The Blizzard of 1996 was one of the most devastating winter storms, causing more than 150 deaths.
The first weeks of January 1996 were brutal in the Northeast, not only because of the blizzard but also from a subsequent warmup along with heavy rain that triggered major flooding.
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The blizzard and flooding caused an estimated $3 billion in damages ($4.5 billion in 2014 dollars) and claimed 184 lives, including 154 from the blizzard.
Pennsylvania was hardest-hit of the affected states with the City of Brotherly Love receiving its biggest snowfall ever from one storm: 31 inches and $1 billion in damages ($1.5 billion in 2014 dollars) from the combined events.
Amounts up to 48 inches were reported in western Virginia and the mountains of West Virginia and snow depths of 2 to 3 feet were common from central Pennsylvania into New York, It was a nor’easter that, like so many, came out of the Gulf of Mexico and it was a classic nor’easter track for a blizzard.
The Blizzard of '96 was one of a trio of snowstorms that left a deep snowpack across portions of the Northeast during the first half of this month.