The Great Blizzard of 1888

Throughout the history of the United States we have had many storms, hurricanes, natural disasters, tornadoes and even blizzards. Now all of these storms and blizzards happen all over the place and even sometimes right here in Montclair New Jersey. Living in New jersey can be seen good and bad in a sense of weather. Good because there are no tornadoes and bad because there are blizzards and even hurricanes. As over the years here in Montclair there has been many blizzards that kept people in their homes and away from school and work like “Snowmageddon” but one blizzard that did not hit Montclair was The Great Blizzard of 1888. The Great Blizzard of 1888 was a huge blizzard that lasted for three days and let out over 50 inches of snow in some places like Troy, New York. The great Blizzard of 1888 kept 15000 people trapped in elevated trains for hours on end. This storm had 400 confirmed casualties and 25 million dollars in damages. Now what would happen if this storm was to hit Montclair now in 2017? How would people prepare and how would it impact Montclair?

Meteorologists today would predict this blizzard a week in advance so it would give pedestrians time to prepare for the blizzard. Today in 2017 people would start buying extra food and house supplies days in advance of the blizzard. Most people would also buy rock salt to put on their walk ways after the storm is over and the snow is cleared to prevent ice on the sidewalks and driveways. If 55 inches of snow was coming to montclair not only pedestrians would have to prepare the town would also have to prepare to make sure their snow plows are serviced and can handle that amount of snow. Although 55 inches of snow is a lot the town would try and find a way to keep the roads as safe as possible and if they feel they are not safe they will issue an announcement to stay off the roads. One of the biggest problems the town would run into with this storm would be not having enough space for all the snow. Overall if the blizzard of 1888 were to hit Montclair today in 2017 the town and most of the pedestrians would be prepared.

As this storm would be bad and cause millions of dollars in damages some people see this storm as a good thing. All schools would be closed for several days and students would be happy to be off of school and also be able to play in the snow. On the other hand parents/adults would not be able to go to work and might lose up to a week's pay. Having 55 inches of snow in 3 days power lines would be destined to come down leaving thousands of people in Montclair and other towns without power. Having to fix the power lines and plowing the streets will not be a walk in the park. All the damages that this storm would cause it would add up to be millions of dollars leaving the local economy down the drain. All this snow could lead to major flooding causing people's homes and local businesses to be destroyed. Having local businesses be destroyed would be bad for all the people in Montclair. Local business being destroyed means people would have to travel further to get goods and not receive the best customer service. It would be tragic to the town of Montclair and all the towns around it if this storm was to hit us.

In terms of money this