PITTSBURGH — When it snows big in Pittsburgh, I stack up everything to the Blizzard of ’93 and Snowmageddon in 2010. Those are my bench marks, not only because I was born and raised here, but because those are the ones I lived through.
I asked my dad, “What’s the big one?” and without hesitation he told me, “1950.”
The “Great Appalachian Storm” roared through on Thanksgiving weekend 1950, and the snowstorm brought, officially, 27.4 inches of snow starting late Friday, Nov. 24, and wrapping up Sunday morning, Nov. 26. It is still the single greatest snowstorm in Pittsburgh’s recorded history. The Blizzard of ’93 and Snowmageddon rank third and fourth respectively.
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm An automobile is almost completely covered in snow. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm A row of buses almost completely covered in snow. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm
Oakmont Carnegie Library This picture was taken on November 25, 1950, during the big snowstorm of 1950 at the McCurdy garage on Allegheny Avenue. The McCurdy family were longtime Oakmont residents. James Oliver McCurdy and Mary Mateer McCurdy owned and operated a general store at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Fifth Street at 500 Delaware Avenue. Their son, John McCurdy, married Eleanor McCurdy and they owned McCurdy Mercury on Allegheny Avenue near Edgewater Steel until Mercury downsized and cut out all the small dealerships. Diane McCurdy Nicholls, daughter of John and Eleanor, was born and raised in Oakmont at 421 Fifth Street. Originally from the collection and reproduced courtesy of Diane McCurdy Nicholls. (Oakmont Carnegie Library)
1950 Blizzard A truck dumping snow in the Allegheny River near the H.J. Heinz Company main plant in Pittsburgh’s North Side section. On November 25, 1950, 30 1/2 inches of snow fell on Pittsburgh, the heaviest in history. This event was referred to as “The Big Snow” by locals. Thousands of stranded vehicles littered the streets and trolley routes, stores and schools closed, and National Guardsmen were dispatched to patrol the streets. It was not until December 1 before life returned to normal in the city. (Detre Library & Archives, Sen. John Heinz History Center)
1950 Blizzard Snow is cleared during the “Great Appalachian Storm” or locally referred to as “The Big Snow.” On November 25, 1950, 30 1/2 inches of snow fell on Pittsburgh, the heaviest in history. Thousands of stranded vehicles littered the streets and trolley routes, stores and schools closed, and National Guardsmen were dispatched to patrol the streets. One fire engine company responded to an emergency 2 1/2 blocks away from the firehouse and it took the firemen two hours to shovel their way back to the firehouse. It was not until December 1 before life returned to normal in the city. (Detre Library & Archives, Sen. John Heinz History Center)
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm Cars covered with snow are parked along Elmwood Avenue in McKeesport. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm Two women walking on a snow covered street in Pittsburgh's Mount Washington neighborhood. (Image courtesy Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh)
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm A steel mill covered with snow. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm Snow being removed from Smithfield Street near its intersection with Third Avenue. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm Snow being removed from the street. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)
1950 Thanksgiving Snow Storm View of Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Terminal Station driveway, looking south to the Monongahela Incline. Photo taken on Nov. 27, 1950. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)
The 1950 storm dropped at least two inches of snow in nearly two dozen states including Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. However, the heaviest snow was centered on Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia.
Several towns in western Pennsylvania saw more than 30 inches of snow, an event that happens usually once every 15 years.
The deadly storm left record-low temperatures in its wake and shut down much of the area from travel for almost a week.