Remembering The Infamous Blizzard Of ’96, 30 Years Later
Thirty years later, the Blizzard of 1996 still feels unreal. For South Jersey, Philly, and much of the region, January 7th & 8th of 1996 wasn’t just a snowstorm. It was a full-on shutdown before we even had the word “snowpocalypse.”
I was only a few years old, but I remember it vividly. The snow felt taller than me, towering in white walls outside our door. My brother built me an epic snow throne. It was the kind that makes a kid feel like royalty in a kingdom full of ice. This was a lot of years before Disney had Elsa and Anna hit the scene, too.
That’s the thing about the Blizzard of ’96, though. It etched itself into memory, especially for millennials who were just old enough to experience the magic without the responsibility.
30+ Inches And NJ + PA At A Standstill
More than 30 inches of snow fell across South Jersey and beyond. It set records and buried neighborhoods. Roads weren’t just closed; they were swallowed. Nobody went to work. Schools were closed for days. Digging out felt endless, and fun fact, the sheer scale of the snowfall was so extreme it even led to a federal investigation. In Philly, they were dumping the snow off bridges into the Schuylkill River.
How Rare Was The Blizzard Of 1996?
Philadelphia snow records go back to the winter of 1884–85. In the first 100 years of tracking, the city saw a single snowfall of 20 inches or more only twice. Then came 1996. That year changed the game.
The Blizzard it was communal. Everyone was home. Everyone was stuck. And for many of us, it became one of our earliest, clearest memories. Hard to believe it’s been 30 years.
The best NJ foods and soups for cold, snowy weather
Gallery Credit: Mike Brant
More From 97.3 ESPN
