1940 — Feb 14, Winter Nor’easter, Mid-Atlantic states to New England, West to OH –56-69
— >72 AP. “Eastern States’ Storm Toll is 72.” Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald, MS, 2-17-1940, 1.
— >71 New York Times. “71 Dead in Storm; City Fights Drifts Without Water…” 2-16-1940.
— ~70 AP. “Toll of Weather on East Coast Grows Higher…” Reno Evening Gazette, NV, 2-16-1940, 1.[1]
–56-69 Blanchard estimated range.
— >65 AP. “Death List Reaches 65 in Snowstorm.” Titusville Herald, PA. 2-16-1940, p. 1.[2]
— >60 AP. “More Snow…Blizzard Toll Near 70.” Herald-Journal, Syracuse, NY, 2-16-1940, 8.[3]
State Summary of Winter Storm-Related Deaths
Maryland ( 3)
Massachusetts( 11)
New Jersey ( 8)
New York (13-26) (We identify 13 individual deaths; newspapers report 26)
Ohio ( 4)
Pennsylvania ( 15)
Rhode Island ( 2)
Summary (56-69)
Breakout of Winter Storm-Related Fatalities by State and Locality (where available)
New England (20-31) (Not using in tally–use State breakouts even if some NE deaths missed.)
–31 Boston Globe. “The 1940 Valentine’s Day Blizzard.” 2-6-2013.
–31 New England Historical Society. The Valentine’s Day Storm of 1940. Accessed 9-16-2018.[4]
–29 AP. “Toll of Weather on East Coast Grows Higher Today.” Reno Evening Gazette, NV, 2-16-1940, 1.[5]
–27 AP. “More Snow for East; Blizzard Toll Near 70.” Herald-Journal, Syracuse NY, 2-16-1940, 8.
–20 AP. “Death List Reaches 65 in Snowstorm.” Titusville Herald, PA. 2-16-1940, p. 1.
Maryland ( 3)
–3 Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Northeaster Takes 20 Lives in East…” 2-15-1940, p. 12.
–1 Crisfield, Feb 14. Apparent heart attack; Ed Pruitt, while trying to moor boat during gale.[6]
Massachusetts (11)
–11 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.
–1 Boston, Feb 14. Mrs. Henry Lowell Mason, 61, “found dead at wheel of her automobile.”[7]
–1 Boston, Feb 14. Apparent heart attack; collapsed after walking several miles home.[8]
–1 Boston, Feb 14. Apparent heart attack; collapsed/died walking to work; William Fowler, 49.[9]
–1 Boston, Feb 14. Unidentified man “collapsed and died in downtown subway station.”[10]
–1 Great Barrington, Feb 14. Heart attack during storm; Walter Taylor, 62.[11]
–1 Lynn, Feb 14. Doris Doucette, in cab of snow plow seeking to take her to hospital for med. emer.[12]
–1 Malden, Feb 14. Miss Lillian MacFarlane, “collapsed and died.”[13]
–1 Malden, Feb 14. Collapse from “exertion pushing his stalled automobile,” Harold Smith, 36.[14]
–1 Quincy, Feb 15. Heart attack ‘probably from over-exertion…” George H. Norris, 67.[15]
–1 Thatcher Island (off of), east of Rockport, northeast of Gloucester. Man floating in ocean.[16]
–1 Worchester, Feb 14. Heart attack, walking to work during snowstorm; James Cassidy, 51.[17]
New Jersey ( 8)
–8 Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Northeaster Takes 20 Lives in East…” 2-15-1940, p. 12.
New York (13-26)
–26 AP. “Eastern States’ Storm Toll is 72.” Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald, MS, 2-17-1940, p. 1.
–16 Upstate NY
–10 New York City
–21 AP. “Death List Reaches 65 in Snowstorm.” Titusville Herald, PA. 2-16-1940, p. 1.
