The blizzard of Wednesday, March 9, 1892, began about 4:00 a.m. with snow and winds of around 30 miles per hour. By 3:30 p.m. the winds were clocked at 60 miles per hour, and four feet of snow had fallen by dawn on Thursday. Street car service was suspended after noon on Wednesday because of snow accumulating on the tracks—even with the new electric rotary snow plow trying to clear it. The incline railway was not hindered by the storm. One man was killed when the smokestack at the Merritt & Rings saw mill in West Duluth blew over and crashed through the mill roof. Snow drifts of twenty feet formed on the north side of Superior Street, forcing business owners to tunnel through the snow to get to their doorways. Hundreds of signs and billboards were demolished and roofs damaged by the wind. On Rice’s Point, the wheat elevators sustained $15,000 worth of damage to their roofs. An estimated $50,000 to $80,000 of damages were expected from the storm.
Duluth Daily Tribune, March 10 and 11, 1892
Superior Superior Street after blizzard–looking east.
Northeast Minnesota Historical Center
Superior Superior Street looking west after snowstorm–from Second Avenue East.
Northeast Minnesota Historical Center
We don’t have that much snow here, but I am going up to work on the summit of Mauna Kea today, and will shovel a little snow for the homies who aren’t here.