The Murderous Blizzard of 1888
Micah Moore
March 17, 2014
History 2020
Death on the Prairies: The Murderous Blizzard of 1888 On January 12, 1888, the weather in the west was mild, compared to previous weeks. Little did the people know that a massive cold front was in route and would be catastrophic to the people, their livestock, and the economy in the dekota and nebraska praries. The cold front would cause one of the worst blizzards for the region, killing close to 500 people. The factors that made the death toll so high involve the mild weather before the storm, the lack of technology for warning systems, and bad timing. On the day of January 12, farmers and children from all over the nebraska territory believed that that day was going to be warm and enjoyable compared to the previous days. From the early morning, farmers were up carrying out chores and duties that were post poned due to the weather. They were all very confident that the day would be a glorious day, wearing nothing but mere under clothing. Children rushed to schools that were miles away without jackets, gloves, or scarves. As famers were working miles away at distant farms and praries watering crops or tending to livestock, they would have little to no warning for what was to come that afternoon. Around mid day, the mild sky would so suddenly turn into.a nightmare, cathing all in the vast area extremely off guard. with the wicked winds and ice crystals rolling in, victoms had no time to react. If only those individuals had been fore warned, the death toll would be at a guarenteed low. During this time, technology was on a ris; however, it was very limited in certain areas. Meterology was one of the fields that due to technology and common interest, was not a major concern. The only method of long distance communication was via telegraph machines. They traveled through wires that ran along side railroag tracks. Most of the people that were affected from this storm were those living there to farm crops and raise
March 17, 2014
History 2020
Death on the Prairies: The Murderous Blizzard of 1888 On January 12, 1888, the weather in the west was mild, compared to previous weeks. Little did the people know that a massive cold front was in route and would be catastrophic to the people, their livestock, and the economy in the dekota and nebraska praries. The cold front would cause one of the worst blizzards for the region, killing close to 500 people. The factors that made the death toll so high involve the mild weather before the storm, the lack of technology for warning systems, and bad timing. On the day of January 12, farmers and children from all over the nebraska territory believed that that day was going to be warm and enjoyable compared to the previous days. From the early morning, farmers were up carrying out chores and duties that were post poned due to the weather. They were all very confident that the day would be a glorious day, wearing nothing but mere under clothing. Children rushed to schools that were miles away without jackets, gloves, or scarves. As famers were working miles away at distant farms and praries watering crops or tending to livestock, they would have little to no warning for what was to come that afternoon. Around mid day, the mild sky would so suddenly turn into.a nightmare, cathing all in the vast area extremely off guard. with the wicked winds and ice crystals rolling in, victoms had no time to react. If only those individuals had been fore warned, the death toll would be at a guarenteed low. During this time, technology was on a ris; however, it was very limited in certain areas. Meterology was one of the fields that due to technology and common interest, was not a major concern. The only method of long distance communication was via telegraph machines. They traveled through wires that ran along side railroag tracks. Most of the people that were affected from this storm were those living there to farm crops and raise