Karen Kilgariff

It has a couple windows and it has one door and that's it. Okay. So it's not fancy, but of course it completely serves its purpose as a classroom. And while it's probably drafty, it's of course better than any alternative, which is learning outside. And of course the warmth is especially important in the winter of 1888. Because this one is actually a brutal one.

It has a couple windows and it has one door and that's it. Okay. So it's not fancy, but of course it completely serves its purpose as a classroom. And while it's probably drafty, it's of course better than any alternative, which is learning outside. And of course the warmth is especially important in the winter of 1888. Because this one is actually a brutal one.

We are at the tail end of what's called, quote, the Little Ice Age. Where one of several years-long periods where the entire Earth is colder than average. And then that leads to more intense winters across much of the U.S. Interesting. Yeah. So even though it did snow a few inches the night before... The weather on this day, January 12, 1888, is very mild.

We are at the tail end of what's called, quote, the Little Ice Age. Where one of several years-long periods where the entire Earth is colder than average. And then that leads to more intense winters across much of the U.S. Interesting. Yeah. So even though it did snow a few inches the night before... The weather on this day, January 12, 1888, is very mild.

So by the time Minnie's walking to school that day, it's gone from snowing the night before to climbed all the way up into the 40s. So that's much, much warmer than a typical mid-January day in the 1880s. Okay.

So by the time Minnie's walking to school that day, it's gone from snowing the night before to climbed all the way up into the 40s. So that's much, much warmer than a typical mid-January day in the 1880s. Okay.

For our friends everywhere besides the U.S., this is all Fahrenheit, and I do apologize because the impact of the weather I'm going to be announcing right now, there's going to be a math delay for you.

For our friends everywhere besides the U.S., this is all Fahrenheit, and I do apologize because the impact of the weather I'm going to be announcing right now, there's going to be a math delay for you.

So it's this kind of unseasonably warm weather that's probably why no one realizes a cold front is about to hit and leave an unsuspecting population in the wake of one of the deadliest winter storms in recorded history. This is the story of the devastating schoolhouse blizzard of 1888, also known as the Children's Blizzard. Oh, shit. Yeah.

So it's this kind of unseasonably warm weather that's probably why no one realizes a cold front is about to hit and leave an unsuspecting population in the wake of one of the deadliest winter storms in recorded history. This is the story of the devastating schoolhouse blizzard of 1888, also known as the Children's Blizzard. Oh, shit. Yeah.

No, no. So the main sources that Marin used in the research today are the Children's Blizzard, which is a book by author David Laskin, and that book is heavily cited. Also, an episode of the Radiotopia podcast, This Day in Esoteric Political History, which And the episode is called The Children's Blizzard. And then, of course, multiple articles from the Omaha Evening Bee newspaper from 1888.

No, no. So the main sources that Marin used in the research today are the Children's Blizzard, which is a book by author David Laskin, and that book is heavily cited. Also, an episode of the Radiotopia podcast, This Day in Esoteric Political History, which And the episode is called The Children's Blizzard. And then, of course, multiple articles from the Omaha Evening Bee newspaper from 1888.

Maren goes all the way back. And the rest of the sources are in our show notes. So here's a little scene setting to start this off, talking about weather back then. Of course, as human beings, we've been tracking weather since basically we understood what was going on around us. We love it. It's our hobby. We love it. It's fun to talk about.

Maren goes all the way back. And the rest of the sources are in our show notes. So here's a little scene setting to start this off, talking about weather back then. Of course, as human beings, we've been tracking weather since basically we understood what was going on around us. We love it. It's our hobby. We love it. It's fun to talk about.

By the end of the 19th century, when this story takes place, scientists are doing what's, of course, compared to today, pretty basic meteorology. The United States has an organized weather service that's been around since 1870. It falls under the purview of the U.S. Army because of the Army's reputation for being meticulous and disciplined.

By the end of the 19th century, when this story takes place, scientists are doing what's, of course, compared to today, pretty basic meteorology. The United States has an organized weather service that's been around since 1870. It falls under the purview of the U.S. Army because of the Army's reputation for being meticulous and disciplined.

So basically, weather forecasting works this way back then. Mondays through Saturdays at military bases and outposts across the country, U.S. Army Signal Corps officials collect weather data, temperatures, air pressure, wind speed, etc. And then they send it via telegraph to forecasters at a central office in Washington, D.C. Those forecasters in D.C. analyze that data. They make predictions.

So basically, weather forecasting works this way back then. Mondays through Saturdays at military bases and outposts across the country, U.S. Army Signal Corps officials collect weather data, temperatures, air pressure, wind speed, etc. And then they send it via telegraph to forecasters at a central office in Washington, D.C. Those forecasters in D.C. analyze that data. They make predictions.

They send the information back to the signal core. And then those forecasts are printed in newspapers. You lost me. Here's how it works. Here's how it works. The weather goes out. So obviously the telegraph makes all of that fast and possible at the time. But compared to today, this is like one of the slowest ways to get any kind of news or information. I don't know, though. Dallas rains.

They send the information back to the signal core. And then those forecasts are printed in newspapers. You lost me. Here's how it works. Here's how it works. The weather goes out. So obviously the telegraph makes all of that fast and possible at the time. But compared to today, this is like one of the slowest ways to get any kind of news or information. I don't know, though. Dallas rains.