Remembering The Deadly 1996 Blizzard That Crippled New York

Local weather expert Ben Noll says this weekend's forecast is eerily similar to the Blizzard of 1996. How bad was that? Let's take a grim look down memory lane.

Jan. 7 marked the 30th anniversary of the 1996 blizzard. It's a storm that's remembered still as one of the most powerful and disruptive in U.S. History.

Remembering The Blizzard Of 1996

It was called a "storm like no other."

Thirty years ago, New York was buried under what many call one of the most paralyzing storms of the 20th century. The Blizzard of 1996, a historic Category 5 winter storm on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale, slammed the Eastern Seaboard.

Winds gusting up to 50 mph whipped snow into drifts as high as eight feet, grounding airports, closing schools, and forcing the National Guard onto city streets.

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New York City recorded over 20 inches of snow, its fourth-largest single snowfall, and schools closed for the first time since 1978.

Some parts of the Hudson Valley received nearly 30 inches of snow!

Blizzard Of 1996 Snowfall Totals

Snowfall totals from every part of New York aren't available, but from what is, you can get a sense of how much snow fell near you (if your area isn't listed)

Rockland County (Suffern)

• 29 inches of snow

Bronx

• Around 29 to 30 inches of snow

Brooklyn

• 20 to 30 inches of snow

Staten Island

• 27 inches of snow

Westchester County (Yonkers)

• 27 inches of snow

LaGuardia Airport (Queens)

• 24 inches of snow

New York City

• 20.2 inches of snow

Columbia County (Ancram)

• 23 inches of snow

Interestingly enough, the northern part of Valatie (in Columbia County) saw only about 2 inches of snow.

Winter Chaos

Travel and daily life were thrown into chaos. Airports, including JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark, shut down for days, Newark recording its longest shutdown ever.

Then New York Gov. George E. Pataki declared a state of emergency. The National Guard helped rescue stranded motorists and assist medical personnel.

According to the National Weather Service, "transportation was crippled for days," many "roofs caved in," and businesses were closed for days.

Over 60 Deaths Blamed For Blizzard of 1996, including a Hudson Valley child

Around 60 deaths were blamed on the storm, including an 11-year-old boy from Orange County, New York.

The New York Times reports that 11-year-old Mark Reyes was killed in Wallkill when he burrowed into a snow bank and was hit and killed by a snowplow

Most of the other deaths were from heart attacks while shoveling or exposure to the cold.

A week later, heavy rain and unseasonably warm temperatures melted the snowpack, triggering some of the worst winter river flooding in decades. Insured losses topped $500 million, with total property damage estimated at $3 billion.

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