THIS DATE IN WEATHER HISTORY

1780: The Hard Winter

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The absolute worst winter in the 18th century was the “hard winter” of 1779-1780. The winter that year was bad. Over the course of the winter, New Jersey had 26 snowstorms and 6 of those are considered to be blizzards! Every saltwater inlet from North Carolina to Canada froze over completely. In fact, New York Harbor froze over with ice so thick that British soldiers were able to march from Manhattan to Staten Island. George Washington decided to place his army at Morristown, New Jersey for winter quarters. When they arrived at the encampment site in November 1779 there was already a foot of snow on the ground. The worst of the snowfalls dropped more than four feet of snow with snow drifts over six feet on January 4, 1780.

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THIS DATE IN WEATHER HISTORY

1780: The Hard Winter

This Date in Weather History

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