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Memorable Thanksgiving Weather
The Portland Gale
One of the worst maritime disasters in New England’s history occurred on the night of November 26, 1898. That evening, approximately 200 passengers boarded the luxurious steamship, the SS Portland, for an overnight trip from Boston to Portland, Maine to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.
As the Portland prepared to set out to sea, a powerful storm heading up from the south combined with another storm heading from the Great Lakes. The combination produced a “hundred year storm” with hurricane-force winds and a foot of snow. By the time the sun rose the next day the Portland and an estimated 150 other ships lay at the bottom of the sea, causing more than 500 fatalities.
The Blizzard BowlOn Thanksgiving Day 1950, Ohio was buried under a record amount of snow. Nearly the entire state saw 10 inches and some parts got up to 30 inches. Add a 40 mph wind and you can bet everyone was celebrating inside. That is until Saturday when the famous “Blizzard Bowl” was held in Columbus. Ohio State faced Michigan in front of 50,000 fans that braved 35 mph winds and a temperature of only 5 degrees. Michigan won 9-3 on 27 total yards and never even scored a first down.
Baking in Buffalo
Not all of the extreme Thanksgiving weather produced such treacherous conditions. The residents of Buffalo, New York were amazed to see temperatures soar to 68 degrees on Thanksgiving Day in 1896. Quite a change of conditions given that the average temperature to date is 42 degrees.
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