Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Monday, November 11, 2024
The Armistice Day Blizzard. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. It wouldn't be Christmas without Camp Courageous Fruit Cakes, and they're now available in stores across Iowa and at Camp Courageous.org/fruitcakes. Camp Courageous Fruit Cakes are generously filled with cherries, nuts, pineapple, coconut, and just the right amount of cake batter to hold it all together. Best of all, proceeds go to support Camp Courageous near Monticello, Iowa. For a list of stores or to order online, go to Camp Courageous.org/fruitcakes. The fall of 1940 was warm and uneventful. Hunters were waiting for the normal cold fronts to move in, so the birds they were targeting would move south. But they didn't want nor expect what hit on November 11. Weather forecasting was nothing like today, so the weather systems that converged on Iowa and the Midwest were a surprise. One system was moving east from the Rocky Mountains. A Canadian cold air mass was sliding down from the north, while warm moist air came up from the south. The combination was deadly, resulting in a thousand mile wide path of destruction, becoming the most famous and disastrous blizzard in American history. The barometric pressure dropped to an all-time record low in Charles City. The temperature dropped from the 60s to single digits in a matter of a few hours. The storm dropped more than two feet of snow, killed thousands of cattle, and destroyed a million Thanksgiving turkeys. All told in the Midwest, 160 people died. Hunters in Iowa were especially at risk because without warning they were trapped out in the wild. Thousands of ducks flew overhead, but the hunt was difficult in the hurricane force winds. And many hunters were so focused on their shooting, they did not pay enough attention to their own safety and were lucky to escape with their lives. Even decades later, the lucky ones now in their 80s still think about being out hunting during the greatest blizzard in American history. The armistice day blizzard on this date in 1940. And that's Iowa Almanac for November 11th. There's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.