The site of the Knickerbocker Disaster today. America is changing fast! With few exceptions the streetcar lines in the District of Columbia were snowbound early today and suburban lines were unable to operate because of derailments. Guess it must be some place around the building. Eventually, records were located, and it was determined that the 1922 storm brought the largest amount of snow ever for a 24-hour period. The Nov. 24, 1950, storm, responsible for 353 deaths, became a case study for tracking and predicting winter weather. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). . New York Times, Jan. 29, 1922: Hundreds of automobiles were stalled in the streets late last night and are still stuck in the snow. The Knickerbocker's roof had come crashing down, overwhelmed by the weight of the record-breaking snowfall. There was a gust of wind, a rushing of air that blew open the closed doors of the theater and then, after one concerted groan, there was silence and Crandalls Knickerbocker Theatre, previously the temple of mirth, had been transformed into a tomb. Subfreezing temperatures in the days preceding the storm meant every flake stuck. The Storm of the Century caused $5.5 billion in damages with massive snowfalls from Maine all the way down to Florida (parts of which received six inches). Not surprisingly, the Union Club is known for its conservative slant and its policies were the reasons for the founding of rival clubs, The Knickerbocker and the Metropolitan Club later. This page is not available in other languages. The Knickerbocker storm was a blizzard on January 2728, 1922 in the upper South and the middle Atlantic United States. Here in Richmond, VA, we picked up 19 inches of snow from this one event. Chronicling America is produced through the National Digital Newspaper Program, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Library of Congress, and state projects. Questions? on brass belt buckle, to aid those looking for loved ones. Cookie Settings, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Photo by Herbert A. French / Buyenlarge / Getty Images, Adams Morgan Partnership Business Improvement District, Five Places Where You Can Still Find Gold in the United States, Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Otherand the Birds Loved It, Balto's DNA Provides a New Look at the Intrepid Sled Dog, The Science of California's 'Super Bloom,' Visible From Space, What We're Still Learning About Rosalind Franklins Unheralded Brilliance. Strong high pressure to the north helped to cut the system off from the jet stream. An exploding bomb (weather lingo for a large pressure drop) went off over the Midwest on Nov. 11, 1940, as cold Northern air collided with warm Gulf Coast moisture. Winter weather: Ten of the biggest snowstorms in Maryland history