1964 — March 9-10, snowstorm, ice, sleet, freezing rain, ME/1, MA/3, NY/>6 — >10

Maine ( 1)
–1 South Portland. “A man collapsed and died while shoveling snow at his home…”

Massachusetts ( 3)
–3 Boston, near Logan AP, March 10. DC4 cargo plane crash “during the storm…” Wind ice.

New York (>6)
–>6 Blanchard. We note “at least” six in that Storm Data, while noting six deaths in NY, does
not mention the drowning death which occurred when a young girl’s sled broke through river
ice. Storm Data also notes “fatalities from auto accidents,” while we have located one truck
driver death. Additionally, the March 11 Associated Press report of four heart attack deaths
while shoveling snow was written before two heart attack deaths while shoveling snow were
reported on March 12.

–6 AP. “Storm Plasters State With Ice, Sleet and Snow.” Palladium Times, Oswego, 3-11-1964, p1.
–4 heart attacks related to shoveling snow
–1 sled breaks through thin ice (Dawn Risley)
–1 vehicular accident (Kirk E. White)
–6 Weather Bureau. Storm Data, Vol. 6, No. 3, March 1964, p.17. Auto accidents; overexertion.
–1 Ogdensburg, Oswegatchie River, Mar 10. Drowning; sled breads through thin ice; Dawn Risley.
–1 Oswego, Mar 10. Heart attack; car snow-stalled; got out to push and collapsed; Willard R. Stewart, 64.
–1 Sonyea area ~Rochester, Mar 10. Truck “skidded during a blinding snowstorm.” Kirk E. White, 21.
–1 Syracuse, March 10. Heart attack while shoveling snow; Louis D. Fontanella, 65.
–1 Syracuse, March 11. Heart attack clearing snow from car; John F. Gast, 86.
–1 Syracuse, March 11. Heart attack while operating snow blower; Frank M. Salisbury, 86.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network on Boston plane crash:
“Date: Tuesday 10 March 1964, 08:22
“Type: Douglas DC-4
“Operator: Slick Airways
“Registration N384
“MSN: 18379
“First flight: 1944
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
“Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
“Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
“Location: 2.1 km (1.3 mls) SW of Boston-Logan International Airport, MA
“Phase: Approach (APR)
“Nature: Cargo
“Departure airport: Windsor Locks-Bradley International Airport, CT…
“Destination airport: Boston-Logan International Airport, MA…
“Flight number: 12
“Narrative:
“Flight 12 departed New York at 06:14 EST and Windsor Locks at 07:35 while on a cargo flight to Boston. The aircraft was on a runway 04R ILS approach when the nose suddenly pitched downward about 60 degrees, causing the aircraft to crash out of control, 7000 feet short of the runway threshold.

“Weather reported to the flight was: scattered clouds 400 feet, ceiling 700 feet overcast, visibility 1,5 miles in moderate sleet and fog. While descending through 3000 feet, the crew had requested a lower altitude because of moderate to heavy rime ice being encountered.

Probable Cause: “”Loss of balancing forces on the horizontal surface of the empennage of the aircraft, due to ice accretion, causing the aircraft to pitch nose down at an altitude too low to effect recovery.”” [Cites ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest No. 16, Circular 82-AN/69 (97-102)]

Weather Bureau, Maine: “Southern portions…10-11 [March]…0 [killed (directly)]…Snow.
“This was the heaviest snowstorm of the season in portions of the southwestern section of the state. Amounts there ranged from 10 to 16 inches. Elsewhere in the southern portion falls ranged from 6 to 10 inches. High winds caused considerable drifting. Hazardous driving conditions produced a rash of skidding accidents. Airlines were forced to cancel flights on the 10th and the morning of the 11th. A man collapsed and died while shoveling snow at his home in South Portland.” (Weather Bureau. Storm Data, Vol. 6, No. 3, March 1964.)

