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CBS2 Classics: Blizzard of 1996

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Jan 6, 2006 9:26 pm US/Eastern

CBS2 Classics: Blizzard of 1996

Ranked #3 All-Time On List Of Great Snowfalls In Big Apple History

By Philip O'Brien
NEW YORK (CBS) ― The snow started falling Sunday night, Jan 7, 1996. Weather forecasters had predicted a big one, and within 24 hours 20 inches fell on New York City and surrounding areas.

It proved to be the third biggest snowfall in NYC history, just behind the Big Daddy of them all, the Blizzard of December 1947 - 26.4 inches, and the famous Blizzard of March 1888 –21 inches.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about the Big Apple's all-time biggest blizzards.

Regardless of its ranking, the storm of '96 was devastating. The storm caused $1 billion in damages from Washington, D.C. (where the federal government had been shut down in a battle between President Bill Clinton and Congress) to Boston. There were also widespread power outages and dozens of deaths. In our area, schools were closed Monday, Jan. 8 and, in many districts, Tuesday, Jan 9.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about Rudy Giuliani managing the Blizzard of '96.

All three major airports were closed, and thousands were stranded for days at terminals.

To share your recollections of the Blizzard of '96, send an email click here.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about people digging out on Staten Island during the Blizzard of '96.

The New York Stock Exchange opened late and closed early, and many Broadway shows were canceled.

A man in Connecticut and two men in New Jersey suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow and died.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about people trying to commute from Connecticut during the Blizzard of '96.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about people in New Jersey coping with the blizzard of '96.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about people on Long Island struggling with the blizzard of '96.

And if all that weren't enough, some 35,000 building maintenance workers were in the first week of a strike that lasted the whole month, leaving hundreds of office towers and apartment buildings with little or no maintenance and sidewalks clogged with snow.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about people in Manhattan coping with the blizzard of '96.

Through it all, New Yorkers and their neighbors in New Jersey and Connecticut proved their mettle and dealt with the pounding from Mother Nature, even finding the time and means for fun and exploration.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about people having fun in the snow during the blizzard of '96.

Click here to watch a CBS2 Classic story about people trying all kinds of ways to dig out from under the blizzard of '96.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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