On this day in 1989, a calendar-day record 1.6 inches of snow fell; another 1.9 inches would fall the next day, also a record.
Totals throughout the area reached 3 to 6 inches, making for a rare white Thanksgiving. “The storm, which struck during the elongated evening rush hour of what traditionally is one of the biggest travel days of the year, contributed to several hundred traffic accidents in the area as roads became slick,” The Washington Post reported.
An area of 4 to 8 inches fell from New Jersey to New England, including 4.7 inches in New York City.
Unseasonably low temperatures accompanied the snow, previewing the second coldest December on record. “Much of the area was blanketed by snow from Thanksgiving to Christmas, thanks to a series of winter storms totaling 12.5 inches,” The Post reported.
Here are other notables from this date:
- Average high: 56
- Average low: 40
- Record high: 77 (2007)
- Record low: 12 (1880)
- Record rainfall: 1.23 inches (1985)
- Record snowfall: 1.6 inches (1989)
