Yesterday’s warm temperatures probably brought back memories for some of you oldtimers here in Northfield. From the Wikipedia entry on the Armistice Day blizzard of 1940:
The morning of 11 November 1940 brought with it unseasonably high temperatures. By early afternoon temperatures had warmed in lower to middle 60s oF (18oC) over most of the affected region. However, as the day wore on conditions quickly deteriorated. Temperatures dropped sharply, winds picked up, and rain, followed by sleet, and then snow began to fall…
A total of 154 deaths were blamed on the storm. Along the Mississippi River several hundred duck hunters had taken time off from work and school to take advantage of the ideal hunting conditions. Weather forecasters had not predicted the severity of the oncoming storm, and as a result many of the hunters were not dressed for cold weather. When the storm began many hunters took shelter on small islands in the Mississippi River, and the 50 mph (80 km/h) winds and 5-foot (1.5 m) waves overcame their encampments. Some became stranded on the islands and then froze to death in the single-digit temperatures that moved in over night. Others tried to make it to shore and drowned. Duck hunters constituted about half of the 49 deaths in Minnesota.
My grandfather, Roy Johnson of St. Paul, was duck hunting on Lake Pepin near Lake City. He and two buddies made it to shore after their boat flipped in the wind but the whiteout conditions prevented them from seeing that there was a farmhouse about 100 yards away. They crawled into a culvert to get out of the wind and froze to death. My mom was 17 years old.
The photos above are from the Minnesota Historical Society’s digital archives. See all 37 Armistice Day Blizzard photos here. MPR did a story on the storm back in 2000 titled The winds of hell. The Strib’s old news featured it in 2005. The storm is rated #2 by the Minnesota State Climatology Office Top five weather events of the 20th century. And Maggie Lee wrote about the storm in a Northfield News column 2004.
I’ll see if I can get some Northfield area storm photos. If you have a story, attach a comment.
4 Comments
“All Hell Broke Loose: Experiences of Young People During the Armistice Day 1940 Blizzard,” by William H. Hull, is an excellent book consisting of short accounts of that day’s events. It’s been a while since I read it, but I remember some pretty amazing stories, some involving duck hunters, others involving folks getting stuck in the city, etc. I’d highly recommend it.
Thanks, Nick. I have the book, too. I’ve added an image of the cover to your comment. I’m sure one of our local used bookstores could get a copy if someone wanted on.
Sorry to hear about your grandpa, Griff.
I think it would be relatively easy to duplicate this same situation. No warning, very mild and pleasant morning, and then eventual whiteout.
Here’s more detail from the MPR story (just in the event you don’t go there and see if for yourself). Hmm, a human chain. I wonder who organized it:
My grandma told me the story of the blizzard. They were living in Seymour, Wisconsin. My grandparents were married in 1939 and were living on a farm with my Grandfather’s parents. My grandpa went duck hunting that morning. As the weather got worse everyone was nervous about whether or not he would make it home. My grandma and her in-laws had to get the animals in from the field and they had a goose and a gander that were wedding presents that froze right on the lake. My grandpa did make it home and actually cut the goose and gander out of the lake and brought them into the barn to thaw out and they lived. It is really an almost unbelievable story. Incredible.