There were complaints heard around the Berkshires because Christmas 2023 was not a white Christmas. In 1969, 1985, 1992, and 2002, the complaints were very different. On those Christmases, there were up to 24 inches of snow—some of those feet falling on Christmas Day.
Christmas Day, 1969
A two-day storm began on Christmas Day, 1969. It left 23 inches of snow in Berkshire County. Some were prevented from reaching church services and social gatherings; others were stuck at those very events, unable to get back home. The worst circumstance and the most dangerous was for those stuck on route—that is, stuck in between.
State police on snowshoes waded through five- to six-foot snow drifts to reach a woman who was stranded off Route 116 in Cheshire. They did reach her. Although she had severe frost bite, she survived, but the experience for all—victim and rescuers—was harrowing.
Christmas Day, 2002
The headline read: “The first Christmas Day snowstorm since 1985 leaves between 10 and 24 inches of snow across the Berkshires.” Now here is the fascinating thing about that headline: No one—and many have looked—can find a report about the Christmas snowstorm of 1985. Perhaps the headline had the year wrong? Perhaps 1985 paled in comparison to 1992 for the retrospective reporter? Never mind; we will always have 1987. Read on.
December 1992
A nor’easter paralyzed the entire East Coast. In the Berkshires, more than 20 inches of snow fell in Pittsfield, and Otis reported an unofficial total of 33 inches.
All of Massachusetts was battered by this devastating winter storm. For days, from December 12 to 14, winds howled and snow fell. It was 11 days before Christmas, but no worries, that amount of snow lasted to Christmas Day and beyond. In fact, the snowstorm was so prolific that it earned the title “The Great Nor’easter.”
The unforgiving storm maintained hurricane-force wind gusts and created high tides and waves during the week of the nor’easter, according to on-site assessments.
Yes, that snowstorm lasted a whole week in some areas. In the aftermath, damage assessment included homes destroyed, beaches eroded, and communities buried.
Up and down the East Coast, “The Great Nor’easter” of December 1992 was recorded as “one of the epic storms of all time.”
Reports stated, “At some locations along the northern New Jersey, New York City and Long Island coasts, it produced record tides, even exceeding those produced by the hurricanes of 1938, 1944, 1954 and 1960.”
The storm arrived in New England on December 12 and was reported as of one the most severe nor’easters to hit the region. It was one of the fiercest storms to hit New England in terms of snowfall, wind, and destructive coastal flooding in the record books. “At many other locations from northeastern Massachusetts to Maryland, it produced tides within 1 or 2 feet of record values,” the report added.
And yet, here we are with no snow on Christmas Day. Do not despair.
None on Christmas Day and perhaps not even on New Year’s Eve, but, although no one remembers 1985, no one can ever forget 1987.
April 1987
“Unprecedented Early Season Snowstorm October 4, 1987: the earliest snowstorm ever in the Berkshires.”
Depending upon where you lived in the Berkshires, you had from three inches up to about two feet of extremely wet snow. The results were tragic: Across eastern New York and western New England, there were deaths, many injuries, and an enormous amount of property damage.
The storm wreaked havoc on the area, causing widespread power outages. The trees still had their leaves, which was a major contributing factor to the number of trees and limbs that came down, taking out power lines with them. Tens of thousands of people were without power—some for up to two weeks.
The mess, loss, and inconvenience of downed trees and powerlines also caused roads to be closed.
So, even though there was no snow on Christmas, this is the Berserk-shires. We will always have April!
Hope your holidays were merry and bright, and here is wishing all olf us a wonderful 2024.
