When Winter Broke the Range: The Great Plains Blizzards of the 1880s

In the late 1880s, a series of brutal blizzards swept across the Great Plains, catching cowboys and ranchers completely unprepared. Temperatures plunged. Snow buried the grass. Herds vanished almost overnight.

In this episode of Way Out West, explore the true story of the Great Plains blizzards of 1886–1887 and how one catastrophic winter ended the era of the open range. We look at why ranchers were unprepared, how cowboys fought to save their herds, and how the disaster reshaped Western ranching forever.

From frozen cattle and burned fence posts to shattered fortunes and hard-earned wisdom, this is the story of how winter humbled the West and forced it to grow up.

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

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