1958

Believe it or not, just a few short weeks before Woodloch was purchased, Northeastern Pennsylvania was hit by four nasty winter storms in succession between early February and March, with snow piling up well over 90 inches in spots. United States Marines were called in to help those perilously trapped. Helicopters were brought in to rescue those well out of reach of any help. Weeks later, as the snow melted, Harry and Mary Kiesendahl purchased what is now our resort for $45,000, and the era of Woodloch began!

1971

An enormous, early-season, coastal storm that brought rain and 63 mph wind gusts to New York City also happened to bring almost 2 feet of snow to the hills of Northeastern Pennsylvania… on Thanksgiving weekend, no less!

The snow was very heavy and caused several trees to come down on electrical lines, killing the power just as Woodloch began to prepare their Thanksgiving feasts for our guests.

In what forever after would be known as “The Thanksgiving of 22 Frozen Turkeys”, guests settled for bologna sandwiches while hanging by the fireplace with blankets to keep warm. Not ideal, but it certainly brought us all together, and for that, we were truly thankful!

FUN FACT: This storm prompted Woodloch to purchase a generator for our kitchen and Main Lobby! Lesson learned!

1993

They called it “The Storm of the Century,” “The Grandaddy of Them All” and of course, “The Blizzard of 1993.” This unprecedented storm wreaked havoc on the entire east coast of the United States, extending from Canada to Honduras. It even brought snow to regions like Georgia and Alabama.

Needless to say, Pennsylvania got hit HARD. Local snowfall totals exceeded 35 inches while winds swirled at upwards of 70 miles per hour, causing monumental snow drifts.

I was eight years old at the time. I remember wanting to sled through the powder but settled for just jumping off the side of the deck into huge piles of snow. Meanwhile, my dad (gung ho on making the 18 mile commute to work here at Woodloch) attempted to dig his truck out of our driveway manually, only to find our road closed… with plow trucks stuck themselves! Schools were closed for a full week. (ed.)

1996

After the catastrophic Great Storm of 1993, history simply couldn’t repeat itself… could it? It came very close.

In early January 1996, a coastal winter storm was followed up by an “Alberta Clipper” from Canada, providing a vicious one-two punch of walloping wintry weather. Snowfall totals eclipsed 20” from New York City all the way to the Poconos.

Even worse temperatures were warmer than usual for January and the melting snow created flooding problems region wide.