— 8 New York City
–13 New York state other than NYC
–14 AP. “Thirty-Six Dead in Eastern Storm.” Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, MO, 2-15-1940, 1.
–6 New York City
–8 New York state, other than NYC
–13 Blanchard tally of individual deaths from locality breakout below.
–10 Upstate. Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
— 7 UP. “At Least 26 Dead in Wake of Storm.” Van Wert Times-Bulletin, OH, 2-15-1940, p. 1.
New York City:
–10 AP. “Eastern States’ Storm Toll is 72.” Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald, MS, 2-17-1940, p. 1.
— 8 AP. “Death List Reaches 65 in Snowstorm.” Titusville Herald, PA. 2-16-1940, p. 1.
— 6 AP. “Thirty-Six Dead in Eastern Storm.” Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, MO, 2-15-1940, p.1.
— 4 NY City, Feb 14. Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “East’s Storm Damage…” 2-15-1940, p.1.
Breakout of individual New York winter weather related deaths by locality:
–1 Auburn area, Feb 14. Vehicular accident; Joseph Greenstan, 41, of Brooklyn.[18]
–1 Binghamton, Feb 14. Heart attack; trying to free car from snowdrift; John C. Artman, 63..[19]
–1 Ellicottville, Feb 14. Apparent heart attack; over-exertion carrying wood; Fred Ross, 49.[20]
–1 Long Island, Feb 14. UP. “At Least 26 Dead in Wake of Storm.” Van Wert Times-Bulletin, OH, 2-15-1940, 1.
–1 Mattydale, Feb 14. Apparent heart attack after shoveling snow at home; Edward S. DePan.[21]
–1 NYC, Feb 14. Wind gust swept man to his death from fourth floor scaffolding, crim. court bldg.[22]
–1 Newark, Feb 16. Heart attack “brought on by over-exertion shoveling snow.” Rev. H. Andrews.[23]
–1 Niagara Falls, Feb 14. Kenneth Bond, 21, slipped on ice between truck and tailboard.[24]
–1 North Bay, Oneida Lake, Feb 15. Caroline Lamper, 28; weather delayed emer. service.[25]
–1 Oneida, Feb 14. Apparent heart attack; shoveling snow off sidewalk; Earl H. Dunbar, 62.[26]
–1 Rochester, Feb 14. Heart attack, while clearing snow from sidewalk. Michael J. White, 67.[27]
–1 Syracuse, Feb 14. Heart attack while shoveling snow at home; William H. Barry, 65.[28]
–1 Syracuse, Feb 14. Over-exertion; after walking home in snowstorm; Nellie Shanahan Connelly.[29]
Ohio ( 4)
–4 Off Atwood’s Point near Middle Bass Island, Lake Erie, Feb 14. Car goes through road ice.[30]
Dr. George Edam, 34, of Put-in-Bay.
Loretta Edam, 29.
George Edam Jr., 3.
Barbara Edam, 2.
Pennsylvania (15)
— 15 AP. “More Snow Due Observers Say.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 2-17-1940, p. 1.
— 15 Blanchard tally of individual deaths by locality.
—>13 Associated Press. “Pennsylvania Digging Out.” Titusville Herald, PA, 2-16-1940, p. 1.
— 10 Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA.” 2-15-1940, p. 2.
— 5 UP. “At Least 26 Dead in Wake of Storm.” Van Wert Times-Bulletin, OH, 2-15-1940, p.1.
