Rutland Daily Herald:
No storm-related articles found.
NEW YORK
The December 1718, 1929 ice storm was described in a short paper in Monthly Weather
Review by J.H. Spencer (1929). The ice storm was one of the worst of record in Buffalo. There
was great damage to trees as thousands of large branches were broken by the weight of the ice. A
drawing of ice on a forsythia branch shows about a 0.5-in. uniform radial ice thickness. The ice
storm was followed by cold weather. A 50-mph gale on December 20th and 6 in. of snow on the
21st caused additional severe damage and hardship throughout western New York. Hundreds of
linesman were brought in to repair damaged power, telephone and telegraph lines. Eight thou-
sand poles and 15,000 miles of wire were pulled down by the ice and high winds.
The New York Times:
In eastern and northern New York, back-to-back freezing-rain storms snapped miles of wires
beneath the weight of ice. Glens Falls hardest hit with 1000 lines down. Attica was isolated and
without power for at least 24 hrs. Saratoga Springs "less buried in ice." Buffalo hit by a 2-day ice
storm. Communications broken from Plattsburgh to Buffalo (tree debris piled up faster than it
could be removed). New Hampshire and Maine "hardest hit" with slightly less serious conditions
in Vermont and Massachusetts. Worst "sleet storm" in Portland, Maine's history.
Plattsburgh Daily Press:
(Articles nearly identical to those found in the NY Times, with some minor additions.) East-
ern New York was between "order and chaos" following two rain storms and "heavy frosts" and
workers worked desperately to restore electricity and communication, repairing "broken wires
and ice-snapped poles." In Saratoga Springs, Ballston Spa, and Schenectady, workmen cleared
thousands of fallen trees and limbs. Ninety-one of 120 telephone circuits were out in Glens Falls,
53 of 102 in Saratoga Springs, and 31 of 303 in Albany.
Albany Times-Union:
"Unprecedented havoc wreaked by three days of rain and sleet. Worst sleet storm ever expe-
rienced isolated all eastern Adirondack towns. A score of towns in northern and northeastern
New York cut off from communication and power. More than 5,000 square miles of Vermont and
New York affected. About 30 towns were listed as isolated. Though not as bad in Albany where
the preliminary damage estimate was
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.5 million, falling poles, trees, and branches blocked
roads out of the city to the north. From Mechanicville to the Canadian border everything came to
a virtual standstill. Glens Falls/Saratoga Springs area hardest hit, where more than 350 poles
were downed. Telephone lines sustained considerable damage. Linemen were brought in from
Albany, Poughkeepsie, Schenectady, Syracuse, and Kingston. A 94-year-old resident who had
lived in Saratoga Springs for 80 years said storm was the most destructive he had ever seen. Other
old-timers likened the destruction to that of the Blizzard of 1890. Fort Edward completely with-
out power while Hudson Falls was nearly so. Trees in Buffalo's parks were destroyed by the ice-
load.
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