Anybody remember the Veteran's Day Storm of 1987? Thursday is the 17th anniversary. The NWS forecast called for mixed rain, sleet and wet snow, with little or no accumulation. But the storm slowed down, cold air moved in, and the snow began accumulating. It piled up all day, a foot or more in some locations around Baltimore. The snow came with thunder and lightning. Traffic snarled, schools and Laurel racecourse closed, and the airport shut down to let the plows clear the runways.

The Sun and Evening Sun reported that two motorists died - one when his car struck another on an icy I-70 bridge. He got out, and when a third car began skidding toward him, he leaped over a guardrail, falling 35 feet to his death. Twenty cars and trucks slid into each other on I-395.

Snow emergencies were declared in 17 counties.

Traffic slowed to a crawl around Washington, too. Here is the NWS account of the storm from its Maryland Winters history page:

"November 11, 1987: The Veteran's Day Storm will not be forgotten by many Washington area travelers. Almost a foot (11.5 inches) fell at National Airport. Prince Georges County, MD was hard hit with up to 13 inches of snow falling in a short amount of time. It caught motorists off guard and stranded cars on the Capitol Beltway. There were so many cars that snow plows could not get through to open the clogged arteries. Cars littered the roadway for more than 24 hours. The event precipitated the development of the Washington Metropolitan Area Snow Plan to facilitate preparedness and response to future storms.

"This storm struck before the days of lightning detection networks and Doppler weather radar. When thunderstorms began dumping heavy snow over the Fredericksburg VA, forecasters had no idea. The storm moved northeast across the southern Metropolitan area (Prince Georges County). It was not until the fast accumulating snow hit Camp Springs, where at the time the Weather Forecast Office was located, did forecasters realize what was happening."