In 1900, February roared to an end with a winter storm that stretched from Kansas to New York. Eastern KS had the heaviest amounts with 13.5 inches reported at Osage City, 9 inches at Eureka, 8 inches at Horton, and even 5 inches at Columbus. Amounts increased as the system moved east. Springfield, Illinois saw 17 and a half inches. Rochester, New York had 43 inches. And the Adirondack Mountains of New York state reported up to 60 inches from the storm. Cold air followed the front. Manhattan had a high of 31 degrees on the 28th of February and a low of zero on the 1st of March. Even Columbus in southeastern KS saw the plummeting temperatures. The low on the 1st was 10 degrees, and the average of 25.5 degrees was 17 degrees cooler than normal.
Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu