STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The infamous “Blizzard of 1996” deposited almost 30 inches of snow on Staten Island, shutting down businesses, leaving people stranded in homes and cars and crippling transportation throughout the borough. The winter of 1996 didn’t end with the blizzard. By season’s end, over 75.6 inches of snow fell, far exceeding the previous record of 63.2 set in the winter of 1947-1948. It hit NYC on the morning of January 7, 1996 and lasted for 37 hours, dropping on average 2 inches of snow per hour. Residents were told to stay home and await the passing of the storm; only police, fire department and hospital personnel reported to work according to NYCdata.
Michael Falco
West Brighton
Angela DeSanno and Jean DeGaetano, both Lab Technicians at St. Vincent's Hospital, wear plastics bags over their head to keep out the blizzard after a short run to the local store.
Hilton Flores
Monroe Avenue
Rows of cars buried in snow as the digging gets under way on Monroe Avenue.
Staten Island Advance
Oakwood
Buses were stuck in both directions on Guyon Avenue at Hylan Boulevard for over two hours, blocking all access to Guyon.
Steve Zaffarano
Arrochar
An Arrochar man pushes his snow-blower along Columbia Avenue.
Michael Falco
Victory Blvd. and Clove Rd.
Znaida August, of Silver Lake, helps her son, 3-year-old Michael August, with his hat as she and her other son, Jonathan Gonzales, 10, make their way down Victory Boulevard near Clove Road.
Staten Island Advance
Corson Ave.
Onlookers check out a plow that slid out of control into a car parked on Corson Avenue in St. George.
Michael McWeeney
New Dorp
Advance Reporter Rich Cirillo stands on a huge mound of snow approximately 15 feet high in a New Dorp parking lot.
Jin-Sup Lee
Dongan Hills
Mike Apolloneo, of Dongan Hills, shovels his way out of his driveway during the blizzard.
Michael Falco
Clove Lakes Park
West Brighton resident Carol Farrell tries some cross country skiing with her dog Charlotte at Clove Lakes Park.
Staten Island Advance
New Dorp Lane
A parking meter on New Dorp Lane on Jan. 8, 1996.
Frank J. Johns
Rosebank
Big Moe from Rosebank found the only dry spot around -- the top of a car roof.
Michael Falco
Staten Island Ferry terminal
Staten Islanders board the S 74 bus at the Staten Island Ferry terminal in St. George the day after the big blizzard.
Staten Island Advance
New Springville
Suzanne Israel, of New Springville, shovels out her car with a dust pan.
Staten Island Advance
January 8th, 1996, "Blizzard of '96" front page.
Michael Falco
St. George Ferry terminal
Islanders wait on line to board buses at the terminal the day after the storm.
Michael McWeeney
Snake Hill
Snake Hill was blocked off to any traffic due to the terrible weather conditions.
Staten Island Advance
Baby born during the blizzard
Jeff Iannone Sr. with his wife, Michele Iannone, bring home their new baby, Jeffery Anthony 'Storm' Iannone, from Staten island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, on Jan. 8, 1996.
Staten Island Advance
Tottenville
Stephanie and her father, Peter Kosinski of Tottenville, shovel out.
Jin-Sup Lee
Knee-deep
No small task, a man tries to push his way out of the knee-deep snow that has accumulated on Island streets.
Staten Island Advance
Snowblowers for sale
Artie Mancuso takes his new snowblower home that he just bought from Trim-A-Lawn.
Jin-Sup Lee
Verrazzano toll plaza
Snow plow at the Verrazzano Bridge tries to keep up with the massive snowfall at the toll plaza.
Richmond Ave.
A man shields himself against the blizzard winds and snow as he walks along Richmond Avenue, Eltingville.
Jin-Sup Lee
St. George
A concerned man helps a fallen pedestrian to his feet in the thick snow at the bus terminal in St. George.
Rob Sollett
Hylan Blvd.
Pedestrians share the snow-covered Hylan Boulevard with cars in Huguenot during the blizzard.
Michael Falco
National Guard
National Guardsmen head out to Long Island from the Manor Road Armory.
Baltimore Street
Residents of Baltimore Street, Great Kills, band together to clear their block of snow during the Blizzard of 1996.
Weary commuters
Travel-weary Islanders wait on board one of the SIRT trains at the Staten Island Ferry terminal in St. George.
West Brighton
An Island skier makes her way past St. Vincent's Hospital, West Brighton.
Michael McWeeney
Staten Island Expressway
Traffic on the Staten Island Expressway is brought to a standstill by nearly 30 inches of snow.
Hilton Flores
Tompkinsville station
Maintenance workers clear the third rail at the Tompkinsville station.
Staten Island Advance
Tottenville
Perri Raviol and Jessica Malone, of Tottenville, enjoy their snow tunnel.
The weekend blizzard of 2005 in photos: A slippery, low-visibility demolition derby
The snowfall was just the first act of a frosty 1-2 punch. Forecasters warned of blizzard conditions on January 22, with a second round of heavy snow accompanied by strong winds gusting to nearly 50 mph. When it was all over, the first big storm of 2005 left more than 15 inches of snow behind. Blowing and drifting snow made conditions even more difficult. But at least it happened on a weekend, and with enough warning for people to get ready.