On this date in 1899, Arctic winds froze most of the nation. Called "the mother of all cold waves," it was just the second time in recorded history that the Mississippi River carried ice to the Gulf of Mexico. A major blizzard blanketed the East Coast with over three feet of snow and the bitterly cold temperatures, including a record low of 15 degrees below zero in Washington, DC, added to the misery. Ice jams on the Ohio, James, Tennessee, and Cumberland rivers led to serious flooding.