It’s been 30 years since the Blizzard of 1996 dropped a foot of snow on the River City. Last year, we asked our readers to defrost some on their memories of the historic storm. We’ve shoveled the path; now put on your boots, and take this walk down memory lane:
A snow-white wedding
“I personally don’t have any, but my parents got married in Richmond during the January 1996 blizzard. We can never remember the exact date of the wedding because it had to be moved (it was either the 7th or the 8th), [but] ironically more people from out of town were able to make it because they were staying in nearby hotels, as opposed to their Richmond-area friends, who were snowed in!” — Cece D.
Workin’ with what you’ve got
“Having recently migrated from Texas, I was not ready for snow removal, especially in the Fan [...] by the following week, my Taurus was blocked in by a drifts of plowed snow on Meadow St. I had to use a nine-iron to chip away at it for half a day but finally got out!” — Miles M.
Youthful nostalgia
“It was awesome! I was 7 years old. My two older brothers and I were able to go sledding for real. We built a legit igloo that the three of us could sit inside. We played in the snow for a week.” — Caroline A.
Chiocca’s to the rescue
“I had just finished graduate school at VCU in December of 1995. I remember that snowstorm in 1996 and was driving my 1970 Saab home thinking this snow stuff wasn’t so bad. I nearly missed my turn to go home and braked very suddenly. Of course, my car slid on the snowy Cary Street Road straight into a fire hydrant! The owner of Chiocca’s was the first to stop and help me. He had a shovel in his car and began to pry my bumper from the fire hydrant.” — Christine W.
Shenandoah sentiments
“I lived in the Shenandoah Valley and we got about 3 feet of snow. My son was 4 years old and he loved the igloo we made for him!” — Trish L.
Want to share your story of the 1996 blizzard? Send it our way.
