Listing of Most-Disruptive Thanksgiving Snowstorms Recorded in US Historical past

[ad_1] Hundreds of thousands of Individuals journey over the Thanksgiving interval, however when extreme snowstorms strike in the course of the vacation week, they will rapidly paralyze total areas, delay flights, and shut down roads—turning deliberate gatherings into logistical crises.

A number of the most-historic Thanksgiving-period snowstorms recorded within the U.S. have left a whole lot stranded, triggered widespread energy outages, and, within the most-extreme instances, resulted in dozens of deaths.

Whereas there isn't a official nationwide rating of the snowiest Thanksgivings up to now, meteorologists and businesses such because the Nationwide Climate Service (NWS) and Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) repeatedly cite a handful of storms that stand out amongst others for his or her dimension, depth and influence.

Snowfall data within the U.S. are stored on a city-by-city foundation, making complete nationwide comparisons tough. However knowledge from NOAA’s Regional Snowfall Index and NWS occasion archives determine the next as probably the most important snowstorms to coincide with Thanksgiving through the years.

The Nice Appalachian Storm of 1950 Some of the disruptive and lethal Thanksgiving snowstorms in U.S. historical past, the Nice Appalachian Storm of 1950, blanketed the central Appalachians with as much as 62 inches of snow throughout Thanksgiving week. In line with the NWS Charleston, WV, Coburn Creek, West Virginia noticed the very best snowfall whole at 62 inches, with over 30 inches in Pittsburgh and widespread snowfall throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The storm produced hurricane-force wind gusts, together with 94 mph in New York Metropolis and 160 mph on Mount Washington, New Hampshire. As famous by the NWS Jackson, Kentucky: "By the point the storm wound down on November 29 and 30, 160 individuals have been lifeless, and insurance coverage corporations paid more cash out to their coverage holders for injury than for every other earlier storm or hurricane."

Thanksgiving Snowstorm of 1971 From November 24 to 25, 1971, a strong early-season storm dropped substantial snowfall throughout the northeastern U.S. Albany, New York, recorded 22.5 inches of snow—one of many largest November totals within the metropolis’s historical past.

The storm was described as being a significant occasion that stranded many vacationers on one of many busiest weeks of the yr.

Thanksgiving Storm of 1989 A Thanksgiving storm in 1989 caught a lot of the Northeastern U.S. in frenzy. Over a foot of snow fell in components of Virginia and North Carolina—areas that not often see measurable snow in mid-November.

The storm created harmful highway circumstances and main air-travel delays.

<img id="11080262" alt="" caption="Snowy streets along Washington Square Park during a winter blizzard in New York City." captionoverride="Stock image: Snowy streets are seen along Washington Square Park during a winter blizzard in New York City." credit="Getty Images" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="4000" height="2667" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-1197112537.jpg?w=640&quality=75&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-1197112537.jpg?w=750&quality=75&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-1197112537.jpg?w=1000&quality=75&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-1197112537.jpg?w=1200&quality=75&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-1197112537.jpg?w=1360&quality=75&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-1197112537.jpg?w=1600&quality=75&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/GettyImages-1197112537.jpg?w=1600&quality=75&webp=1"/> Thanksgiving Storm of 2014 On November 26, 2014, one other pre-Thanksgiving storm blanketed the Northeast with snow from Pennsylvania to New England. Greater than 4,000 flights have been delayed and 700 canceled, severely affecting journey out of Newark, Boston, and different main airports the day earlier than Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Week Blizzard of 2019 Some of the-expansive Thanksgiving-period storms in latest historical past, the 2019 Thanksgiving Week Blizzard swept from the West Coast by way of the Plains and into the Midwest. In Duluth, Minnesota, a record-breaking 21.7 inches of snow fell, making it town’s highest two-day November whole. Highways have been closed in a number of states, and over 1,000 flights have been canceled nationwide.

Native 'Snowiest Thanksgiving' Information Along with regional snowstorms, a number of cities monitor single-day snowfall data for Thanksgiving Day itself. For example, Caribou in Maine recorded 7.7 inches on Thanksgiving Day in 1971, with the deepest snowpack of 25 inches in 1974.

With a significant storm monitoring Central and Japanese U.S. subsequent week, in the course of the Thanksgiving vacation, disruptions and delays are anticipated.

Paul Pastelok, lead long-range forecast skilled at AccuWeather, instructed Newsweek: "Storms might trigger main journey complications within the days main as much as Thanksgiving. Folks heading out on the highways must be ready for snowy circumstances in components of the Midwest and Northwest. Drivers might encounter rain and fog as storms push from the central U.S. to the Northeast earlier than Thanksgiving Day."

Pastelok added: "There may be the potential for journey delays associated to rain, slick circumstances and poor visibility from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast states from Wednesday-to-Wednesday evening, however that may depend upon the monitor, energy and ahead pace of the massive storm system.

"The storm might be dropping a few of its depth and moisture because it travels from the Central states to the Northeast, however given the journey quantity, even just a few hours of rain can create important issues on the roads and runways from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, New York Metropolis and Boston."