The Great Northeast Blizzard of 1888 – “The Great White Hurricane”. Several factors combined to make the Blizzard of '88 particularly deadly. Many publications referred to the storm as “The Great White Hurricane”. The Great Blizzard of 1888 Origins of the Great Blizzard. The total damage amounted to $25 million dollars, which mostly came from the fires that destroyed several parts of metropolitan cities. One of the most severe blizzards that the U.S. has even encountered paralyzed the East Coast of the U.S. from the Mid-Atlantic through New England and into Atlantic Canada in March of 1888. Scenes and Incidents from the Recent Terrible Blizzard in Dakota on January 12, 1888. Called "The Great White Hurricane," and it spanned on East Coast from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine. The Aftermath In New York City, the storm caused severe infrastructural damage as well, trapping people indoors for days, often without adequate food, fuel, and other supplies.

Called "the White Hurricane," the storm produced a combination of blinding snow, deep drifts, driving wind, and severe cold. Great Blizzard of 1888, winter storm that pummeled the Atlantic coast of the United States, from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine, in March 1888. Big cities were especially hard hit. The Storm Turned Deadly.

One of the most destructive blizzards ever to strike the East Coast raged for 36 hours. The blizzard caused more than $20 million in property damage in New York City alone and killed more than 400 people, including about 100 seamen, across the eastern seaboard. It severely affected the east coast, in states like New York and Massachusetts. But the true effects of the Blizzard of 1888 lasted far longer than just a few days. The stories. $25 million was caused in property damage from fires alone.

On this day in 1888, ordinary life in Massachusetts came to a standstill. Two months later, yet another severe blizzard hit the East Coast states: This blizzard was known as the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the end, the blizzard left over 400 people dead, although much of this came from the 200 ships sunk.