These 10 Terrible Winter Storms Will Make You Want To Stay Inside This Winter

Winter is here and it’s making its presence felt. If you’re one of the lucky Americans to live in warmer areas, you’re probably thanking your lucky stars after seeing last year’s polar vortex. (I think my back still hurts from shoveling all that snow.) As bad as last year was, the polar vortex of 2014 wasn’t the worst winter storm the U.S. experienced. In fact, it seemed like a balmy spring day compared to these events.

Between March 11 and 12, 1888, more than 400 people in the Northeast died during this great blizzard. For those two days, a powerful nor’easter left 40 inches of snow in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. It took people days to dig themselves out of this deep freeze. Powerful winds from the storm also managed to sink 200 ships.

While not as deadly as The Great Blizzard of 1889, the Great Blizzard of 1899 managed to shutdown the entire east coast of the United States, from Georgia to Maine. The snows started in Florida and slowly worked their way up the coast. The blizzard managed to dump 20 inches of snow in Washington D.C. in just one day.

At least 250 people died during this winter storm in the Great Lakes region during the early winter of 1913. A freak “November gale” hit the Great Lakes and caused some truly devastating weather. It was reported that waves on the lakes reached up to 35 feet, thanks to 60 MPH winds.

The winter of 1848 was truly one to experience, especially in the northeast. It was reported that the winter of 1848 was the only time that Niagara Falls froze so much that water coming over the falls actually slowed to a trickle.

This storm gets its name from the damage it caused to The Knickerbocker Theater in Washington, D.C. At the time (1922), the theater was one of the most popular venues in town. Tragically, a winter storm dumped 3 feet of snow on the region, which collapsed the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater. 98 people died when the roof caved in, and another 133 were injured.

The Super Bowl Blizzard gets its name for being one of the most unusual winter storms in history. Instead of coming down from Canada, like most winter storms, the Super Bowl Blizzard took shape in the Pacific Ocean. It then came inland and crossed over the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains.

As the storm made its way across the plains, it created a total of 45 tornadoes, killing 377 people. Then, in the Midwest, the storm dropped heavy snows that killed 100,000 farm animals and 58 people.

You probably recall this mega-snow storm from 2010. During February 2010, two record-setting blizzards dropped huge amounts of snow on the northeast. 32.4 inches of snow fell in Washington, D.C. that month.

Weather forecasters don’t typically use the term “catastrophic” too often, but this 2013 snow storm centered around Atlanta, Georgia, fit the term perfectly. Not because the storm was particularly devastating, but because people were not prepared for the two inches of snow that fell. The winter weather snarled traffic, and completely shut down parts of the city.

This lake effect snow storm completely devastated the City of Buffalo, New York. Buffalo normally sees about 7 feet of snow throughout the entire winter. This late November storm brought more than 5 feet of snow in just a couple of days.

The Polar Vortex of 2014 wreaked frozen havoc on the Eastern United States from December 2013 to April 2014. If you survived the polar vortex of 2014, I don’t have to tell you how absolutely terrible it was.

Those blizzards of 1888 and 1899 have me rethinking my stance on complaining about the winter weather. I mean, it’s no fun shoveling snow and being trapped inside, but at least I never had to dig myself out from under 40 inches of snow!