For more than a half a decade, the blizzard of 1947 reigned supreme as New York City's biggest snowstorm — a total of 26.4 in. (67 cm) fell in Central Park on Dec. 26-27. The city was completely paralyzed, stranding cars and buses and shutting down subway service. But though the blizzard dumped more than two feet of snow, it was not accompanied by high winds, which meant there was very little drifting. Even more remarkable was its status as a mesoscale blizzard, meaning that the storm fell squarely over New York City rather than over a larger geographic area. Nonetheless, the storm cost the city millions of dollars to clean up.