Schoolchildren’s Blizzard, 1888

On 12 January 1888, a severe cold front and blizzard swept across parts of the Dakota Territory, Nebraska and neighbouring states after a period of comparatively mild weather. The rapid change trapped travellers, farmers and schoolchildren away from secure shelter.

Low visibility, extreme cold and inadequate clothing caused heavy loss of life. Teachers faced immediate decisions about whether to keep children inside poorly heated buildings or attempt to reach nearby homes.

The disaster gives historical fiction a concentrated survival setting in which community planning and personal courage are tested against weather. The Blizzard Bride combines the storm with a federal counterfeiting investigation.