Nothing Compares to the Winter of 1976

[Mencken_Fan]

I've enjoyed reading the hundreds of stories here of winters past; the great snow storms (north and south), and the great cold waves but can't help wonder why I've never heard mention the Great Winter of 1976?

Twenty-five years old at the time and living in Washington, D.C.; I remember front page photos in the Washington Post that winter of Niagra Falls frozen to the top, and people ice-skating beneath the main span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Ice in the Chesapeake Bay reached 3 feet in thickness and ocean-going icebreakers had to be called in to open a channel. The Potomac River was so frozen, one could drive a tank across it.

As winter progressed, factories in the North were shut....in order to keep enough pressure in the gas lines to heat homes.

I've seen 59 East Coast winters and for sheer, unrelenting cold, nothing has ever come close to the winter of 1976.

For those interested, here's a paper on the winter from NOAA:

http://www.nwas.org/digest/papers/1977/Vol02No4/1977v002no04-Wagner.pdf

[Fozz]

I think you're talking about January 1977 if it got to the point of icebreakers in the Chesapeake.

[Nikolai]

The Potomac was frozen until a few days ago at least, as I had been driving into DC on occasion. I'm guessing it's still fairly icy, and the river should be rock solid within 2 weeks or so. I don't know about the Bay this winter, though... it could actually be close given how sustained the cold looks to be.

[chris21]

The Potomac was frozen until a few days ago at least, as I had been driving into DC on occasion. I'm guessing it's still fairly icy, and the river should be rock solid within 2 weeks or so. I don't know about the Bay this winter, though... it could actually be close given how sustained the cold looks to be.

The bay will occasionally freeze north of the bay bridge, i think its tougher further south

[RIC Airport]

The bay will occasionally freeze north of the bay bridge, i think its tougher further south

Most of the bay did freeze that year....almost down to Norfolk! There were HUGE icebergs and sheets of ice floating that far south toward Va Beach! I believe 1935-36 and 1917-18 were the only times the last 100 years the Bay completely froze up point to point.