56 Years Ago: New Hampshire’s Biggest 24-Hour Snow Dump

If you thought your commute was bad after a few inches of snow, imagine trying to get anywhere when nearly 50 inches of fresh snow fell in just 24 hours. That’s exactly what happened 56 years ago this week on February 25, 1969, when, according to Climate.gov,  Mount Washington got absolutely buried under 49.3 inches of snow—and that was just one part of what became known as the “100-hour snowstorm.”

Now, sure, this is Mount Washington, and heavy snowfall is par for the course. But seeing more than two inches per hour pile up nonstop for an entire day? That’s next-level. Add in hurricane-force winds, and you’ve got a scene straight out of a disaster movie—except instead of fleeing, locals were forced to just wait it out.

For reference, that’s about 14 feet of snow—makes digging yourself out over the last few storms seem not so bad. New Hampshire, already famous for its absurd weather, saw roads disappear, cars swallowed by drifts, and anyone without a serious snowblower contemplating a one-way ticket to Florida. And let’s be real—most households were still stuck with just a shovel back then.

While this storm was brutal, the good people of New Hampshire did what they always do—dug out and carried on. And Mount Washington? Well, it just added another crazy weather record to its resume, proving once again that living in New England isn’t for the weak.

And it didn't stop there. According to WMUR, 172.8 inches of snow fell on Mt. Washington throughout that month back in 1969.