On the morning of Saturday, November 25, 1950, a huge Arctic airmass covered much of the eastern half of the United States. J.B. has already documented the effects that this cold wave had in Alabama. The powerful upper low was over South Carolina. The strong cold front was along the East Coast. The surface low was just south of Richmond, where the temperature just after midnight was 57F over a dewpoint of 54F and a strong east wind and rain. At Roanoke, 200 miles to the west, it was 19F with heavy snow and a strong westerly wind.
The coastal low was a memorable one. “The Great Appalachian Storm†is one of the worst storms to strike the mid-Atlantic and northeast. Fifty seven inches of snow fell at Pickens, WV. 27.7 inches of snow fell at Pittsburgh PA and an amazing 36.3 inches of snow fell at Steubenville, OH. Wind gusts to 108 mph were measured at Newark, NJ and 110 mph at Concord, NH. Atop Mt. Washington NH, winds gusted to 160 mph. Damaging storm tides struck the coast. The storm and severe cold killed 160 people.
A powerful surface low developed during the day over the Ohio Valley. This storm caused the famed Ohio State-Michigan game was played in a heavy snowstorm at Columbus. Nine inches of snow would be on the ground by early evening at the Horseshoa.. Finding the yard markers and even the players sometimes was a chore. The poor field conditions resulted in 45 punts during the game.
Closer to home, the high on the 25th in Birmingham was 25F, after an early morning low of 5F. Some other notable lows from that frosty morning included -1F at Louisville and Nashville, 3F at Atlanta, 4F at Chattanooga, 20F at Mobile and Tallahassee and -10F at Grand Rapids, MI. Two inches of snow was on the ground across North Alabama.
