Each winter, western Nevada County can count on receiving a varying amount of inclement weather. From a light dusting to a few inches to, in some winters, a few feet of snow, to none at all; but always rain, from showers to a few inches to an occasional deluge.

Our present January storm is the middle section of several waves set to last into next week. Upon completion of the cycle, it will then be judged for its ferocity and devastation to determine its place in the pantheon of Nevada County storms. Most meteorologists promise it will be a whopper.

Landmark storms begin with what some historians call the granddaddy of all western Nevada County storms, one that isolated the Twin Cities in February, 1890 — nearly 120 years ago.

That blizzard began on Sunday the 16th and slowly built its fury until more than 4 feet of snow had fallen on Nevada City in three days. Grass Valley received similar treatment.

Newspaper accounts of the day reported the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks were blocked at numerous locations along the 22-mile line, and some portions remained shut down until early March that year. Between Grass Valley and Nevada City, the rails were covered with between 4 and 6 feet of snow. Local transportation occurred mainly on skis, sled and snowshoes.

The Nevada Daily Transcript reported snow near the summit of Banner Mountain to be 15 feet deep, and in both towns, “snow shovelers had a picnic, the ruling rate being four bits (50¢) an hour ... About 300 men and boys ... have made from $1 to $20 apiece during the past week” shoveling snow. A good piece of change in 1890!

In Nevada City on “Commercial and Broad streets, the snow thrown from buildings is piled up ... to a depth of 15 to 18 feet.”

The late Elza and Luvia Kilroy regularly depicted local historic scenes with their Christmas wishes, and one year, that crippling 1890 storm adorned cards they sent to friends.

A humorous sidelight to the 1890 blizzard, reported by the Nevada City Nugget, tells that “(the) severest calamity of the storm was the day the little village of Washington ran out of an important necessity ... beer. A local brewer ordered a custom-built sled ... and the great drought ended three days later,” when a fresh supply arrived on the brand-new conveyance.

A century later

Fast forward to Feb. 15, 1990, and we read this front-page prediction in The Union:

“A powerful storm system from the Gulf of Alaska is predicted to bring snow down to 500 feet ... Grass Valley could get as much as a foot of snow and Nevada City up to 2 feet.”

The prediction was correct, as a second granddaddy hit the western county with blizzard conditions. Two to 3 feet of heavy snow brought the Twin Cities to their knees and left 50,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in a three-county area without electricity — some up to two weeks.

PG&E reported on Feb. 16 that power was out for all 34,000 Nevada County customers — for the first time in the company's history.

The outage threatened lives, and about 30 elderly and infirm residents were evacuated to a Red Cross shelter in the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Building, on South Auburn Street.

The storm interrupted publication of The Union, as reported:

“Friday's massive power outage in the Glenbrook Basin knocked The Union off line for some 14 hours, but the press run was finally completed the next morning ... Snow-clogged roads prevented most home deliveries (of both Friday and Saturday's papers). Publisher Jack Moorhead today assured customers (that) all publications (will be delivered) to customers once the roads are passable.”

I hasten to finish typing this story, lest another of our famous, or infamous, “granddaddy” weather phenomenon visits the area prior to completion!

Bob Wyckoff is a retired Nevada County newspaper editor, publisher and an author of local history. Contact him at bobwyckoff@sbcglobal.net or P.O. Box 216, Nevada City, CA 95959.