The Great Blizzard of 1899: Deep South, Deep Freeze
Snowball fights in Tallahassee? Learn about one of the coldest weeks in February in U.S. history.
Quick Reference
- When: February 11-14, 1899.
- Reach: Saskatchewan to Cuba. The most far-south winter event in U.S. history.
- Tallahassee, Florida: -2 degrees F, the only sub-zero reading in Florida history.
- Cape May, New Jersey: 34 inches of snow (state record), low of 0 F.
- Coldest spot: Fort Logan, Montana, at -61 degrees F.
While January is, on average, the coldest month of the year (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), it is not necessarily the month with the most violent weather. Much of the time, Old Man Winter saves up his fury for the latter half of the season. Many of North America’s worst blizzards have swept in during February, March, or even later in the year.
Great Blizzard of 1899
That is exactly what happened near the turn of the 20th Century when the Great Blizzard of 1899 gripped the eastern half of the continent from Saskatchewan all the way down to Cuba. The storm, which started in Canada on February 11th and continued through the 14th, was notable in part because it disproportionately affected southern locales that were used to seeing much milder winter conditions. A photograph from the era even shows government officials in Tallahassee, Florida, having a snowball fight on the stairs of the state capital building. The southern U.S. had never experienced such severe winter weather and has only seen it once since, in 1985, when a deep freeze destroyed many of Florida’s citrus groves.
Coldest of Cold
Aside from the immense breadth of the storm, it was also memorable because it brought record low temperatures to much of the country, many of which still stand to this day. Cape May, New Jersey, dropped to 0 degrees F, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Cape May County, and received an unprecedented 34 inches of snow, a record for the state. Tallahassee dropped to -2 degrees F, which is the only sub-zero temperature in Florida’s recorded history. Atlanta, Georgia, reached a numbing -9 degrees F, a low it has not exceeded since. Washington, D.C., hit -15 degrees F, an all-time low for the city, and received 51 straight hours of snow. Other areas had even lower temperatures: -33 degrees F in Sandy Hook, Kentucky; -35 degrees F in Dayton, West Virginia; -39 degrees F in Milligan, Ohio; -47 degrees F in Camp Clark, Nebraska; and a bone-chilling -61 degrees F at Fort Logan, Montana.
Even the normally sweltering city of New Orleans recorded a sub-freezing temperature of 22 degrees F during its Mardi Gras festivities that year. The city was completely iced over, and revelers had to wait for the snow to be shoveled from parade routes.
Records That Still Stand
| Location | Low temperature | Other detail |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Logan, Montana | -61 F | Coldest reading of the storm |
| Camp Clark, Nebraska | -47 F | Plains arctic surge |
| Milligan, Ohio | -39 F | Ohio Valley low |
| Dayton, West Virginia | -35 F | Mid-Appalachian low |
| Sandy Hook, Kentucky | -33 F | Kentucky low |
| Washington, D.C. | -15 F | All-time city low; 51 straight hours of snow |
| Atlanta, Georgia | -9 F | Low not exceeded since |
| Cape May, New Jersey | 0 F | 34 in. snowfall, NJ state record |
| Tallahassee, Florida | -2 F | Only sub-zero reading in Florida history |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | 22 F | Iced-over Mardi Gras parade |
The National Weather Service still uses February 1899 as the comparison point any time a deep arctic outbreak threatens the South.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Great Blizzard of 1899?
February 11-14, 1899. The arctic outbreak began in Saskatchewan and pushed all the way south to Cuba.
Did it actually snow in Florida?
Yes. Tallahassee dropped to -2 F, the only sub-zero reading in Florida’s recorded history. Period photographs show state officials throwing snowballs on the steps of the Florida Capitol.
What was the coldest temperature recorded?
-61 degrees F at Fort Logan, Montana. The Plains and Rockies took the coldest hits while Eastern cities took the most disruptive snow.
How much snow fell in Washington, D.C.?
D.C. received 51 straight hours of snowfall and bottomed out at -15 F, both all-time records that still stand. New Jersey’s Cape May logged 34 inches of snow, the state record.
Did Mardi Gras still happen?
It did, but barely. New Orleans dropped to 22 F. Streets were iced over. Snow had to be shoveled from parade routes before krewes could roll. The 1899 Mardi Gras is the coldest on record.
Has the South had a comparable cold outbreak since?
Only once, in January 1985, when a deep freeze damaged Florida’s citrus groves. The 1899 outbreak remains the benchmark for comparing any deep-South cold event.
Why does cold this far south matter so much?
Crops, infrastructure, and housing in the South are not built for it. Citrus, pecans, and winter vegetables can be wiped out in a single night. Pipes burst, livestock freeze, and electric grids fail under loads they were never designed for.
Tell Us
Family stories from February 1899? Tell us in the comments. For more historic-storm reads, see our historic blizzards and Blizzard of 1888 entries.
Jaime McLeod
Jaime McLeod is a longtime journalist who has written for a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including MTV.com. She enjoys the outdoors, growing and eating organic food, and is interested in all aspects of natural wellness.
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I came here from Red Dead Redemption 2. In the game, in 1899, they mention how it’s May and the weather is still severe. Just wanted to see if that was based on any fact. Seems so.
Hello Carolyn,
My grandpa told me the story of when the tenn. River froze over. He drove his yoke of steers over the frozen tenn. River , which was in 1918. Enjoyed reading your story.
Whether it was that way in 1899, I don’t know. I just remember my grandpa telling me his story
New Orleans actually reached a temperature of 8 degrees from this event; our coldest temperature ever.
nice pic!
I live in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Am researching the Great Blizzard of 1899 in the local newspapers. Never heard of it. It was amazing. I note above someone from southwest Missisippi wanting information. Please contact me.
Dallas, Texas recorded -8F in the 1899 blizzard…Dallas’s second-coldest day was just -2 in 1949. That shows how unusual it was.
I like blizzards almost as much as i like men
I remember a friend had parents living in Miami in
about 1976 and their swimming pool froze solid. We live close to Lake Lanier and all the coves were frozen and there was ice about 5 to 6 feett out from all the shorelines. We had several inches of beautiful soft and fluffy snow on April 1, 1983 in Hall Co above Atlanta. Then we had the blizzard of 1993. Back in the late 1950s we had snow every Tuesday night for 3 weeks in a row and school would be closed until Monday. We would go to school Monday and Tuesday and get up on Wesnesday morning with a foot or more of snow.
8-o, an omigod! smiley
My family grew up in an area of southwestern TN near the Tennessee River. My Dad who is 80 yrs young, told us stories from the “old folks” of a time when the river froze so solid that they could drive a mule team with a loaded wagon across it. I wonder if this was that time.