New-York tribune., 1920-03-06
Drop in Temperature
From 46 to 33 Degrees
in Hour Followed by Sc
we're Storm Late at Night
Portion of Light
System Wrecked
Towns in Jersey Saved
From Flood Danger by
Arrival of Cold Wave


ternoon when the heralded blizzard
out Of the Middle West reached here
in the form of a warm rain. Last
night the smile disappeared.
Suburbanites didn't smile at all un-
til last evening, when the rain changed
to sleet and then into fine snow while
the mercury fell below freezing.
While in the city the storm washed
away tons of snow, during the day, in
the country it threatened wholesale
floods.
The sudden drop of temperature and
the whirling sleet that raided New
York last night made people here de-
spalr of ever. getting their streets
clean, but it brought to persons in
Jersey and Westchester the promise
that their houses weren't to be swept
away-yet.
In the Bronx the run of water
through the streets was more than the
sewers, clogged as they were with snow
and ice, could handle.
Six Feet of Water in Cellar
In consequence, water invaded eel
lars, IN some instances filling them to
a depth of six feet. Later the sleet
wrecked the overhead electric iieht Insbt
wires, from 16Oth Street and Third
Avenue north, plunging University
Heights into darkness.
The gentle downpour changed abrupt-
~ shortly after 8 p. m. into howlinp
blizzard, pushed out of the West by a
siXty-mile an hour gale. Persons who
went to the theater convinced that
spring was here at last came out into
a world that looked like January at
Its worst. In an hour the mercury
dropped from 46 to 33, and kept on
falling, while the wind continued to
pick up speed until men could scarcely
stand against it.
On Fifth Avenue the storm attained
such velocity that automobiles were
forced to take to the cross streets and
streets where the elevated structures
broke its force in order to make their
way.
A heavy plate glass window, twenty
Dy twenty feet, in the Erich Galleries.
~! Fifth Avenue, was blown in, show
erlng a number of valuable painting
and antiques with snow and broken
glass. Patrolman Martin Mitchell, of
the East Fifty-frst Street station,
heard the crash Of glass and with the
aid of passersby carried the collection
from the window to the rear of the
store.
In the window were two Japanese
vases valued at several hundred dol
lars and valuable picture by Jacono
Palma, called "Tobias and the Angel"
bearing the date 1914
A window of the same size in front
OF w. d j. Sloane & Co., decorators, at
90 flfth Avenue, was smashed by the
wind, the glass falling on large
Oriental rug valued at $4,000. The
rug was rolled up and moved to safe
place.
The "cold snap" predicted by the
Weather Bureau probably saved New
Jersey from floods that might have ex-
celled in distructiveness the big freshet
of 1902
Passaic Near Flood Point
At Caldwell, N. j., near where the
Passaic and Pompton rivers join,
trouble began yesterday afternoon
Brooks pouring down out of the
Watching Mountains already have torn
great gullies in the roads.A It is only
question of hours, if the rain and
warm weather continue, before the
Passaic will be over it's banks. If it
rises foot or so further it will flood
the navy rifle range at Great Piece
Meadow.
At Pine Brook, near Caldwell, water
from mountain brook backed up and
flooded the ground surrounding the
schoolhouse. The youngsters we've
rescued by boat
At Singac, few miles out of Pater-
son, the Passaic had risen a foot and
half in the twelve hours ending at
p. m At the present rate it will be
over it's banks by noon to-day.
Wallington, between Paterson and
Passaic, which suffered so severely in
the big flood of 1902, again is threat
ened. Most of the cellars there were
flooded last night
Seaside Bungalows Flooded
While in Manhattan, Brooklyn and
Queens the storm only served to remove
snow piles and bare hitherto unsus-
ION m, .oo1, 1L.a.