Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-02-17
THE SEVEREST BLIZZARD
Since the Memorable One of
March, 1898.

A storm, which made its appearance in
the western part of the Gulf of Mexico,
swept over the entire eastern part of the
United States, and on Monday developed
in many places into the severest blizzard
since March, 1888. Trains were stalled
every where, and all of the great arteries of
travel we're paralyzed. The storm extend
ed as far south as Mobile, Ala, and in the
Southern states much loss of early veget-
abes and fruit was caused. The Western
states did not suffer from the storm, but
they were in the grasp of cold wave
which in several states was unprecedented.
The snow storm was the most severe
ever known at Washington, D. G. The
city was cut off from railroad communica-
ton, and there was danger of a coal and
provision famine. Baltimore and Phila-
delphia were snow bound. In the former
city the snow fall reached 1-2 feet, and
business was paralyzed. The snow fall in
the mountain regions of Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia was even greater.
The snowfall in New York city was
| phenomenal, measuring IA 6.l0 inches.
The streets of the city were all but impass-
able, and the sweepers employed by the
street cleaning department were forced to
abandon work. The wind that whired
the snow about and piled it up into huge
drifts had velocity of from 30 to 40 miles
an hour and during Sunday night it in
| creased to So miles an hour. Travel on
the elevated railways was slow, while that
| on the surface lines was very tedious,
blocks being numerous. Ferry boats were
unable to run except at long intervals,
because of the ice that filled the river and
bay, and no ocean going craft passed Sandy
Hook during the day. Gov. Roosevelt
ordered the New York armories TO be
| thrown open as retreats for the homeless.
The White Star steamer Germanic sank
at her pier in New York, the accident be-
ing caused by the thick coating of ice
which tipped the vessel to one side while
she was being loaded with coal All of
those on board escaped. The steamer
William Lawrence of the Merchants and
Miners line Of Baltimore was wrecked off
Port Royal, S. G. There were no passen-
gers on board. Two boat loads of men
were rescued after intense suffering, but
the men in two other open boats are miss.
ing.
The snow fall in Boston, which came
largely on Saturday night, was the largest
in years, being about Is inches in depth.
The steam railroads running into Boston
were blockaded and hundreds of suburban
ties were Obliged to stay in the city The
street railroads were not so badly tied up
as during the storm last November. The
cold weather threatened to close Boston
harbor with ice, but the high wind broke
up the ice and cleared the channel
The blizzard which swept over Texas
Saturday and Sunday did untold damage
to fruit and vegetation. 1t froze over
solid rivers that were never frozen before,
and lowered the temperature in the north
ern and central portions of the state from
Is TO 3 below zero and on the coast from
3 to above. The loss to farmers and
gardeners in the state is estimated at
81, 200, 900.
A serious accident due TO the storm took
place on the Delaware Il Hudson rail-
road at Putnam, y. Y. The Montreal
express crashed into freight train. VIM.
Coombs of Whitehall, the engineer, and
his tive-year-old son who was riding on the
locomotive with him, were killed. Coombs
was 80 years old and had been an engineer
l years. He leaves a wife and one child.
Accidents took place near Pittsburg, Pa,
and near Lancaster, Pa, an engineer and
two fremen being killed.
The storm left three legislatures-those
Of New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware
without quorum, as members who
NNhN Aphit " sway ONNA DuuhdS MClt UNA
Die to return.
Zero Weather la the south.
The New York Sun contained the fol
lowing in its storm story of Tuesday: In
the records of the weather bureau mention
is not found of a combination snowstorm
and cold wave extending over so vast
tract of country as the present one. In
the matter of the cold, an extraordinary
thing is the duration of its stay over the
country east of the Rocky Mountains. 1t
hit New York on Feb. Q, when the mini
mum temperature was 3 below zero, and
has stayed here ever since. 1t was in Flor
ida before that, and nowhere is there any
thing warmer in sight. In the South yes
terday was record-breaking day. The
temperature reported in some of the cities
was so low that it was scarcely credited
when first received at the weather bureau,
but confirmation came later from Wash
ington. At New Orleans the minimum
temperature was 90 above zero, which is o.
lower than any previous record for that
city. AT Montgomery the minimum was
4 below, also 9 lower than ever before.
At Atlanta the temperature was g. below
zero, the lowest temperature ever reached
prior TO yesterday being % below. At
Nashville the record was beaten 20, the
minimum temperature for that day being
12o below zero. Reports from Florida are
missing, but as the temperature at Pensa-
cola was 14' above zero on Sunday night,
it is possible that the freezing temperature
extends well down into central Florida.
Some of the other record-breaking tenn
peratures reported from the South are as
follows Chattanooga, s. below zero;
Knoxville, l0o below; Memphis, 60 below:
| I ga4I. Il. N Ill. III %