The Saint Paul globe., 1904-12-28
ST. PAUL IN PATH
Of BIG BLIZZARD
Storm CrippIes Trolley, TeIe.
phone and Telegraph
Systems


path of one of the most severe bliZZardS
encountered in this section of the coun-
try in years, and as result street car
and railroad traffic, telegraph and tele-
phone communication and business were
affected.
With wind varying from thirty to forty
eight miles an hour, snow falling con-
stantly and temperature dropping, the day
saw genuine Northwestern winter storm.
The storm area extended over the entire
middle and eastern part of the United
States, the atmospheric disturbance cir
cling from northwest to south and from
south to east. The stormy conditions
were accompanied by heavy SHOWS in the
lake region, Wisconsin, Minnesota, West
ern Iowa. Western Missouri and Eastern
Kansas. and rain from Texas to New
England
The blizzard, which came from the
Northwest, reached st. Paul at an early
hour yesterday morning At 6 o'clock
the wind had gained greatly in velocity
and the temperature had begun to fall.
The wind continued to increase in velocity
until noon, when the maximum forty
eight miles an hour, was registered by the
instruments of the weather bureau.
Mercury Slides Down
The temperature continued to descend
and it dropped from 20 degrees above
degrees above at o'clock last night. The
wind continued from the north and north
west, at about thirty miles an hour.
Precipitation had practically ceased at
z O'Clock, and at that hour nearly six
inches of snow had fallen since the storm
commenced. The instrument of the
weather bureau showed that SO of an inch
of melted snow had fallen, and that guam
tity of water represents about half a foot
of snow.
The wind played havoc with the falling
snow during the day, with the result that
large. drifts were formed everywhere, in
terfering with the street cars and the
railroads.
The steet railway company kept it's
cars running all day, though often dur
ing the morning and afternoon schedules
could not be maintained. Difficulties
were encountered in the Midway district,
on the West side and in the East end.
Snow plows were put on the tracks and
kept in service all day Supt. Burdick
said that no serious trouble was caused
by the storm.
Though telephone and telegraph COM
panies suffered some, no serious damage
was caused. because the snow was light
and SO well frozen that no moisture in
terfered with the wires. Long distance
telephone service was slightly affected,
but only in a few cases was con1munica
ton entirely cut off.
All Railroads Suffer
The railroads suffered most the driving
snow making fast running dangerous.
Schedules were diSregarded on every road
and the train board at the union depot
yesterday and last night showed nearly
every train late, the delays varying from
half an hour to ten hours. The east
! bound coast trains of the transeontinental
lines were far behind time, and one Great
Northern train was marked Indefinite.
The blizzard will be followed by a cold
snap according to the prediction made by
the weather bureau. Today will be fair,
but the mercury will fall. 1t is expected
| that it will go below zero.
The storm tied up travel on some of the
branches of the ST. Paul roads and caused
the abandonment of part of the Milwau-
skee between La Crosse and Austin, Mimi,
for several hours.
The Pacific lines did not suffer as much
as those running to the south of them,
| but binding snow storm prevailed over
much of the territory adjacent to this
city and traversed by those lines
The telegraph service of the Wisconsin
Central was practically abandoned early
| in the afternoon, and gangs of repair men
were hurried out to locate the breaks. In
| the meantime the trains were operated
1 by a system of dead reckoning, and much
| minor delay resulted. Generally speak
| ing, all trains were late.
Heavy Snow Breaks Wires
| 1t was reported that the character of
| the snow which fell to the south of this
city was wet and heavy and the packing
on the wires and tracks commenced with
| the first of it. On long spans of wire this
soon became so heavy that in many in
stances the wires sagged and broke.
| The main lines of track did not suffer
| so severely as those not so frequently used
and the Chicago lines were all able to
1 keep the main tracks open.
The Rock Island and North Western went
out under double power and without extra
cars attached to the trains. Neither of
! these lines was badly crippled. although
1 some delay was experienced. The big To-
comotives used by the Milwaukee were not
! thus reinforced, but managed to get in
/ and out without assistance.
4 :. In railroad circles the storm is said to
/ be a record breaker in point of suddenness
at this time of year.