Weather Bureau on New York: “Statewide, except northern third and extreme southeast…9-10 [March]…late p.m. of 9th through 10th…6 [killed]…Many [injured]…Snow, freezing rain

“A complex low pressure system moving from the lower Mississippi Valley toward New Jersey-Delaware coast caused heavy snow near and north of a line Buffalo-Albany and severe glazing along the southern tier, through the Catskills and into the middle Hudson Valley. Heaviest snowfall in Mohawk Valley, southern Adirondacks and southern Champlain Valley with falls of 12 to 16 inches; from 7 to 12 inches wet snow in Lakes snowbelt from Buffalo to Watertown and into St. Lawrence Valley. Snowfall also heavy northern third of state but storm effects minor. Highway travel stalled and many auto accidents in snow-affected areas. Fatalities from auto accidents and over exertion. Chautauqua County in southwest and Columbia, Dutchess and Ulster Counties in Hudson Valley hardest hit by glaze. Utility lines downed over wide area, especially Hudson Valley, with outages lasting over 24 hours; streets and roads clogged with fallen trees, limbs and wires. Driving extremely hazardous in glaze area with numerous car accidents and minor personal injuries. Schools closed or dismissal earth throughout snow and glaze-affected areas but generally reopened on 11th. The storm included thunder in areas to the eastern lee of Lake Ontario (Boonville, Oswego, etc.).” (Weather Bureau. Storm Data, Vol. 6, No. 3, March 1964, p. 17.)

Newspaper

March 10: “Albany, March 10 (AP) – Winter pasted most of New York State today with a staggering mixture of ice, sleet and snow that disrupted electric power, closed hundreds of schools, grounded planes and tied up highway traffic. After up to a foot of windblown snow had fallen, the Weather Bureau said tomorrow would be generally fair and warm4r throughout the state.

“The weather figured in three deaths. At Sonyea, south of Rochester, Kirk E. White, 21, of Brockport, was killed when his truck hit a culvert during a blinding snowstorm. Louis D. Fontanella, 65, of Syracuse, died of a heart attack while shoveling snow. In Ogdensburg, five-year-old Dawn Risley was drowned when her sled broke through thin ice on the Oswegatchie River.” (Associated Press. “Winter Deals Mighty March Blow With Foot of Snow, Plus Ice, Sleet.” Post-Standard, Glens Falls, NY. 3-11-1964, p. 1.)

March 11: “By The Associated Press….Many autos were stalled or stranded on icy roads in New York State, and a truck driver was killed when his vehicle skidded during a blinding snowstorm near Sonyea, south of Rochester. Seven inches to a foot of new snow fell in a 60-mile-wide band from the upper Hudson River Valley eastward into southwestern Maine….

“Freezing rain, snow and sleet spread across New England. A DC4 cargo plane crashed and burned during the storm near Logan Airport, Boston, killing its crew of three….” (Associated Press. “Half of Nation Hit by Storms and Floods.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 3-11-1964, p. 2.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Half of Nation Hit by Storms and Floods.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 3-11-1964, p. 2. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-mar-11-1964-p-3/

Associated Press. “Storm Plasters State With Ice, Sleet and Snow.” Palladium Times, Oswego, 3-11-1964, p1. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oswego-palladium-times-mar-11-1964-p-1/

Associated Press. “Three Crewmen Die as Freight Plane Crashes in Boston.” North Adams Transcript, MA. 3-10-1964, p. 1. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/north-adams-transcript-mar-10-1964-p-2/

Associated Press. “Trucker Killed.” Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. 3-11-1964, p. 2. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-mar-11-1964-p-3/

Associated Press. “Winter Deals Mighty March Blow With Foot of Snow, Plus Ice, Sleet.” Post-Standard, Glens Falls, NY. 3-11-1964, p. 1. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/glens-falls-post-star-mar-11-1964-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Tuesday 10 March 1964, 08:22, Slick Airways Douglas DC-4. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19640310-1

Palladium-Times, Oswego, NY. “Willard Stewart of Seneca Hill Victim of Storm.” 3-11-1964, p.11. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oswego-palladium-times-mar-11-1964-p-11/

Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “John P. Gast Dies Removing Snow.” 3-12-1964, p. 12. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-mar-12-1964-p-23/

Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “Man Succumbs Clearing Snow.” 3-12-1964, p. 7. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-mar-12-1964-p-14/

Weather Bureau. Storm Data, Vol. 6, No. 3, March 1964. Accessed 7-24-2022 at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-B4F3A2E9-B47F-4352-B87E-61BCD6CBC8C0.pdf