Dec. 31, 1962 - A savage winter gale, an icy freak of nature, continued its merciless assault on the Northeast today with below-zero temperatures and howling, destructive winds. No immediate relief was in sight. Temperatures hit 35 below zero atop Mt. Washington in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Winds gusted at 80 miles per hour. Snow drifted 20 feet deep in Bangor, Maine, where the Daily News failed to publish a morning edition for the first time since 1899. The storm claimed 20 lives in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, and Maine. Auto accidents, shipping mishaps, and weather-induced heart attacks were chief causes. New Year’s Eve celebrations were curtailed in many areas by the ravages of the gale. Metropolitan centers and rural countryside shared alike in the misery. Store windows were smashed, and utility wires were downed. Flying debris blocked traffic on New York’s 42nd Street. Thousands of rural and urban homes are without light and heat.
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