PEI Weather: PEI Versus Snow Drifts?

 So I was looking for the worst winter storm on PEI for this post and I found this story on the Weather Network - One of Canada's worsts blizzards was P.E.I. versus snowdrifts. So I couldn't resist. 

So from Monday, February 22 to Friday, February 26, 1982, 60cm of snow fell on PEI. At the time, the average snowfall per year was 285cm. 

Now, according to PEI Climate and Weather the current average snowfall is 290cm. For those of us who remember White Juan, you might be trying to remember how much snow fell during that storm. According to Saltwire, White Juan (February 2004) dumped an average of 74.4 cm of snow over 24 hours. There was even a snow storm in 2015 that dumped 86.8cm over two days. 

So why was a storm with much less snow more of an issue?

The issues with this 1982 storm were the sustained 100km/hr winds after the snow came and the -35 degree temperature. This strong wind blew this snow all over the Island, led to horrible visibility, and understandably, a delayed clean up. 

Cars, snowplows, and trains were buried. Freight trains at this time were still used to moved goods, not people. The snowmobile was one of the best ways to move goods as roads were slowly cleared. In some cases, trains and cars were so buried the snowmobiles drove right over them!

One train that snowmobilers drove right over was the one Lowell Hudson was working on. Hudsen was interviewed by Saltwire in 2015. The plow train consisted of a wing plow, three 120-ton locomotives, and a caboose. Combined, it weighed about 410 tons. That should get through snow drifts no problem right?

Engineer Charlie Deighan, from Summerside, attempted to go through the drifts at, what Hudson estimated to be, about 73km/hr. They almost made it, but Hudson estimated they got stuck at Whalen's Cutting, after getting seven-eighths (7/8) through an 800m long, 3.5m deep snow drift. 

But, don't worry, the crew was not stuck on the train. They were able to back the Caboose and one of the cars back to the Piusville crossing and a Foreman was able to pick them up and take them to the CN bunkhouse in Tignish.

Lloyd Murray was another affected by the storm. His farmhouse was one of the last to be dug out. While waiting for this, he had to use his snowmobile to haul feed to his livestock. One. Bag. At. A. Time.

Lloyd Murray (The National/CBC Archives)

This quote is my favourite, Murray told The National: "It could have been worse, though - if the power had been off or something, it would have been a lot worse than just the snow."

That being said, there were power outages. 

But, like Fiona, the power outage affected different places differently. Most sources I found focused on the snow rather than power outages. Some do not even mention the outages. 

So what was it like for the everyday person? Since this storm was only in 1982, I asked around.

My Mom remembers the storm and remembers not having power at my grandparent's home. Thankfully, they had a large water tank that did not freeze. My aunt was storm stayed at a cousin's home. She remembers the water in the bathtub freezing and all she wanted to do after a few days was wash her hair. So she broke the ice on the top and washed her hair in the icy water. Our cousin remembers hearing the ice breaking in my aunts mission to wash her hair.

For those of you who have never had your own well (AKA are on city water), when there is the potential to lose power, people with their own wells will fill the bathtub so they can flush the toilet if the power goes out. Or in this case, wash their hair.

My aunt remembers heavy equipment being brought in to clear the road and people with snowmobiles taking orders for tea, milk, and coffee.

The National had been reporting on the storm and initially reported it was estimated it would take four days to clean up. . . it took about two weeks!

According to CBC News, the overall February snowfall was less than normal! But, by the time the snow was cleared from the roads, many homes were not visible from the road.

As much fun as this was to write, I found myself thinking of my Why Comparing Storms is Difficult post. Then wondering how many bad winter storms have I lived through? Have I basically forgotten any that another person may think was one a horrible one? Does the fact that I now have a driveway I need to clear myself (okay, it is mostly my husband) make a difference (yes, it does)? While there are specific objectives we can use to help determine how bad a storm is, a lot of it is subjective.