1888 Blizzard

"Death on the Prairies: The Murderous Blizzard of 1888"

The people of the Dakota and Nebraska Prairies had made it through some bad weather in the past. However, on January 12,1888 no one had a clue that there was a cold front coming their way. Especially since on that day the weather had been mildly warm, compared to that of previous days. That cold front caused the worst blizzard for the region, killing their people, their livestock and the economy. There were several factors that made the death toll from the blizzard higher than would normally be expected for a blizzard. The people had no clue the weather would change, everyone dressed according to the warm weather and went on about their day as usual. However the worst factor was the fact that the weather forecaster did not warn the people. Little did they know that the land that was free through the Homestead Act of 1862 would become a graveyard for more than 500 of their people, their livestock and economy of the Dakota and Nebraska Prairies. That death toll was mainly children that had been sent home early when the first sign of the outbreak occurred. This is why it was also named "the children's blizzard" The factors that made the death toll from the blizzard higher than would normally be expected …show more content…
The farmers were miles away from home and tended to chores and duties. The children went off to school that was miles away from their homes. The people of the Prairie dressed according to the nice weather, there was no reason to think they would need heavy coats or scarves and gloves. Around noon there were signs of the weather changing so the children were dismissed from school in hopes that they would make it home before it got worst. In just a matter of seconds the weather went from a nice warm and sunny day to one of the worst blizzards in that territory. If they had been warned ahead of time than maybe the death toll would not have been so