The December 1969 nor'easter was an intense winter storm that most notably impacted the Northeastern United States and southern Quebec on December 25–28. The multi-faceted storm system was blamed for at least 20 deaths in the United States and 15 in Canada. After developing over Texas and spawning several damaging tornadoes in the Deep South, the cyclone advanced to the Eastern Seaboard, dropping more than 1 ft (30 cm) of snow as far south as Washington, D.C. The nor'easter intensified and slowed as it moved into New England, delivering 40 inches (100 cm) of snowfall in some places, with heavy rain near the coast and a severe ice storm in Vermont and New Hampshire. In Canada, Montreal received 27.5 in (70 cm) of snow over a period of 60 hours. Equipment failures and drifts up to 30 ft (9 m) left roadways blocked for many days throughout the affected region, and some communities became inaccessible except by snowmobile. The weight of the snow and ice, combined with gale-force winds, collapsed roofs and brought down power lines. Ice jams and excessive rainfall created widespread flooding in eastern New England.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_1969_nor%27easter
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1264:
King Louis IX of France issued the Mise of Amiens, a settlement between King Henry III of England and barons led by Simon de Montfort heavily favouring the former, which later led to the Second Barons' War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_of_Amiens
1795:
War of the First Coalition: In a rare battle between cavalry and naval ships, a French Hussar regiment captured a Dutch fleet frozen at anchor between the port of Den Helder and the island of Texel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_the_Dutch_fleet_at_Den_Helder
1849:
Elizabeth Blackwell received her M.D. from Geneva Medical College in New York, making her the first female physician in the United States and the first openly identified woman to graduate from medical school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Blackwell
1967:
The English new town of Milton Keynes was formed in Buckinghamshire as an amalgamation of several towns and villages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Keynes
2001:
Five people attempted to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claimed was staged by the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
psychopomp: (religion) A spirit, deity, person, etc., who guides the souls of the dead to the afterlife. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/psychopomp
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I see but one rule: to be clear. If I am not clear, all my world crumbles to nothing. --Stendhal https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stendhal