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The Armistice Day Blizzard was a storm that happened in the United States' Midwest region on November 11 and 12, 1940. November 11 was the day when citizens marked Armistice Day. This storm was very intense cutting through a 1,000- mile wide path through the middle of the United States, from Michigan to Kansas.
In the early morning hours of November 11 1940, the temperatures were high and this was uncommon for the winter season. The temperatures ranged at about 60 degrees Fahrenheit by the early afternoon. They however dropped sharply as the hours progressed leading to deteriorating conditions. The winds then picked up and then rain followed. Sleet then followed and gave way to the falling of snow.
The records of this blizzard show that the snow levels experienced were up to 27 inches, the winds blew at the speed of 50 mph to 80 mph. The snowdrifts were at a height of 20 feet. The temperatures during the storm ranged at around 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the parts affected included the states of South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Twenty-seven inches of snow fell at the Collegeville area of Minnesota.
The lowest low pressures occurred in Duluth, Minnesota and La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Armistice Day Blizzard intensively affected communication and transport and this made it hard to find the injured or causalities of the storm. The number of casualties of the Armistice Day Blizzard was one hundred and fifty four.
The main casualties of this storm were the hundreds of duck hunters who were hunting for ducks in the Mississippi River. The weather forecast for the day failed to predict that the storm would be severe and therefore the hunters had thought that the weather conditions were ideal for hunting. Therefore, they did not dress appropriately for cold weather and when the storm started, they took shelter on the small islands found in the Mississippi River.
However, the waves caused by the storm overcame their encampments and those of them stranded on the islands froze to death due to the very low night temperatures. Those who tried to swim ashore drowned and they were close to half of the forty-nine people who died in Minnesota. The hunters who survived the storm were the beneficiaries of the work done by Max Conrad, who was a light plane pilot. He flew around the area of the river and dropped supplies to the survivors he was able to locate.
Other people who died because of the storm include sixty-six sailors who died in Lake Michigan on the SS Anna C. Minch, SS William B. Davock and the SS Novadoc freighters. Two people died in Watkins, Minnesota after the collision of two trains. In Illinois, thirteen people died, thirteen in Wisconsin and four in Michigan.



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