even ripped a 500-foot tanker ship in two in the Atlantic Ocean. Forty people were killed along the East Coast and the storm caused over $200 million in property damage in 1962 dollars.

Also known as the Chicago Blizzard of 1967, the Great Midwest Blizzard struck Illinois and Indiana with a record 23 inches of snow. The worst blizzard in Chicago history, the storm stranded hundreds of buses and thousands of cars. Medical supplies had to be delivered to hospitals by helicopter, and 60 people were killed. The blizzard caused more than $150 million in business losses and, according to the National Weather Service, it caused the biggest disruption to commerce and transportation in Chicago since the 1987 Great Chicago Fire.

While many Northeasterners might remember a blizzard in February 1978, Midwest residents recall the infamous storm of Jan. 26. That blizzard was nicknamed the Cleveland Superbomb. Meteorologists classified the storm as a "weather bomb" that was amplified to larger-than-life proportions when three low-pressure systems collided. The superbomb dumped up to 3 feet of snow on multiple Midwestern states, including Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. It left thousands of vehicles stranded, knocked out power for 400,000 and killed at least 70 people.

The snowstorm of February 1983 crippled major cities from Washington, D.C., to New York City and set 24-hour snowfall records across Pennsylvania and Connecticut including Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Allentown and Hartford. The storm included dramatic thundersnow, a thunderstorm inside a snowstorm, and dropped 20 or more inches of snow. Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia saw over 30 inches. 

Folks across the Midwest had to rethink their Halloween plans when the Halloween Storm of 1991 blew in from Oct. 30-Nov. 3. This blizzard brought heavy snowfall and ice accumulation, including dropping almost 40 inches of snow on Duluth, Minnesota, making it the largest single snowstorm total in state history at the time. It caused more than $63 million in damage from fallen power lines alone and caused 22 deaths.

Though not technically a blizzard, the "Blizzard" of 1996 was a nor'easter that bombarded the East Coast with three days of heavy, wet snow in early January. Maryland and Washington, D.C. were blanketed with up to 25 inches of snow, while areas in the mountains of Maryland and West Virginia received up to 4 feet. Philadelphia received 30 inches of snow, making this the worst snowstorm in the city's history. The storm killed 154 people. Afterward, temperatures rose quickly and the vast amounts of snow melted, resulting in massive flooding in the region.

A major storm system swept across the Eastern U.S. in January 1998, killing 16 people and causing an adjusted $2.2 billion in damages. Hundreds of homes were destroyed by flooding in North Carolina and Tennessee, while Maine, New York, New Hampshire and Vermont were pounded with freezing rain. The entire state of Maine was declared a disaster area as it was coated in ice as much as 3 inches thick and experienced power outages as long as 23 days after the storm hit.

Unprecedented back-to-back winter nor'easters hit parts of the Northeast during the Christmas and New Year's holidays of 2002-03. The first storm hit Christmas Day and dumped up to 26 inches of snow, leaving some airport travelers stranded on the holiday. The area was then hit again on Jan. 3 with another storm. The weight of additional ice and snow snapped trees and power lines.

The nor'easter that hit New England in April 2007 affected almost 96 million people across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. FEMA distributed more than $225 million to cover losses and damage caused by the storm's strong winds, tornadoes, heavy rain and snow, and storm surges. The storm earned the nickname Patriots' Day Nor'easter or Tax Day Nor'easter because it hit on tax day, April 15. The storm was devastating enough for the IRS to grant affected states' residents extensions on filing their taxes.

The winter storm of Feb. 5-6, 2010, was referred to as "Snowmageddon" by residents in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Even President Obama used the term to refer to the nasty blizzard after it effectively shut down Washington, D.C. Two blizzards actually hit back-to-back as another storm followed the first later in the month, compounding the impact of both. Elkridge, Maryland, experienced the highest snowfall at almost 40 inches. Six states declared national emergencies, and more than 40 people died as a result of the storms.

Although Sandy was downgraded from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone before it made landfall in the United States in late October 2012, it still caused hurricane-level chaos and destruction. It affected 24 states from Maine to Florida along the East Coast and as far west as Wisconsin, though New York and New Jersey were the hardest hit. Sandy forced the New York Stock Exchange to close for two consecutive business days, which had not happened in more than a century since the winter storm of 1888. Altogether, Sandy claimed 159 lives and caused $73.5 billion in damage, according to the NOAA. It's the fourth-costliest weather disaster of all time in the U.S.

In late January 2016, Winter Storm Jonas smashed previous snowfall records and became the fourth most powerful snowstorm to hit the Northeast in at least 60 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The blizzard affected more than 100 million people, knocking out power, causing crashes and canceling flights. It dumped a high of almost 42 inches of snow in West Virginia. States as far as Louisiana and Florida saw snow, and 14 different states experienced at least a foot of snow. Estimates put Jonas' economic impact at $850 million.

The effects of the blizzard-like Winter Storm Xanto spanned from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes in mid-April 2018. The storm caused heavy snow, rain, hail and winds more than 50 mph. Hundreds of flights were canceled and several highways were closed across the Midwest. Amherst, Wisconsin, saw 33 inches of snow and drifts up to 6 feet high. The storm system also caused a tornado in Arkansas and pelted Texas with hail the size of chicken eggs.