As Thanksgiving nears, folks around the Valley will be subject to significant weather, including howling winds and heavy lake-effect snow bands.

This pales in comparison to a storm that made national headlines 75 years ago, today.

Billed as a “storm of the century”, this Thanksgiving storm gave several cities records that still stand to this day. 

On November 24, 1950, a mature low-pressure system was churning north of the Great Lakes. These systems, with occluded fronts attached, are typically at the end of their lives as warm air, the fuel for low pressure, is choked off from the circulation. The occluded front sagged as far south as West Virginia, where another low-pressure center was forming. In meteorological terms, this was another rather ordinary wintertime setup. Because of the front’s location, Western Pennsylvania and Ohio were getting a good deal of snow, while points east were limited to rain.

At the same time, two strong high-pressure systems were sandwiching this low and strengthening it. The first, close to the Canadian Maritimes, strengthened while being rather stagnant. The second high was cooped up around the Central Plains.

The strengthening of these things intensified what’s known as the pressure gradient (PGF)- or the spacing between pressure values. Think of the pressure gradient as a sloping hill- the greater the slope, the greater you’ll increase or decrease in elevation over a shorter distance.

Pressure gradients are the main reason wind forms, as air naturally moves from high to low pressure. As the PGF increased, winds strengthened, as well.

With everything coming together, a very heavy snow event was on the way for those on the cold side of the low-pressure system. For those not lucky enough to receive feet of snow, they would brace for flooding rain and hurricane-force wind gusts.

Low pressure continued to intensify by the morning of November 25th, though it remained stagnant as it was sandwiched between high pressure. While the center of low pressure didn’t move, its fronts did. Unusually, both the warm and cold fronts moved North, then West (compared to the typical easterly motion of fronts), causing locations like Harrisburg, Buffalo, and New York to be first in a hurricane-like atmosphere, only to turn shockingly cold and receive snow on the backend.

High pressure to the west simmered down by November 26, allowing the now-weakening low-pressure system to slide westward. Pittsburgh, Youngstown, and places in West Virginia finally got a break from the snowfall after feet had fallen. The system continued to weaken, becoming stagnant again, and finally dissipating by the end of the month.

The Valley became the bullseye in a storm that will likely never be seen again in our lifetimes. The storm total accumulation of 28.7” at the Youngstown-Warren regional airport still holds the title for the most snow ever recorded in a single event. Across the border in New Castle, a resounding 30 inches of snow fell. Steubenville’s accumulation of 44” still holds the Ohio State record for an official storm measurement. Up in the mountains of West Virginia, Pickens received almost five feet, the most recorded during the storm.

Recall, though, that snow was not the only worry. On the Atlantic Coast, reporters in three states encountered wind gusts that topped 100 miles per hour. The highest of these three was located in Concord, New Hampshire, where a gust of 110 miles per hour was clocked.

Over five inches of rain was also widespread. The liquid winner came on New York’s Slide Mountain, the highest peak in the Catskill Mountain Range.

In November, the storm was especially shocking for the amount of cold air it brought in. South Carolina’s November record low still stands at a shocking -1°F, while Georgia, Arkansas, and Mississippi all got to within 2 degrees of 0°F.

This all occurred during the Buckeye State’s biggest sporting event, The Game. The 1950 edition will always be remembered for the snow, which delayed the game for over two hours. In total, eight inches fell during the game.

It was also notable that both teams strategically punted the ball. Neither team was willing to throw or run the ball for fear of turnovers, so they would sometimes send out the punting units on first or second down. Michigan’s 9 points, a safety and a touchdown, came from blocked punts. Ohio State’s lone field goal also came after a blocked punt.

Interestingly enough, snow is also forecasted to come for this weekend’s edition of The Game up in Ann Arbor. However, no amount of snow predicted for this Saturday will have the impact of the 1950 Storm of the Century.