Breakout of Pennsylvania winter weather-related deaths by locality:
–1 Altoona, Feb 14. Probable heart attack caused by “over-exertion in struggling through snow.”[31]
–1 Hays Bridge, ~Pittsburgh, Feb 14. Man hit by train; stumbled onto tracks in snow storm.[32]
–1 Gans area, Feb 16. Michael Kuschak, after being found at home suffering from exposure.[33]
–2 Hazleton area?, Feb 14. Men jump from train into path of another; could not see due to snowfall.[34]
–1 Johnstown, Feb 16 or 17. CO poisoning; Edward Boes, 21; warming car in closed garage.[35]
–1 Laurel Hill Tunnel project area, Feb 14. Heart attack after struggling in snow-clogged area.[36]
–1 Lawrence County, Feb 16 or 17. Snow-sled collides with truck; Charles Pezzulo, 11.[37]
–1 Newport, Perry County, Feb 14. Heart attack after shoveling snow in front of his home.[38]
–1 Philadelphia, Feb 14. Auto-truck collision; Mrs. Lillian Higgins, 32.[39]
–1 Pittsburgh, Feb 14. Heart attack after shoveling snow off sidewalk, Walter E. Brown, 62.[40]
–1 Pittsburgh, Feb 14. CO poisoning; Frank Sattler, 61; heating car motor in closed garage.[41]
–1 Sharon, Feb 16 or 17. Heart attack while shoveling snow at home; Floyd Everall.[42]
–1 Trotter, ~Feb 15. Exposure; Walter Adamsky, 32, after falling into 30-foot hole at ash dump.[43]
–1 Walton, Feb 14. Fred C. Tochterman, 82, stepped in front of car during storm; was killed.[44]
Rhode Island ( 2)
–1 Saylesville. Heart attack from over-exertion while shoveling snow; James Holp, 26.[45]
–1 Woonsocket, Feb 14. Heart attack after shoveling snow; Frank Dew, 76.[46]
Narrative Information
Kocin and Uccellini: “….The ‘Valentine’s Day’ snowstorm of February 1940 was an explosively developing storm that resulted in blizzard conditions from Pennsylvania, into New York, and to New England, and one of the most memorable snowstorms on record in Boston because of the heavy snows and high winds. Snowfall from this storm was widespread…with more than 10 in (25 cm) of snow covering much of Pennsylvania, the southern two-thirds of New York, and all of southern New England. The snowstorm was a rapidly developing cyclone that crossed the Ohio Valley and the Appalachians and then redeveloped explosively as it crossed the Virginia coastline early on 14 February 1940, reaching a central pressure of 965 hPa or lower…” (p. 332.)
Newspapers
Feb 14: “New York, Feb 14 (AP)–A blizzard pounded the Atlantic seaboard all day and tonight with a blinding mixture of snow, rain, sleet, wind and fog. The storm, screaming up from the south and funneling as it spread, reached a 100-mile an hour crescendo atop the Empire State building and dropped a burden of deepening snow and ice over a dozen states.
“The freezing gale winds, strongest since the 1932 hurricane, ripped a $500,000,000 path of destruction across Long Island and New England, left a trail of traffic deaths and wrecked power lines and harried shipping. The storm blocked highways with snowdrifts up to 20 feet deep and grounded commercial air traffic from Ohio to Boston.
“Hundreds were hurt in storm accidents. In New York city, faced with the possibility of its most serious traffic tie-up in years, emergency police details were kept busy caring for more than 100 injured. A wind gust swept one man to his death from a fourth floor scaffolding on the criminal courts building. A woman, blown against a building in the financial district, suffered a fractured skull.
“Hundreds of highway workers equipped with snowplows fought a losing battle to keep main roads open, but day-long drifts had stopped traffic in sections of New Jersey, New York, New England, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Highways still open were so ice-glazed and snow-jammed that cars moved at snail’s pace.
“Buses ran hours behind schedule in mountainous districts, where travel was particularly hazardous, and hundreds of marooned motorists abandoned their cars and trudged thru hip deep drifts to farmhouse shelters….” (Associated Press. “Storm Rakes Seaboard.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 2-15-1940, p. 1.)
