Blasted: A February Storm to Remember
/A February Storm to Remember
Here's the National Weather Service account of the February Blizzard of 1983:
"The Blizzard of 1983 was at the time the second greatest snowfall for Baltimore since records began. The storm set a new 24 hour snowfall record at Baltimore with 22.8 inches. For a couple hours of the storm, snow fell at an amazing rate of 3.5 inches per hour. Thunderstorms intensified the snowfall in some areas. Winds gusted over 25 mph all day on February 11 causing drifts up to five feet. The heavy snow and winds paralyzed the region. The cost of clearing the snow from roads was in the millions of dollars." – National Weather Service
By now I was a 23-year-old living in my first very own apartment in Baltimore’s Ten Hills neighborhood in the southwestern police district a little over a 4-mile drive from the western district police station were I was assigned and my roll calls were held. Much to the chagrin of my sergeant, I called off from my scheduled 4x12 shift the first day of the blizzard. Even though I had tried to plan ahead, my personal car was completely plowed in, buses were stuck and not moving and my attempts at walking were unsuccessful. It turned out that a state of emergency had been declared as it was later estimated that 90% of the businesses on the west side of the city were being looted. The National Guard had been activated and I requested a transport in to work but to no avail. The Guard was too busy clearing snow, rescuing stranded motorists and assisting with patrols throughout the city.
By day two of the blizzard, I got up really early and spent more hours digging out my car which was even further plowed under. It took about two and a half hours more to drive the four miles to work through snow drifts and around other cars and buses stuck on various inclines. Once at work, I learned that the only vehicles out for patrol were our own four-wheel drive Jeep, Ford and Chevy paddy wagons and the National Guard vehicles that had been deployed. I was assigned to ride in a National Guard six-wheel drive deuce and a half. My sergeant decided to ride along as well. I was seated in the middle between the sergeant and the guardsman who was our driver. The driver introduced himself to us and immediately informed us that he had been awake for over 24 hours straight. Up and down, up and down, up and down. I was not sure if we were being driven over high snow drifts or parked/stranded cars or whatever else you could imagine because we were atop a white blanket of heavy wet snow everywhere we would go!
Gunshots were being heard everywhere as store owners were trying to defend their turf against looters. This was the only time I ever experienced anything like this. Everywhere that we looked, numerous looters were carrying items stolen from stores and delivery trucks. Many of the looters were falling on the ice and snow. I remember seeing several people carrying stolen whole chickens which had been readied for store delivery at the slaughterhouse nearby. We had the guardsman stop and exited the vehicle, arresting as many looters as possible while slipping and sliding and placing them into the back of an overly crowded paddy wagon. We repeated this over and over again. To this day I have no idea how these people were charged or with what. I was never required to complete any paperwork or submit any evidence on them. We were just told to stay on this patrol. I am of the belief that they must have been charged only with curfew violations by the desk sergeant and his crew in violation of the state of emergency which had been declared.
It wasn’t until the snow was able to eventually be cleared that we were able to reclaim our streets and neighborhoods once again on Baltimore City’s west side.
Having now resided for the last quarter century in mountainous and snowy Preston County, West Virginia, where it has been said that there are two seasons “winter and getting ready for winter” it is amazing to see how snow can negatively impact a city like Baltimore to such a great degree. Two different worlds … and that’s a good thing.
Joel E. Gordon is a former Baltimore City police officer and was Chief of Police for the city of Kingwood, West Virginia. He has served as vice-chair of a regional narcotics task force and is a 2020 candidate for Preston County West Virginia Sheriff. An award-winning journalist, he is author of the book Still Seeking Justice: One Officer's Story and founded the Facebook group Police Authors Seeking Justice. stillseekingjustice.com
