Vigilance Required on the High Plains – Then and Now
By Shane Timson
For High Plains Public Radio Readers Book Club, I'm Shane Timson in Colby, Kansas.
Today we're talking about the book The Children's Blizzard, by David Laskin. This is about the 1888 blizzard. It affected three states, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
It was very interesting because at the beginning of the day, it was unseasonably warm. So, most kids did not have on their winter coats. They were excited to not have to wear that for a change. And so, as a result, later on, there was a freak blizzard, which they canceled school early. And these kids were walking home and many of them froze to death because they, again, they didn't know that a blizzard was going to be coming.
And the way that they describe some of this is quite interesting. There was a guy in the book named Bill and he had turned back because he remembered that he had a bottle of perfume and he didn't want it to explode. So he goes, he gets the perfume. and he can't find his way back, and he literally freezes to death as he is walking. The author describes burning pain from the ice hitting his body.
They said that it wasn't until spring when all that snow thawed. They found human bodies and cattle for miles that they had to deal with. They said then also, though, the positive, that was one of the most productive springs in a long time. And they said that
they never took the sunshine for granted again. People who did survive this blizzard, many of them would be seen wearing stocking caps or ball caps to hide partial missing
ears. Some people had wooden legs because they had to have their legs amputated because this was severe frostbite.
In some locations it was reported it was like 80 below zero I don't think I've ever been that cold. I can't even begin to imagine the horrific effects that this had on people.
Now, let's turn to how did they predict the weather back in 1888. Well, the Weather Service was controlled by the military at that time. And according to the book, they knew about this storm. They knew about it at least seven hours before it was going to hit, but they didn't get the warnings out in time. In fact, the author says, the weather service back then that was controlled by the military didn't predict weather. They spent more time fighting amongst each other about who has the best weather skills and who's the most accurate.
So, when it came to something this serious, the weather didn't get out in time,
and so many people perished in the aftermath, as is the case whenever there's a major storm.
We always blame the weather service, saying they didn't get it out in time. But if there's one thing I've learned, no matter what kind of technology we have, you just can't predict the weather.
And we can blame whoever. The reality is we have to stay vigilant and you have to stay alert. If your gut tells you don't go because you think the weather could get bad, then don't go. That's the best advice I can give.
We know that we live on the High Plains and this book brought that up very clearly. The High Plains can be violent with little or no warning sometimes. So, you've just got to be vigilant when it comes to the weather.
For High Plains Public Radio Readers Book Club, I'm Shane Timson in Colby, Kansas.