Feb 14: “New York, Feb. 14. (AP)–The tanker Aztec, caught in the blizzard whipping the Atlantic coast tonight, sent out an SOS from 50 miles southeast of Sandy Hook, Mackay radio reported. The call for help said: ‘Steering gear carried away; vessel helpless in full gale; all ships close by please help.’ The coast guard sent a cutter to the Aztec’s aid but had no further information on the tanker or its crew. No report was expected from the cutter for several hours.” (Associated Press. “Tanker Disabled in Blizzard Sends Out Call for Help.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY, 2-15-1940, p. 1.)
Feb 14: “Traffic moved slowly here [Massillon, OH] and all over Ohio today as it pushed through the heaviest snow storm of the season. Over five and one-half inches of snow fell in Massillon during the night while some sections of the state reported 10 inches. The dry snow, fanned by a high wind, piled in drifts on the highways which were being kept open with difficulty in Stark county. Though the state highway department had succeeded in maintaining traffic on Rt. 62 earlier in the day, it was reported closed early this afternoon at Richville. Crews of workmen with snowplows were rushing back to the scene to clear a path for the many autos that became entangled in a traffic snarl when unable to push through the drifts. Route 172 east of Canton, was also closed as well as several state routes this afternoon, but highway department officials predicted all would be open soon. The state and county have 26 plows and 110 men battling the snow in the county. Tuesday evening the north and south roads were the more seriously effected, but today the drifts piled higher on the east and west roads. The city too, had its problem, cleaning out gutters where snow was piled high when removed from sidewalks.
“The worst snowstorm of the winter shackled coal mines in Ohio today, closed hundreds of rural schools, blocked highways and hampered food deliveries. No Stark county schools were closed.
“Three thousand eastern Ohio miners were kept from work as highway crews battled to cope with drifts that reached 20 feet in Belmont county. More than 5,000 school children were snow-bound at home in the same area. The snowfall, which measured 10 inches in many sections, fell most heavily in the southern and eastern counties, where conditions were the worst in 15 years. The highway department reported roads in the vicinity of Chillicothe were impassable. Circleville reported a 10 inch fall, the heaviest in 15 years. Ten-inch snows also were reported in Marietta, Athens, Lancaster and Caldwell.
“Motorists found driving hazardous in nearly every section. Airplane service was suspended at Cincinnati and Columbus. City buses ere running behind schedule. In Cincinnati, downtown garages and all-night parking lots were crowded as hundreds of drivers abandoned their vehicles rather than risk travel over icy hills. Cincinnati and Ironton had seven inches of snow, Columbus 5, Washington Courthouse 3, Dayton 4, Akron 3 and Cleveland 2. Toledo reported no snow and the fall was only light in Youngstown, although still falling….” (Evening Independent, Massillon, OH. “Traffic Paralyzed as Winter’s Heaviest Snow Hits Ohio.” 2-14-1940, p. 1.)
Feb 15: “A storm which for almost 24 hours battered the eastern seaboard from North Carolina to Ontario and left most of it buried under three to 20 inches of snow moved ocveanward today after taking a heavy toll of lives and causing property damage estimated in the millions….The storm, originating in the southwest, produced the paradox of violent northeasterly gales which lashed the stricken area at velocities ranging from 30 to 80 miles an hour.
“Scores of small boats were pounded to pieces at their moorings, many larger vessels were in distress at sea, highways in a half a dozen states were blocked, thousands of persons — many of them school children — were marooned all night, rivers were chocked with ice and snow, electric service to scores of communities was disrupted at the height of the storm, and gale-lashed firs caused inestimable damage.
“The storm took at least five lives in Pennsylvania, four in Ohio, four in New York City, two in upstate New York, one on Long Island and 10 in New England.
“Perhaps the worst damage was in New England where coastal shipping suffered, and five major fires were reported. In snowbound southern New England alone the damage was estimated at more than $1,000,000.
“Snowfall ranged up to 20 inches and was confined mostly to Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a wind shift causing the storm to miss Vermont and New Hampshire and to touch Maine only lightly. Rhode Island was the hardest hit. A gale-churned sea pounded the coast from Watch Hill to Narragansett where combers rolled far inland. Scores of small boats were smashed and at least two of many distressed fishing vessels were unaccounted for. All school in the state were closed. In Boston 10,000 persons who attended Sonja Henie’s ice show at the Garden were forced to spend the night in the auditorium and other thousands were marooned in subway terminals.[47]
“The blizzard lashed all of Connecticut, forcing schools to close and as elsewhere, marooning automobiles and buses, grounding airplanes and delaying other forms of transportation.
“The snow in western Pennsylvania measured 15 to 20 inches in depth and it produced drifts which demoralized all transportation. Outlying schools were closed for the week end and several school buses were marooned on country roads. The tri-state section of eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and southern New Jersey experienced belated relief from the blizzard which continued today. Traffic generally was halted and schools were closed in rural districts and at Harrisburg, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and other large communities. Fourteen school children were marooned in a bus for seven hours at Lewes, Del. Hundreds of Pennsylvania and New Jersey homes were darkened with power lines went down.
“In western New York, state police asked motorists to stay off all highways which already were strewn with bogged down automobiles.” (United Press. “At Least 26 Dead in Wake of Storm.” Van Wert Times-Bulletin, OH, 2-15-1940, p. 1.)
Feb 15: “Upstate New York today was digging out of the worst snowfall in eight years, which reached depths ranging from six inches to two feet, and driven by a high wind, piled up drifts which blocked roads, delayed trains, grounded airplanes, closed schools, marooned travelers and directly or indirectly caused 10 deaths, four in Syracuse and vicinity.
“In Syracuse, where 15 inches of snow fell yesterday and last night, principal streets were cleared of snow, but many others were still choked by drifts, despite efforts of the city’s entire snowplow fleet and a large force of shovelers, at work since the storm assumed serious proportions yesterday….
“Outside Syracuse even more serious conditions were reported. Main roads had been partly opened but back highways were blocked, virtually all schools closed.
“The storm, while light in Northern New York, was general over the Northeast States, with precipitation ranging from sleet to deep snow as far west as Ohio and from New England to North Carolina.
“In many parts of the State, including Onondaga County, school children, taken from buses stalled in drifts, were still in homes where they had been cared for during the night. In some communities school buildings and churches were kept open last night to accommodate pupils who were unable to reach their homes….” (Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, p. 1.)
Feb 15: “Put-in-Bay, O., Feb 15 (U.P.)–The bodies of two small children who droned with their parents when the family automobile broke through Lake Erie ice were recovered today by crews working in ‘ironclads’–flat-bottom, metal-sheathed boats….The automobile carrying Dr. George Edam, 34, of Put-in-Bay, his wife, Loretta, 29, and their children, Barbara, 2 and George Jr., 3, plunged through the ice last night while they were driving across a ‘winter road’ between the islands. The bodies of Dr. Edam and his wife were recovered when they floated to the surface… The tragedy occurred at Atwood’s Point, about 500 feet from the shore of Middle Bass Island, one of a Lake Erie group about 65 miles northwest of Cleveland.” (United Press. “4 Drown in Auto As Ice Breaks.” Van Wert Times-Bulletin, OH, 2-15-1940, p. 1.)
Feb 16: “With more snow expected late tomorrow, the North Atlantic seaboard states speeded efforts today to clear away the great St. Valentine’s Day snow — heaviest of the winter and in some sections the heaviest in years. The death toll was estimated at more than 60.
“Overnight more than 5,000 men and 2,259 pieces of equipment were at work in New York City alone, ridding streets and sidewalks of drifts and ice. The weather was clear and the temperature, 20 degrees at 7 A.M., was rising….The Hudson River was frozen solid down to West Point, which is 50 miles north of New York City.
“The oil tanker Aztec, which called for help at sea Wednesday night, reached port in tow of two tugs….
