The 10 Worst Blizzards in Central MA History
Monday, January 26, 2015
GoLocal Worcester News Team
As GoLocal reported on Sunday, Central Massachusetts is in for a two day affair with nearly two feet of snow beginning Monday evening and lasting all day Tuesday.
The National Weather Service is expecting strong winds, heavy snow, and nearly impossible travel. The Storm Watch will begin Monday night at 7 PM and will remain in effect until Wednesday morning at 1 AM.
If Worcester County is hit with 24 inches of snow or more, it will be one of the worst blizzards the area has seen all-time, making it the tenth worst blizzard in Central Massachusetts history.
It will be the worst since 2013, when Winter Storm Nemo hit Worcester with 25 inches of snow.
Here are the 10 Worst Blizzards in Central Massachusetts History:
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#10 Blizzard of February 2006
Dates: February 11-13, 2006
Accumulation: Approximately 22 inches
This Nor'easter interrupted everybody's Valentine's Day plans, and resulted in coastal flooding and heavy snow.
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#9 Blizzard of December 2010
Dates: December 22-29, 2010
Accumulation: Approximately 24 inches
A State of Emergency was declared in Boston when this Christmas storm hit and kept families home for the holidays. Worcester saw two feet of snow during this white Christmas.
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#8 NEMO 2013
Dates: February 7-18, 2013
Accumulation: Approximately 25 inches
NEMO singlehandedly shut down every road in Worcester. Dropping more than two feet of snow in the city, a driving ban was put into effect.
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#7 Nor'Easter of '69
Dates: February 8-10, 1969
Accumulation: Approximately 26 inches
Bryan Adams didn't write a song about Nor'Easter of '69 because it would have been miserable to listen to. Even worse to experience.
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#6 Blizzard of February 2003
Dates: February 14-19, 2003
Accumulation: Approximately 27.5 inches
This storm interrupted both Valentine's Day and President's Day. Named 'President's Day Storm II,' this storm set a record in Boston with more than 27 inches.
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#5 Blizzard of January 1996
Dates: January 6-10, 1996
Accumulation: Approximately 30 inches
Not even a week into 1996, this storm blanketed parts of Massachusetts with upwards of 30 inches of snow. It is one of two blizzards to receive an “extreme” rating on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale.
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#4 Blizzard of February 1978
Dates: February 5-7, 1978
Accumulations: Approximately 32 inches
Many in the Worcester area argue that this is the worst storm the city has ever seen. 73 people in Massachusetts died because of this storm. At the time, it set a Boston record for 32 inches of snow over a 2 day period.
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#3 April Fool's Blizzard of 1997
Dates: March 30 - April 1, 1997
Accumulations: Approximately 33 inches
This storm wasn't messing around with anyone. Over three days, and ending on April Fool's Day, the storm dropped 33 inches of snow on Central MA.
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#2 Blizzard of January 2005
Dates: January 20-23, 2005
Accumulations: Approximately 40 inches
This three-day storm droppped nearly 40 inches of snow in Central Massachusetts over a 3 day period.
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#1 Great Blizzard of 1888
Dates: March 11-14, 1888
Accumulations: Approximately 50 inches
One of the most severe recorded blizzards in the history of the United States, this superstorm dumped as much as 50 inches of snow in parts of Massachusetts. It affected the entire country.
In New York City, they suffered so much damage to power lines and cables, that this storm single handedly is responsible for implementing running cable underground.
(Stereoview picture of Grand Street in New Britain, Connecticut, published by F. W. Allderige in 1888)