The snow may still be falling, but at least Winter Storm Juno has been downgraded here in the Tristate Area (so much for that whole Storm of the Century thing, right?). To celebrate, let's take a look back at another one of the most epic snowstorms on record: The Blizzard of 1947. Gothamist dug up a newsreel from that notable storm, complete with overly dramatic score and old-timey narration, so let's give it a watch, shall we?
Before we do that, though, here's what's been going on with Juno (just, y'know, in case you're curious). According to Weather.com, New York City's snow levels have covered a rather peculiar range: As of about 9 AM this morning, Central Park had not quite eight inches of the white stuff on the ground; eastern Long Island, on the other hand, counted 24 inches so far. La Guardia airport landed in between the two at 11 inches. It's still going strong further north, though, with towns in Massachusetts measuring up to 26 inches — which, interestingly, sounds strikingly similar to the Blizzard of 1947.
Like the Blizzard of 1888 (which, you'll recall, we looked at yesterday), the 1947 storm is remembered as being "historic." In December of that year, snow fell for two days, with the temperatures for the season being so cold that it didn't melt until March of 1948. According to the newsreel, which was uploaded to YouTube by film and photo archive Critical Past in 2014, the snow whirled down in New York at a rate of two inches per hour, once again catching everyone by surprise. At the time, estimates claimed some 30,000 cars ended up abandoned by their owners on highways and side streets; neither were the trains running (obviously). Indeed, the storm stuck the city in almost complete isolation, with no way to get either in or out until cleanup crews cleared enough of the snow and ice to get things moving again.
The reel claims the 1947 blizzard was the "greatest storm in recorded inches" and surpassed the Blizzard of 1888 by "five frosty inches"; I'm not totally sure that was actually the case, though. According to the data I've been able to find, 1888's storm resulted in 40 to 60 inches of snow (depending on where you were), while 1947's had a maximum of about 26 inches. It's anyone's guess whether the newsreel was trying to make the storm out to be worse than it was; if it was, maybe it was an effort to bolster the city's spirits — a kind of, "Look, you guys! We survived! AND we survived a storm that was bigger than the previously recorded biggest storm in history! We can get through this together, no problem!" message.
But hey, it looks like some things never change: This dog was as psyched to frolic around in the snow as these modern day pups are.
Watch the full video below. Stay warm, everyone!
Images: CriticalPast/YouTube (5)