“Upstate New York reopened its schools and most highways. The forecast for the State was continued cold and more snow tomorrow.
“New England, which suffered the brunt of the storm, counting 27 dead, was slowly fighting its way back to normal. Schools reopened in most cities, and Boston department stores, closed yesterday on a regular business day for the first time in 14 years, were open again….” (AP. “More Snow for East; Blizzard Toll Near 70.” Herald-Journal, Syracuse, NY, 2-16-1940, 8.
Sources
Associated Press. “Death List Reaches 65 in Snowstorm.” Titusville Herald, PA. 2-16-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/titusville-herald-feb-16-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “Eastern States’ Storm Toll is 72.” Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald, MS, 2-17-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/biloxi-daily-herald-feb-17-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “More Snow Due Observers Say.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 2-17-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/indiana-evening-gazette-feb-17-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “More Snow for East; Blizzard Toll Near 70.” Herald-Journal, Syracuse, NY, 2-16-1940, 8. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-herald-journal-feb-16-1940-p-8/
Associated Press. “More Snow Predicted for This State.” Somerset Daily American, PA. 2-17-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/somerset-daily-american-feb-17-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “New England Digs Way Out of Heavy Snow.” Biddeford Daily Journal, ME, 2-16-1940, pp. 1 and 7. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/biddeford-daily-journal-feb-16-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “Pennsylvania Digging Out.” Titusville Herald, PA, 2-16-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/titusville-herald-feb-16-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun-feb-15-1940-p-47/
Associated Press. “Storm Rakes Seaboard.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 2-15-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-feb-15-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “Tanker Disabled in Blizzard Sends Out Call for Help.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY, 2-15-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-feb-15-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “Thirty-Six Dead in Eastern Storm.” Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, MO, 2-15-1940, 1. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/chillicothe-constitution-tribune-feb-15-1940-p-1/
Associated Press. “Toll of Weather on East Coast Grows Higher Today.” Reno Evening Gazette, NV, 2-16-1940, 1. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/reno-evening-gazette-feb-16-1940-p-1/
Boston Globe. “The 1940 Valentine’s Day Blizzard.” 2-6-2013. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2013/02/06/the-valentine-day-blizzard/9i9CPTMDud3kiXgM7gp5IO/story.html
Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/clearfield-progress-feb-15-1940-p-2/
Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA. “Man Freezes to Death on Trotter Dump. Exposure Ends Life of Walter Adamsky…” 2-17-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/connellsville-daily-courier-feb-17-1940-p-1/
Evening Independent, Massillon, OH. “Traffic Paralyzed as Winter’s Heaviest Snow Hits Ohio.” 2-14-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/evening-independent-feb-14-1940-p-1/
Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. “Northeaster Takes 20 Lives in East…” 2-15-1940, p. 12. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-daily-freeman-feb-15-1940-p-12/
Kocin, Paul J. and Louis W. Uccellini. Northeast Snowstorms (Volume II: The Cases). Boston: American Meteorological Society, Meteorological Monographs, Vol. 32, No. 54, Nov 2004. Google preview accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=eeM_AAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD. “County Swept by Severe Blizzard.” 2-15-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hagerstown-morning-herald-feb-15-1940-p-1/
New England Historical Society. The Valentine’s Day Storm of 1940. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/valentines-day-storm-1940/
New York Times. “71 Dead in Storm; City Fights Drifts Without Water; Hundreds Injured, Many Suffer From Being Marooned in Cars Stalled in Snowbanks…” 2-16-1940. Accessed 9-16-2018: https://www.nytimes.com/1940/02/16/archives/71-dead-in-storm-city-fights-drifts-without-water-hundreds-injured.html
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Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “Dr. Andrews Funeral Set For Monday. Snow Shoveling Blamed in Sudden Death of Newark Pastor.” 2-17-1940, p. 26. Accessed 9-16-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-herald-journal-feb-17-1940-p-28/
Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “East’s Storm Damage Runs Into Millions.” 2-15-1940, p. 1. Accessed 9-15-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-herald-journal-feb-15-1940-p-1/
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[1] “total [death toll] of close to seventy.”
