On This Day 214 Years Ago, A Snow Hurricane Struck New Hampshire
By Kelly A. Burch
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Published October 09, 2016
If you’re from New Hampshire, chances are that you’ve seen times when the snow flies before the leaves fall. Maybe you’ve even trick-or-treated while flurries fall. However, significant snowfall in October is fairly rare. However, on October 9, 1804 a snow hurricane struck New England blanketing New Hampshire in a couple feet of snow!
On October 9, 1804 no one knew that a hurricane was coming to New England. And as if an unpredicted hurricane wasn't scary enough, a sudden drop in temperature made this storm deadly.
When the temperatures dropped the immense amount of moisture associated with the storm fell as snow instead of rain. All of New Hampshire was covered in 6 inches of the white stuff, with some mountain areas receiving up to five times that!
The storm was made even worse by the fact that few New Hampshirites were prepared for such a massive storm in early October.
In Rye, many ships were wrecked. But the deaths didn't just happen in the sea. A mother and infant were found dead on Rye Beach.
Although the winds abated on Tuesday October 9th, the snow continued for two more days. By the time the storm lifted, fall had been replaced by winter and a massive cleanup effort was needed.
So if today is cold and chilly, just take a moment to be thankful that we’re not experiencing a snow hurricane!
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