By: History.com Editors

1950

“Storm of the century” hits eastern U.S.

History.com Editors

Published: November 13, 2009

Last Updated: January 30, 2025

The so-called “storm of the century” hits the eastern part of the United States, killing hundreds and causing millions of dollars in damages, on November 25, 1950. Also known as the “Appalachian Storm,” it dumped record amounts of snow in parts of the Appalachian Mountains.

Forming over North Carolina just before Thanksgiving, the storm quickly moved north, striking western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia. These areas were blanketed with several feet of snow for several days and travel was impossible for nearly a week in some places.

The Snowstorm that Changed Everything

Before salted roads and giant snowplows, one devastating storm brought New York City to a halt. But it may have changed things for the better.

An accompanying windstorm covered a far greater area. New York City recorded a 94 mile-per-hour wind gust. At Bear Mountain, just north of the city, a 140 mph gust was recorded. The winds throughout New England were of hurricane-like force. In addition, high tides and wind-driven surf battered the coastline. On the south edge of the storm, record low temperatures were recorded in Tennessee and North Carolina even without the wind chill. In Mount Mitchell, North Carolina, a temperature of 26 degrees below zero was recorded.

The storm was unique, however, because it featured not only extremely strong winds and heavy snow, but both record high and low temperatures. In Pittsburgh, 30 inches of snow fell in a blinding snowstorm. Further north, Buffalo saw no snow, but experienced 50 mile-per-hour winds and 50-degree temperatures. Paul Kocin, a Weather Channel expert, has said that this storm “had the greatest contrast of weather elements in probably any storm, including the 1993 March Superstorm.”

The extreme weather was deemed responsible for the loss of 160 lives over several days.

The Biggest Snow Storms in US History

We trudge back in time to revisit some of the worst blizzards in U.S. history.

The Biggest Snow Storms in US History

By: History.com Staff

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on November 25th

1783

Last British soldiers leave New York

On November 25, 1783, nearly three months after the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the American Revolution, the last British soldiers withdraw from New York City, the last British military position in the former Thirteen Colonies. After the last Redcoat departed New York, U.S. General George Washington entered the city in triumph to the […]

1876

U.S. Army retaliates for the Little Bighorn defeat

U.S. troops under the leadership of General Ranald Mackenzie destroy the village of Cheyenne living with Chief Dull Knife on the headwaters of the Powder River. The attack was in retaliation against some of the Native Americans who had participated in the killing of Custer and his men at the Little Bighorn. Although the Sioux […]

1952

“The Mousetrap” opens in London

“The Mousetrap,” a murder-mystery written by the novelist and playwright Agatha Christie, opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. The crowd-pleasing whodunit would go on to become the longest continuously running play in history. When “The Mousetrap” premiered in 1952, Winston Churchill was British prime minister, Joseph Stalin was Soviet ruler and Harry Truman was […]

1959

The Birdman of Alcatraz asks a court to set him free

On November 25, 1959, four months after being released from 43 years of solitary confinement and transferred to the mainland from the penitentiary on Alcatraz island, Robert Stroud, the famous “Birdman of Alcatraz,” asks a federal judge to set him free. Stroud gained widespread fame and attention when author Thomas Gaddis wrote a biography that […]

This Day In History: The Birdman of Alcatraz, Robert Stroud, is allowed a small taste of freedom, November 23, 1959

1960

Mirabal sisters assassinated by Trujillo regime

On November 25, 1960, a car carrying three Dominican political dissidents, the Mirabal sisters, is stopped as they travel to visit a prison where two of their husbands are being held. Members of the Dominican Republic’s secret police, including the alleged “right-hand man” of dictator Rafael Trujillo, beat the sisters and their driver to death, […]

1963

JFK buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Three days after his assassination in Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy is laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

JFK Funeral

1970

Japanese author Yukio Mishima dies by suicide

World-renowned Japanese writer Yukio Mishima dies by suicide after failing to win public support for his often extreme political beliefs. Born in 1925, Mishima was obsessed with what he saw as the spiritual barrenness of modern life. He preferred prewar Japan, with its austere patriotism and traditional values, to the materialistic, westernized nation that arose […]

1986

Iran-Contra connection revealed

Three weeks after a Lebanese magazine reported that the United States had been secretly selling arms to Iran, Attorney General Edwin Meese reveals that proceeds from the arms sales were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua. On November 3, the Lebanese magazine Ash Shiraa reported that the United States had been secretly selling […]

1990

Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge sinks to the bottom of Lake Washington

After a howling wind- and rainstorm on Thanksgiving Day, Washington state’s historic floating Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge breaks apart and sinks to the bottom of Lake Washington, between Seattle and its suburbs to the east. Because the bridge’s disintegration happened relatively slowly, news crews were able to capture the whole thing on camera, broadcasting […]

2000

First International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

After passing a resolution earlier in the year, the United Nations General Assembly recognizes the first International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, 2000. The resolution, which was introduced by the Dominican Republic, marked the anniversary of the death of three sisters, Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal, who were […]

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Citation Information

Article title
“Storm of the century” hits eastern U.S.
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 26, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 30, 2025
Original Published Date
November 13, 2009

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