I’ve lived in a few towns that will boast their “snowmageddon” event, a snowstorm or event so large it made history. I’ve seen snowbanks at least five feet taller than me and I’ve seen photos of snow engulfing houses.
Read more: Grant helps Fire training in Vermilion
Since I came to Lloydminster, I was incredibly curious about what marked history as Lloyd’s snowmageddon.
In December 1955 a snowstorm hit, and it was marked in the Lloydminster Times as the worst blizzard in history. An ever-accurate metric they used was asking the “old-timers” if it was the worst, and they were met with a resounding yes from those asked.
Photos courtesy, Lloydminster Museum and Archives
The storm of ’55 was so bad police were on hand to help get kids home safely while other schools kept kids in the classroom overnight to ensure their safety. It took utilities until 4 p.m. to arrive at Lloyd after leaving Vermilion at 11:30 a.m. Had it not been for a snow plow they caught on the way in it would’ve taken even longer as they kept getting stuck in snowdrifts.
The one recorded fatality from this event was RCMP Insp. D. J. McCombe, who was found dead in his car two and a half miles east of Cut Knife.
It’s hard to describe just how much snow fell that day, based on photos I’ve seen I’d wager it was at least double my height and I stand at just over 6 ft.
The second major snowstorm was in April 1938, a little late in the season but Western Canada never truly knows what to expect.
The front page of the Lloydminster Times saw a photo in the centre with snowbanks covering storefronts entirely. Snow piled up anywhere from five to 10 feet high and the process of digging everything out took several days.
There are photos of people standing in the snowbanks and if they shifted anywhere into the bank, they’d likely be gone from view entirely.
It amazes me coming from Eastern Canada exactly how much snow the West gets. My first winter living out in beautiful northwestern B.C. was met with a snowstorm so large my car was buried entirely and I was unable to leave my rural neighbourhood.
Winter is something we all get used to and having been out here for six years now it’s something I’ve come to expect but it’s still fun to look back at major snow events that brought a city together.
Read more: Column: Foolin’ around in April
