BOSTON — Having a Frost Advisory and Freeze Warning in the suburbs tonight reminded me that the cold once came with an unprecedented snowstorm. It happened on this same day in 1977.
A cold rain turned to a wet snow as a storm intensified off of Cape Cod on May 9. There was a very cold pool of air over New England. The heavy, wet snow came down hard for several hours at night, allowing accumulations of up to 20” in the Berkshires and Worcester hills. Some of the notable totals are listed, along with snow bands on the map. Use the legend at top for the snow band colors.
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This storm still stands as the latest measurable snowfall on record for Boston going back to the 1800s, when records began being kept. It is even more amazing when you remember that early May sunshine is about the same as early August. Can you imagine snow in August?
A half-million people lost electrical power. There was extensive damage to trees and power lines. The damage was most extensive in the higher terrain. Take a look at the map and you’ll see the purple bands, for highest snow totals, are in the higher terrain areas while areas where there are no bands at all are in the lower areas, like the Connecticut River valley and coastal Massachusetts.
Cox Media Group
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