I'm sure many of you can remember what it was like around here 43 years ago today. A crippling snowstorm virtually paralyzed the Northeast with a foot-and-a-half of snow and wind-driven drifts up to six feet. The unforgettable storm of February 9, 1969 left over 1,100 motorists stranded in Fairfield County on Interstate 95. The travelers slept on top of phone booths, snack bar counters, in rest rooms, and on the floors of four restaurants in Fairfield and Darien during the storm.
The snow was whipped by gale-force winds of up to 72 miles an hour at times, according to officials at the United States Weather Bureau at Stratford's Sikorsky Memorial Airport. The bureau said the storm was the worst in southwestern Connecticut since March 22, 1967, when 11 inches of snow accumulated. Only the temperature, which failed to drop below 20 degrees, kept the storm from being classified as a blizzard.
Major industries, stores, shopping centers, businesses, schools, and all state and federal offices were closed. Motorists who were able to navigate through the snow were quite often blocked by disabled vehicles on the side and middle of roadways, and they were often forced to drive the wrong way on one-way streets. Only two of the three lanes on each side of Interstate 95 were open for travel a day after storm. There were two deaths in southwestern Connecticut attributed to the storm.
The most serious situation occurred in North Haven where the Northbound lanes of I-91 were blocked by an estimated 200 cars. State police said one state trooper's car was trapped in the middle of the jam. State police also reported that they were having trouble getting tow trucks to clear away the tangled cars because most service station vehicles were plowing.
Regionally, 90 streets in Danbury were impassable because of drifting snow. The Long Island Railroad shut down, cutting off 90,000 commuters. The Penn Central and New Haven railroads drastically cut schedules, and buses were mired in huge traffic jams caused by stalled and deserted vehicles. All three major metropolitan-area airports were closed, and more than 6,000 people were stranded at Kennedy Airport.
Do you remember the storm of February 9, 1969? I certainly do. I was in fifth-grade at the time, and I was thrilled that school remained closed for a few days. Forty years later, my sons are just as excited when they have a snow day. I guess the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Paul
