Portal:Hudson Valley

The December 1969 nor'easter was an intense winter nor'easter that impacted the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the United States between December 25 and December 28, 1969. A high-end Category 3 or low-end Category 4 on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale, the storm developed over Texas by December 25 and advanced eastward. On reaching the Eastern Seaboard, it intensified and turned northeastward, accelerating toward New England. There, the worst of the storm was felt on December 26 and 27. The low peaked in severity with a minimum barometric pressure of 976 millibars (28.8 inHg) as it began pulling away from New England. The slow movement of the cyclone led to extremely heavy snowfall totals throughout the interior Northeastern United States, reaching 40 inches (100 cm) in localized areas, although an influx of warmer air turned the precipitation to rain near the coast.

Due to a number of factors, including the high water content of the snow, pre-existing snowpack, and equipment failures, the storm proved difficult to recover from in Upstate New York and Vermont. Depths exceeding 1 ft (0.30 m) were reported as far south as Washington, D.C.. Drifts up to 30 ft (9.1 m) high blocked roadways, and at least 20 deaths were blamed on the nor'easter. In the hardest-hit areas, snow removal on roadways was severely delayed, isolating some communities. Following the storm, strong winds impeded cleanup efforts, and flooding became an issue near the coast as a result of excessive rainfall and ice jams.

• ... that in 2009 the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail (pictured), a public walkway in upstate New York, nearly doubled in length?
• ... that the Rosendale trestle, once the highest span bridge in the United States, was sold in 1986 for one dollar?
• ... that La Stazione, a restaurant and former train station in New Paltz, New York, burned down in 1907, killing the station agent's dog?

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (/ˈroʊzəvəlt/; January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was the thirty-second President of the United States. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945 and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. He was a central figure of the 20th century during a time of worldwide economic crisis and World War II. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Roosevelt created the New Deal to provide relief for the unemployed, recovery of the economy, and reform of the economic and banking systems. Although recovery of the economy was incomplete until almost 1940, the programs he initiated such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continue to have instrumental roles in the nation's commerce. One of his most important legacies is the Social Security system.