St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm
The St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm was a powerful winter storm that hit the Southeastern United States in mid-March 1892, with the heaviest snowfalls occurring in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Mid-State region.[1] The event was atypical for this humid subtropical climate.[2] Some portions of Middle Tennessee received record accumulation of up to 26 inches (66 cm) of snow.[3]
Average climate
The average high temperature in Nashville during the month of March is 61 °F (16 °C).[4][5] The average snowfall is only 0.32 inches (0.81 cm) in the latter half of the month.[4][5] On St. Patrick's Day, the average temperature in Nashville is 61.3 °F (16.3 °C) with negligible average snowfall.[4]
Winter of 1891–92
The winter of 1891–92 featured very little snowfall in Tennessee, only 0.3 inches (0.76 cm) recorded in Nashville through March 14.[1] The temperature reached into the 60s during several days that March, and even into the 70s on March 4.[1] But a powerful cold front swept into Middle Tennessee in mid-March, dropping the temperature from 65 °F (18 °C) on March 13 to only 40 °F (4 °C) on March 14.[1]
Much of the Southeastern United States plummeted into the teens from Arkansas to Alabama.[6] On March 15, 1892, Nashville received 4.2 inches (11 cm) of snow, most of which melted by the following day.[1]
Storm details
On March 16 around 6:00 pm, snow began falling in Nashville with little accumulating by midnight.[6][1] By the afternoon of March 17, St. Patrick's Day, the city had been inundated with 17 inches (43 cm) of snow.[6][7][1] Northeast of Nashville, Riddleton, Tennessee, was besieged by 26 inches (66 cm) over the two-day period.[3]
In Nashville, morning trains were delayed while streetcars were unable to function.[1] A freight train traveling from Chattanooga to Nashville partially derailed when it collided with a train engine near Murfreesboro.[1] Temperatures hovered between 28 °F (−2 °C) and 30 °F (−1 °C) that day.[8]
Outside of Middle Tennessee
Records established
- Highest snowfall total in Nashville for a single day at 17 inches (43 cm)[9][3][7][1]
- Highest snowfall total in Nashville for a 24-hour period at 17 inches (43 cm)[9][3][7][1][10]
- Highest snowfall total in Memphis for a single day at 18 inches (46 cm)[8]
- Highest snowfall total in Memphis for a 24-hour period at 18 inches (46 cm)[8]
- Highest snowfall total in Middle Tennessee in one day at 18.7 inches (47 cm)[10]
- Highest snowfall total in Nashville for a single month at 21.5 inches (55 cm)[9][3][7][1][10]
The St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm also ranks as the second-deepest snow in Nashville history, only topped by the 22.8-inch (57.9-cm) snow that fell over a 48-hour period in February 1886.[9] Only two other snowfalls in Nashville have ever exceeded 10 inches (25 cm); a 15-inch (38.1-cm) snow in February 1929 and a 10.2-inch (25.9-cm) snow that concluded on New Year's Day of 1964.[9][1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rose, Mark A. "St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm of 1892". Weather.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ Harris, Amy. "Climate of Nashville, Tennessee". USAToday.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "St. Patrick's Day: Wild Weather Ride". WeatherBug.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c "U.S. climate data". USClimateData.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b Duke, Jan (December 10, 2016). "Nashville Weather – Average Nashville Weather Temperatures". TripSavvy.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Evans, Chad (March 18, 2016). "A Look Back at Two Unusual, Historic Snowstorms in Mid-March". WEVV.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Meyer, Holly (March 4, 2015). "Accumulation won't break March snow record". Tennessean.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c Lam, Linda (March 17, 2017). "7 Cities with Unlucky St. Patrick's Day Weather". Weather.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Williams, Lance (February 15, 2015). "A look at Nashville's biggest snowstorms". Tennessean.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Nashville Weather Records (1871–present)". Weather.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
External links
- Maps of the snowfall