Platte County Historical Society will present “Blizzard of 1888 — The School Children s Blizzard” at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at the Platte County Historical Society Museum’s west building, 2916
Nebraska is known for its unpredictable weather. You can leave your house in a t-shirt and jeans in the morning and need a winter coat by the evening. The state’s
1/12/2011: Perhaps the most tragic blizzard in North Dakota’s history occurred on January 12, 1888. The Schoolchildren’s Blizzard, as it became known, affected the mid-section of the country, from North Dakota all the way down to Texas. When the storm finally subsided, two-hundred and thirty people lay dead, mostly school-aged children.
Laugh Tracks in the Dust, Damphewmore Acres, Kan.
A couple of weeks ago, I speculated in my column about how the pioneers in the 1880s were probably very happy for the telegraph because one big benefit was advanced notice of bad weather hours, or perhaps days ahead of the storms to towns and cities up and down the telegraph lines. Getting weather information to individuals and families isolated on the prairies was still to come.
After reading my column, Elmer from Colorado called me to discuss the telegraph’s use in pioneer day weather forecasting. He said every telegraph station had a barometer and changing barometric pressures were telegraphed regularly to all stations. The rule of thumb was rapidly rising or falling barometric pressures forecast major weather changes.