As we approach the 30th anniversary of the "Storm of the Century," the Blizzard of '93, we will be taking a look back at some of most historic and dramatic snow storms Syracuse has ever faced.
***
In just three days, the historic Blizzard of 1966 dropped 42 inches of snow on Syracuse, including a recording-breaking 24-hour stretch that saw a relentless 22 inches of snow.
For what may have been the first time in modern history, Syracuse surrendered to the snow.
It wasn't just the snow that made this the blizzard against which all future storms would be measured. Winds gusting up to 60 mph created whiteouts and snow drifts as tall as many Syracuse houses.
The storm tore through Central New York from Sunday, Jan. 30 to Tuesday, Feb. 1 that year. Downtown Syracuse was eerily deserted that Monday.
There were no cars or buses on Salina Street; no scurrying workers trying to make it to the office on time on Warren and Clinton Streets after their weekend. Stores, schools, and businesses were locked shut.
The city looked like Siberia, mammoth snow drifts clogged its streets and sidewalks and threatened to cover store fronts and shop windows.
"It looked funny on Salina Street," The Post-Standard's Charles Russo wrote. "Streets like Erie Boulevard, Warren and Clinton, which on ordinary days accommodate the city's heaviest traffic, were unusable."
The snow fell so heavy, so fast and piled so high that even the snow plows in a city known for its snow had to wave the white flag.
At one point that Monday, snowplows were called in from Syracuse streets. The city decided to only use them when they needed to plow a path for an emergency vehicle.
"It's just a waste of time. It's useless," complained a plow truck driver stuck on Herald Place. The snow was higher than his blade.
It wasn't until Tuesday that city crews began making headway against the snow.
Thousands of automobiles and dozens of Greyhound buses were stranded on unplowed roads in those first two days. Hotel rooms filled quickly. The Yates Hotel, across from City Hall, was compared to a "convention hall."
Travelers stranded while driving on the Thruway spent the night at the Onondaga County War Memorial. One hundred and twenty-six people, including two babies and a Siamese kitten, were "guests" on the second and third floors of the building and slept in beds brought over from Meachem School.
Police Court Justice Robert O'Hara spent the night in a jail cell during the storm rather than trying to venture home.
Food was scarce. The few restaurants that opened had little to offer. Others rationed what little they had.
Grocery stores reported a "booming business" throughout the storm until their shelves were completely cleaned out. Milk was rationed to two gallons per person.
At least nine people from around Central New York died as a direct result of the storm, many from heart attacks from shoveling the snow. Four people died in a Nedrow fire.
To prevent further suffering, Syracuse police and rescue operations innovated like they never had before.
Fire trucks were used as ambulances and helicopters were used for some emergency calls, including dropping food and picking up the sick and injured.
As the storm dragged on, police issued a call for snowmobile owners to volunteer their vehicles in emergencies and many did so.
Despite no traffic or automobile accidents, city and county police worked around the clock. They answered calls from families desperate for food, delivered fuel and medicine, and picked up stranded nurses and doctors and brought them to hospitals.
The Blizzard of 1966 also has the honor of being the cause of the first ever missed publication date of The Post-Standard on Feb. 1, 1966.
Though much of the staff showed up for work -- including copy desk chief Steve Makeel who walked two-and-a-half hours from North Syracuse to downtown -- the roads made it impossible for carriers to deliver the paper.
"And once in a lifetime," an editorial said the next day, "when the heavens open up to dump three of four feet of snow in the midst of 50-mile wind gusts modern civilization nearly comes to a halt."
"We surrender meekly to the elements."
The editorial would make an accurate prediction about the legacy of the historic Blizzard of '66. It would indeed be the snowstorm that all others would be measured by locally.
"Your children will be telling their grandchildren about THE BLIZZARD OF '66!" it said.
More winter storms
Syracuse's Greatest Winter Storms: 9 inches fall in 2 hours to create Syracuse's worst-ever traffic jam
Syracuse's Greatest Winter Storms: Armies of unemployed men shovel streets clear for 50 cents an hour
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tgam/5BNFJIP44VGB7C7T4OFSLKLDRA.jpg "Familiar tropes make a good heist book irresistible")
