PITTSBURGH — It’s been known as "The Big Snow," "The Storm of the Century," "The Thanksgiving Storm" and "The Great Appalachian Storm."
No matter what it may have been called, the November storm of 1950 left its mark on the eastern half of the United States, including Pittsburgh.
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Between Nov. 24 and 26, a storm of the ages roared into western Pennsylvania. The storm began on a Friday and ended up as three days of nonstop snowfall, paralyzing the region.
- PHOTO GALLERY: "The Big Snow" of 1950
The National Weather Service recorded 27.4 inches in Pittsburgh over those three days, which is a record that still stands.
A number of locations reported as much as 30 to 40 inches of snow. Snowstorms that bring 16 or more inches of snow to western Pennsylvania generally only occur once in 15 years.
In an article by Joe D’Aleo, published on WeatherBELL Analytics, LLC, the precursor to the storm was an arctic cold front that arrived late on Nov. 23 and into Nov. 24.
The storm affected states throughout the East and brought record low temperatures to the south and damaging winds to New York.
According to Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE, more than 50 people died locally, and damages were estimated at more than $1 million.