[2] “More than 65 persons perished as a result of a howling no’easter that left a wide section of the country–from Maine to the nation’s capital and westward to Ohio–struggling to restore snowbound transportation…”
[3] As the title of the article notes there were believed to be “near 70” deaths.
[4] “The blizzard caught Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts by complete surprise…[and] killed 31 people.”
[5] “New England, hardest hit on…Atlantic Coast, counted twenty-nine dead, one at sea…total of close to seventy.”
[6] Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD. “County Swept by Severe Blizzard.” 2-15-1940, p. 1.
[7] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[8] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13. Victim identified as Charles Harris, 45.
[9] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[10] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[11] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[12] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[13] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[14] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[15] AP. “New England Digs Way Out of Heavy Snow.” Biddeford Daily Journal, ME, 2-16-1940, p. 7.
[16] AP. “New England Digs Way Out of Heavy Snow.” Biddeford Daily Journal, ME, 2-16-1940, pp. 1 and 7.
[17] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[18] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[19] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[20] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[21] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[22] Associated Press. “Storm Rakes Seaboard.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 2-15-1940, p. 1.
[23] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “Dr. Andrews Funeral Set For Monday. Snow Shoveling Blamed in Sudden Death of Newark Pastor.” 2-17-1940, p. 26.
[24] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[25] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1. Notes she became ill and that snowdrifts delayed movement to a hospital.
[26] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[27] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[28] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[29] Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “10 Dead Upstate in Record Storm.” 2-15-1940, 1.
[30] United Press. “4 Drown in Auto As Ice Breaks.” Van Wert Times-Bulletin, OH, 2-15-1940, p. 1.
[31] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2. Victim identified as John E. Walton, 50, a machinist who collapsed shortly after having walked to work.
[32] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2.
[33] Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA. “Man Freezes to Death…Exposure Ends Life…” 2-17-1940, p. 1. Another source notes that “Pneumonia and exposure proved fatal to Michael Kuscak, 78, a miner of Cornish Works. He died en route to a Uniontown hospital after a neighbor found him in an unheated shack.” (Associated Press. “More Snow Due Observers Say.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 2-17-1940, p. 1.)
[34] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2. “Harold Senkner, 30, and Frank Miller, 31, both of Quakake [Schuylkill Co., PA], were killed when they jumped from a train on which they were riding in the path of another engine between Hazleton and Ewano. They could not see because of the snowstorm.”
[35] AP/Somerset Daily American, PA. “More Snow Predicted for This State.” 2-17-1940, p. 1. His was latest death.
[36] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2.
[37] Associated Press. “More Snow Due Observers Say.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 2-17-1940, p. 1.
[38] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather…Relief to PA.” 2-15-1940, p. 2. Victim identified as Adam Ramp.
[39] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2.
[40] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2.
[41] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2.
[42] Associated Press. “More Snow Due Observers Say.” Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. 2-17-1940, p. 1. Notes he was a coil winder at the Westinghouse plant in Sharon.
[43] Daily Courier, Connellsville, PA. “Man Freezes to Death on Trotter Dump. Exposure Ends Life of Walter Adamsky…” 2-17-1940, p. 1.
[44] Clearfield Progress, PA. “Warm Weather Brings Some Relief to PA” (from page 1). 2-15-1940, p. 2.
[45] Newport Mercury and Weekly News, RI. “Small Crews Working on Snow Removal.” 2-23-1940, p. 1.
[46] Associated Press. “Storm Deaths.” Lowell Sun, MA, 2-15-1940, p. 13.
[47] According to New England Historical Society account, 2,000 people “were stranded.” Some were able to find hotel rooms.