Fun fact: The term "blizzard" acquired its current meaning as recently as the late 1800s. Originally a "blizzard" indicated a sudden, stunning physical or verbal blow. The term took on its current meaning around 1880, likely due to the extremely cold winter of 1880–1881 known as The Long Winter. Over the course of that season, record amounts of snow fell and accumulated across the Great Plains, halting rail travel, and—in some cases—burying whole towns and forcing Laura Ingalls Wilder to get so angry she had to write another book.
I mean, I wouldn't mess with her...
Just a few years later, in March of 1888, a late season storm arrived in New York, with rain changing to snow in the early morning hours. Temperatures fell rapidly and the storm dumped snow across the eastern seaboard for nearly two days.
The eastern United States from Maryland to Maine was soon blanketed with unprecedented amounts of precipitation. Workers were trapped in factories, and trains were severely delayed or stopped all together.
The Meriden Daily Republican [Meriden, Connecticut], 16 Mar 1888
50 inch drifts were reported all over New York and Connecticut, reaching up to second stories and covering homes in some cases. Rail travel was suspended for days; even the New York Stock Exchange closed for two days.
The storm killed an estimated 400 people, 100 of which were seamen, and resulted in millions of dollars of property damage. The impacts of the storm were so widespread and devastating that it is now considered to have been one of the driving forces behind placing power, telegraph, and train systems underground.
A few notable victims...
Roscoe Conkling
This man, anointed at birth with the delightful moniker "Roscoe Conkling," was an eventual victim of the storm.
Conkling was a United States senator representing New York who was known for several interesting qualities. He loved cronyism, boxing, and sleeping with other men's wives.
Conkling was married to Julia Seymour, whose brother Horatio Seymour, governor of New York, detested him. This may have been partially due to the fact that Conkling had a years-long affair with Kate Chase Sprague, daughter of U.S. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, and wife of Rhode Island governor William Sprague IV.
One account alleged that Roscoe Conkling was once chased from the Sprague's estate Canonchet by way of shotgun after he climbed out of a rear window.
Conkling wouldn't live long enough to see Kate Sprague freed from the confines of her marriage, however. A fitness enthusiast very much ahead of his time, the senator insisted on walking the three-mile trek from his Wall Street office to his home on March 12, 1888, despite the blizzard happening all around him (maybe he just hadn't heard that new, hip word yet). Senator Conkling contracted pneumonia, developed inflammation in his brain, and died in April.
We would be remiss to not mention the fact that just after Conkling's adultery became public knowledge, a rather large child was born to Kansan William Goodrich Arbuckle and wife Mary Gordon. As both William and his wife were small people—as were all of their other children—Mr. Arbuckle alleged infidelity and cursed his new son with the name Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle. Roscoe showed him, however, by later becoming well-known comedian Fatty Arbuckle.¹
William A. W. Stewart & The Cythera
Wealthy lawyer William Adams Walker Stewart had set out on his yawl, The Cythera, from New York to the West Indies a day before the storm began. Commanding the boat was captain Joseph Phipps, and traveling alongside were Stewart's friend Cornelius S. Lee and a nine-man crew. The boat failed to arrive safely in Jamaica as planned. For more than a month, friends and loved ones awaited news of the vessel, but good news never came.
Sightings of the ship in varied states of disarray were later reported, but of the 12 souls lost, no bodies were ever recovered. Stewart's will was eventually probated in court six months later, though no positive proof of his death could be provided by his business partner nor his family.
A Bunch of Cows
Lastly, another victim of the great storm was a herd of cattle, gathered together to share warmth in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. The cattle, sadly, did not survive, and their bones littered a trail located near Fontana Lake for many years thereafter.
Stay warm, everybody.
Notes
Except that he didn't, on account of Fatty was embroiled in his own scandal of sexual assault and possible manslaughter (for which he was resoundingly acquitted, though it ruined his career), and then later died in his sleep at only 46 years of age.
Sources
"blizzard," noun, Oxford English Dictionary (https://www.oed.com/dictionary/blizzard_n : 21 Jan 2025).
"Briefs By Wire," The Buffalo News, 3 Apr 1888.
"Great Blizzard of 1888," Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blizzard_of_1888 : 21 Jan 2025).
"Hard Winter of 1880–1881," Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Winter_of_1880 : 21 Jan 2025).
"The Lost Cythera, The New York Times, 26 Sep 1888, p. 9.
"Roscoe Conkling," Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roscoe_Conkling : 21 Jan 2025).
"Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle," Rotten Tomatoes (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/william_goodrich : 21 Jan 2025).
"The Yacht's Last Voyage," The Sun [New York, New York], 26 Sep 1888, p. 5.
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