Circus Blizzard of 1980: The show goes on, but little else
By Diane Tennant
By Diane Tennant
The Virginian-Pilot February 27, 2011
The weather had yo-yoed between winter and spring several times by the end of February 1980.
More than 5 inches of snow fell on Jan. 5, then 4 inches on Jan. 31, followed by an amazing 12.4 inches on Feb. 6, the most that had dropped in Norfolk on a single day since 1892.
An entire year’s snowfall in Hampton Roads was usually just a tad more than 7 inches. Everyone – TV weathermen, headline writers, even the National Weather Service – called February’s storm the snow of the century.
Three days later, another 6.5 inches fell, but about two weeks after that the temperature shot up to 70 degrees. Short sleeves and roller skates came out, windows opened and the sun shone. Norfolk had already had 28.2 inches of snow that year. Surely winter was over.
In late February, the circus opened at Scope. Perhaps it was coincidence, perhaps an omen, but the poster that year featured Ursula Bottcher and her performing animals.
They were polar bears.
The weather had yo-yoed between winter and spring several times by the end of February 1980.
More than 5 inches of snow fell on Jan. 5, then 4 inches on Jan. 31, followed by an amazing 12.4 inches on Feb. 6, the most that had dropped in Norfolk on a single day since 1892.
An entire year’s snowfall in Hampton Roads was usually just a tad more than 7 inches. Everyone – TV weathermen, headline writers, even the National Weather Service – called February’s storm the snow of the century.
Three days later, another 6.5 inches fell, but about two weeks after that the temperature shot up to 70 degrees. Short sleeves and roller skates came out, windows opened and the sun shone. Norfolk had already had 28.2 inches of snow that year. Surely winter was over.
In late February, the circus opened at Scope. Perhaps it was coincidence, perhaps an omen, but the poster that year featured Ursula Bottcher and her performing animals.
They were polar bears.
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