Generations of Record Cold Spells

By Harold Nielson

The recent bitter arctic cold wave, described as a Polar Vortex by the weather service, has had every one's attention. Record cold temperatures from Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Michigan, all the Great Lakes Region, stretching all the way to New England. The news reported 22 deaths from the cold these past few weeks.

This weather is not new to us older folks who can remember cold winters and blizzards of years gone by. I remember when we lived in Leadville Colorado from 1974-1978 when the winters were bitterly cold at 10,200 feet. It was not unusual to have snow from November still on the ground in March and April. Cold temps of 20-35 degrees below zero were not uncommon. I remember laying out in the street in front of our home changing the starter in my '68 Ford. It was 25 below and I didn't stay out long at a time, but I got the job done.

When our son had his tonsils out, a good snow of 12-15 inches with wind that drifted the snow in around our car. Our long driveway had to be shoveled by hand. Only the outline of our car was visible. Often when I had shoveled my driveway out to street, along came the snowplow and blocked my driveway again. I regularly ran a long extension cord out so I could plug the special electric heater I had installed in my car in order to be able to start the car on those cold mornings.

In the 1930's and the 1940's my family farmed in Eastern Colorado. In 1935 a snowstorm and blizzard came to us when my sister Irene was born. Dad was sick in bed with pneumonia. Mom gave birth to my sister with a helpful neighbor as midwife. The doctor was some 30 miles away but couldn't make it in time. Some other caring neighbors came in to help with the caring of Mom and Dad, teaching the kids how to cook and do all the farm chores. The neighbors tied ropes on my brothers and sister as they went out to do chores. The ropes were to keep them from getting lost on the way to the barn and back to the house. My older sister and brothers had to learn some life-lessons real fast. At that time, I wasn't even a twinkle in my daddy’s eyes.

At the time our farm had a Thistle Barn, with thistles and tumbleweeds, packed between the walls. It offered some protection to the livestock, but not much. The blowing snow just packed into the barn, and our animals froze to death standing in the snow. Our other farm animals wondered off across the fields, because the drifting snow had covered the fences.

In the 1940's we had some memorable  big blizzards. As a young boy of 6-7, I remember playing on the snow banks and jumping from the top of the chicken house on to the snow bank. My younger brother remembers sliding on a grain shovel from the barn roof. My older brothers had to shovel deep paths and tunnels through the snow to the barn and sheds in order to feed our cows, hogs and chickens.

At night we would heat Mom's flat irons and bricks on the cook stove, wrap them in towels to have a little warmth when we went to bed. We piled quilts, blankets and even coats on our beds to keep warm.  Besides that, our house at that time had no electricity or indoor plumbing. It sure was a long trip to our outdoor toilet on those bitter cold nights.

Sometime in the years of 1946-1949, my Dad decided to go to Wyoming to hunt deer and elk with his brother Ole. My Dad made this 500-mile trip by himself in a new jeep he had bought that year. He was able to get both his deer and elk while hunting. On his trip home he encountered a severe snow storm and blizzard. At about 9 miles from home, at Punkin Center, CO, he became stuck in a snow bank. Such blizzards have a way of packing snow as it drifts across the roads and fields. It is almost impossible to drive through, even with a four-wheel drive jeep. Dad had no recourse but to leave the Jeep with his deer and elk, and to walk the nine miles home. The next day my older brothers walked those nine miles, carrying two shovels.  They tried to dig out the jeep but could not get it out. They cut off a portion of the elk and carried it the 9 miles back home. It was two weeks later, when the weather cleared and warmed up, that Dad and the boys went back to the jeep. They were able to get the jeep out and brought it all home. Amazingly nothing was taken from his jeep, either of his hunting gear or the meat. Because it had been so cold, the meat did not spoil, Dad butchered it up, and we enjoyed his deer and elk that winter.

In another Blizzard of 1949, that lasted 3 days, with high winds and bitter cold, left deep drifts of 20 feet or more. The Air Force and the National Guard flew in hay (Operation Haylift) for the cattle in Wyoming and Colorado. The Army brought out their Weasels (heavy duty vehicles on tracks) to help rescue people and deliver hay and feed for the livestock. They also fed the deer, elk and antelope in some parts of both Colorado and Wyoming. A report following the blizzard said that 20,000 cattle and 100,000 sheep were dead.  Official death toll was 76 people died and one million livestock. Railroad tracks and roads were drifted in, and it took weeks for some of them to be opened

Down through the years there have been many blizzards and cold spells on the northern and central plains. One of the worst I have learned of, was what is called the Children's Blizzard of 1888. It was mild weather in the morning when the children left for school, some without coats. By noon the weather had drastically changed to where the temperatures dropped to 40 degrees below zero. The cold wind blew the snow and it became very dangerous for anyone outside. Some schools closed and sent children home early. Some children stayed at school. The blowing snow was blinding, some children and adults became lost as they walked home. Some children did not make it home and they were found frozen to death the following days. Cattle, horses, hogs and other farm animals also froze to death. This bitter blizzard, which was a Polar Vortex that came down out of Canada and the Dakotas, also affected the country all the way from Nebraska to Washington DC. Over 100 children froze to death in this blizzard, plus 135 more adults. However, it is usually remembered as the Children's Blizzard of January 13, 1888.

This blizzard was soon followed by another blizzard in March of 1888, that stretched all the way from the Central Plains to Eastern Seaboard. This blizzard was called the Great Blizzard of 1888.It is said that some 400 people died in that blizzard. Many cities were shut down for days and even weeks.

As I searched for "blizzards" on the internet and Wikipedia, I counted 98 blizzards and severe snowstorms since 1800. In earlier  years, the science and art of weather forecasting was just beginning to be developed. Time and space do not permit detailing all those blizzards. However, for the weather buff, the story of blizzards in the United States makes for some interesting reading, plus there were other blizzards around the world. Such trying times of suffering and hardship from severe weather and blizzards are not new but are common to many generations. We can thank God for the good days and good weather and keep on trusting God in good and bad.

You can read of The Children's Blizzard in a book by David Laskin (2004), plus various articles available on the internet. Wikipedia is a good starting place. Also, I encourage you to begin to write down those memories of earlier years. I called my brothers and sisters and asked for their memories.

Harold Nielson