Photo: A horse-drawn buggy driving on East montgomery Avenue, Rockville, ca. 1900.  MCHS Photograph Collection

Montgomery County has experienced many a blizzard in its day. But the 2009-2010 winter is shaping up to be the snowiest on record, besting the previous record set by the 1898-1899 winter.   Every storm is unique (some even deserve their own names) and it seems as if each one stands in our minds as "the big one"... until the next time.  January and February seem to be the worst months, although the occasional March storm will hit, just when we think spring is on its way.

Some of the big ones: March 1888.  February 1899 ("The Storm of the Century").  January 1922 ("The Knickerbocker Storm").  February 1958, closely followed by March 1958.  February 1966.  February 1979 ("The Presidents Day Storm").  February 1983.  March 1993.  January 1996 ("The Blizzard of '96").  February 2003.

Some were wet, heavy snows that knocked out power; others had low quantities of snow that, thanks to high winds, became debilitating drifts.  The Knickerbocker Storm of 1922 is famous for its catastrophic result: 98 people killed and over 100 injured when the weight of 28 inches of heavy, wet snow caused the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater in DC to collapse.  In addition to the usual problems, the blizzard of 1899 stranded two west-bound trains in the upper part of the county for several days.  The one-two punch in early 1958 devastated our dairy farmers: the first storm blocked rural roads, preventing the trucks from picking up the milk, and the second storm knocked out the power that ran the milking equipment.  Ice storms are sometimes the worst; in January of 1998, El Niño conditions caused an ice storm that kept the power out across the county, in some places for almost a week.

February 1899 (The Storm of the Century)

Twenty-two inches of snow fell over three days, on top of an existing foot of snow already on the ground; after the snow stopped, 40-mile an hour winds blew towering drifts, and the temperature was measured at 14 degrees below zero in Rockville.  A St. Louis-bound train was stuck in Boyds for three days, and a Chicago-bound train was similarly stranded in Barnesville. Fuel shortages were feared, and an emergency committee formed to help bring food to outlying farms.

Municipalities like Rockville worked on plowing their main streets, but the County's Board of Commissioners refused to spend money on snow removal on the theory that it had blown down from Frederick County and was thus not their own responsibility.  Instead, farmers resorted to their own cooperative devices to clear their roads - although even still, one farmer went on record as refusing, since "God Almighty put the snow there, and He will take it away in His own good time."

January 1922 (The Knickerbocker Storm)

This storm is famous for the catastrophe it caused in downtown Washington: the weight of 28 inches of heavy, wet snow caused the roof of the Knickerbocker Moving Picture Theater to collapse, killing 98 people and injuring over 100 more.

February and March 1958

County residents were hit with a double whammy in 1958. First, in February, a frigid gale created impassable 20 foot drifts, "virtually paralyzing" most the upper County.  Then in March, a heavy, wet snow pulled down trees and power lines over most of the County.  Dairy farmers were particularly affected both times, resulting in the waste of thousands of gallons of milk: in February the milk trucks were unable to reach the farms, and in March the lack of power meant that the milk couldn't be processed fast enough.

Photo: "Snow drifts tower over 15 year old Evan Drager as he makes his way along the newly cleared Derwood Road, last Friday.  Two bulldozers and a blower snowplow took a full day to clear a way through this drift. Staff Photo." Sentinel, Feb. 20 1958.

February 1966

Although only 14 inches of snow fell, gale-force winds created towering snowdrifts for days after the snow had stopped falling.  The problem of clearing and maintaining roads was severe; the papers reported houses burning before emergency equipment could reach them, babies being born in stranded cars, snowplows stuck in drifts for days, and at least nine storm-related deaths.

Photo: Aftermath of the 1966 blizzard.  Maryland Monitor, February 4, 1966.

February 1979 (The President's Day Storm)

This storm was one of the fastest in area history, with a peak of two inches of snow falling an hour; 24 inches fell between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.  Thankfully, Monday was a legal holiday, so there was less traffic to be affected.

Photo: Remnants of the 22 inch snowfall in February, 1979.  Sentinel Nespapers photograph collection, MCHS.