Monadnock Moment No. 137

Era 6: Development of the Industrial United States -
           1870 to 1900

The Blizzard of '88

In March of 1888 a three-day blizzard buried the Northeast and remains the storm with which New England blizzards are still compared today.

The snowstorm paralyzed Atlantic coast cities north of Virginia before it arrived in New Hampshire on Sunday evening, March 11. By mid morning on Monday travel was nearly impossible in the region. The heavy snowfall combined with gale force winds to create 12 to 15 foot snowdrifts. All roads in Keene and throughout the county were soon impassable.

The telegraph lines were soon knocked down and all trains were stranded in the snow. Stagecoaches were unable to travel and the mail was delayed for several days. Businesses were closed and town meetings were postponed on Tuesday because no one could get to the town halls.

When the storm finally let up on Wednesday the 14th, Keene had 36 inches of snow, Chesterfield had 40 inches, and Dublin 42. These accumulations combined with the high winds resulted in many houses being buried to roof level. The blizzard resulted in some 400 deaths and $20,000,000 in damages throughout the Northeast. It was several days before the roads were cleared, the trains and mails began to move again, and the region returned to normal. Keene's Cheshire Republican may have summed up the impact of the storm best when it reported that "the storm of this week is the most severe of any known to have visited this section of the country."