Lethal Whiteout: The Apocalyptic Freeze of the American Plains

The morning of January 12, 1888, was unseasonably warm across the Dakota and Nebraska territories. Encouraged by the balmy weather, thousands of pioneer children walked miles to their one-room schoolhouses without heavy winter coats. Within hours, a monstrous, fast-moving cold front collided with the warm air, plunging temperatures below zero and unleashing a blinding wall of ice crystals. This ...