Armistice Day, November 11 to November 12, 1940 was one of the worst blizzards to hit the Midwest following the Schoolhouse Blizzard in 1888. This blizzard affected the states in between, and including Nebraska to Michigan. November 11th, which would later become known as Veteran’s Day, on this day schools and many businesses were closed in order to observe the day. Fall in the Midwest had been “warm and uneventful” creating less than ideal conditions for duck hunters (Washburn, 2008). This day back in 1940 would also become known as the most infamous duck hunt in the United States. Weather forecasts, observations, and warnings were communicated much differently during the 1940s than they are today. Observations were transmitted over
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In total this fatal snowstorm was responsible for causing $2.2 million in damages across the Midwest. A combination of wind and snow basically reduced visibility to zero, this caused two trains to collide in Minnesota. This not only added to the death toll, with the death of 2 people, but this also contributed to the total damage cost. Before the Armistice Day Blizzard Iowa had been a leading fruit growing region, coming in second to Michigan in apply production. In the aftermath, the Armistice Day Blizzard killed hundreds of apple trees. The seemingly simple solution would have been to replant those trees that had been damaged, but the cost of replacing a new orchard was expensive. Also, in the 1940s the threat of war was growing and the country was preparing for the hard times that were coming. It would have taken years for the trees to produce fruit if they had been planted, and there was no time for that, the apple growers need the profit. As one article described the situation, “the economic impacts to apple growers were so significant that the landscapes across Iowa was permanently changed when orchards were transformed into fields of faster growing crops like corn and soybeans” ([http://www.weather.gov/dvn/armistice_day_blizzard]). Not only did this snowstorm change the lives of those living in the Midwest, but also changed the economy in
In total this fatal snowstorm was responsible for causing $2.2 million in damages across the Midwest. A combination of wind and snow basically reduced visibility to zero, this caused two trains to collide in Minnesota. This not only added to the death toll, with the death of 2 people, but this also contributed to the total damage cost. Before the Armistice Day Blizzard Iowa had been a leading fruit growing region, coming in second to Michigan in apply production. In the aftermath, the Armistice Day Blizzard killed hundreds of apple trees. The seemingly simple solution would have been to replant those trees that had been damaged, but the cost of replacing a new orchard was expensive. Also, in the 1940s the threat of war was growing and the country was preparing for the hard times that were coming. It would have taken years for the trees to produce fruit if they had been planted, and there was no time for that, the apple growers need the profit. As one article described the situation, “the economic impacts to apple growers were so significant that the landscapes across Iowa was permanently changed when orchards were transformed into fields of faster growing crops like corn and soybeans” ([http://www.weather.gov/dvn/armistice_day_blizzard]). Not only did this snowstorm change the lives of those living in the Midwest, but also changed the economy in