Historical Pictures of Snowfalls and Blizzards in New York City, 1900s-1980s
From delicate snow showers to mighty blizzards, New Yorkers have danced with winter’s icy tunes for decades.
These historical snapshots, capturing snowfalls and blizzards from the 1900s to the 1980s, offer a peek into the city’s frosty past.
The images freeze moments when life in the Big Apple adapted to the cold. People bundled up, streets transformed by snow, and the city’s pulse continuing despite the chill. But there’s more than meets the eye.
These pictures reveal the city’s grit and smarts, and how New Yorkers tackled winter’s challenges together. They show not just snowy scenes but also how the city itself changed over time.
A blizzard turns Broad Street into a white blur during a cold winter day in 1940.
The New York Blizzard of 1888
Named The Great White Hurricane, the blizzard of 1888 impacted towns stretching from the Chesapeake Bay in the south to Maine in the north.
The storm caused railways and telegraph lines to collapse, trapping people indoors due to 50-foot snowdrifts.
While certain regions were buried under a staggering 60 inches of snow, New York City experienced a comparatively milder yet still impactful 22-inch snowfall.
The Great Blizzard of 1947
On December 26, 1947, what seemed like a wish for a white Christmas turned into a chilling reality with the Boxing Day storm.
The Great Blizzard of 1947 trapped numerous individuals, leaving them without adequate food and heat due to dwindling coal supplies.
This devastating storm claimed the lives of 77 people and set a then-record of 26.4 inches of snow measured in Central Park.
A car covered by snow, 1947.
The North American Blizzard of 2006
On February 12, 2006, the North American Blizzard of 2006 swept through East Coast cities, disrupting normal life and prompting days-long school closures from Baltimore to Boston. \
However, New York City bore the brunt of the storm, receiving a staggering 26.9 inches of snow, marking the highest recorded snowfall in the city’s history according to government records.
Winter Storm Jonas of 2016
On January 23-24, 2016, Winter Storm Jonas, also known as Snowzilla, gripped the nation’s attention as a massive blizzard.
The impending severity prompted 11 governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C., to declare a state of emergency.
Travel came to a standstill in New York and New Jersey for two days due to the storm’s intensity.
Ultimately, the city received 26.8 inches of snowfall, falling just a fraction short of breaking the existing record.
A city street becomes an icy tundra as cars try (unsuccessfully) to plow through the snow along Second Avenue in 1947.
A couple shares a steamy kiss on a snowy park bench outside New York City’s Municipal Building in 1947.
A doting mother tries to shield her baby from blizzard-like conditions in Central Park during a snowy day in 1964.
A family heads down Park Avenue via dog sled during the winter of 1947.
A freak snowstorm leaves passengers stuck in Times Square after a frozen switch brings streetcars to a screeching halt, 1936.
A lucky lady catches a ride with a smiling gentleman outside City Hall as others trudge by during a snowy day in 1947.
A pedestrian jumps over a mound of snow into the streets of New York City during a storm in 1982.
A stunning aerial view shows the majestic Manhattan skyline covered in a layer of snow during the winter of 1941.
A train sits abandoned on the elevated tracks along Third Avenue, brought to an utter standstill by snow, wind, and ice, 1947.
An unexpected blizzard makes for dangerous driving conditions near East 42nd street, where gale-force winds and a foot of snow brings cars and buses to a stop, 1967.
Bundled up city dwellers line up to hit the 59th Street lake in Central Park during a chilly day in 1936.
Chilly pedestrians brave the snow as they hurry home on a cold winter day in 1940.
Driving becomes a team effort after a car gets lodged in almost 7 inches of snow on East 38th Street in 1943.
Fifth Avenue in a snowstorm in 1948.
Following a fight with a five-alarm fire in Brooklyn Heights, firemen struggle to free up equipment completely encrusted in ice in 1980.
Kitty Dolan, the 1957 ‘Outdoor Fun Queen’ of Palisades Amusement Park, doesn’t seem to be having too much fun as she stands outside in the cold near the Belmont Plaza Hotel.
Orchard Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side becomes a scene of chaos after a heavy snowstorm left parts of the city a huge mess in 1926.
The blizzard of 1983 dumped so much snow on New York City that cars were stranded on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
The Great Blizzard of 1888 dumped 40-50 inches on New York City and New Jersey. It left behind this giant snow pile in the middle of the Big Apple.
The normally bright lights of Times Square are dimmed by a blanket of white snow following a storm in 1935.
The World’s Fair isn’t exactly bustling after a frozen day left the spectacle completely covered in white powder during the winter of 1939.
Tired of shoveling snow, a man uses a flamethrower to clear a path through the frozen Governors Island, 1947.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Douglas partakes in a favorite winter pastime as he and his son go sledding in 1942.
Winter leaves the city’s roofs covered with snow following flurries in 1940.
With the city lit up behind them, a couple wards off the cold by sharing a cigarette under a glowing street lamp in Central Park in 1957.
(Photo credit: NY Daily News / New York Public Archives / Wikimedia Commons).
