San Francisco Records Historic 3.7-Inch Snowfall in 1887, Leading to Unrest

On February 5, 1887, San Francisco experienced its most significant snowfall on record, with 3.7 inches blanketing downtown and up to a foot in higher elevations. This rare meteorological event, highlighted by a recent social media post from John Potter, transformed the city into a winter landscape, beginning around 3:00 a.m. and continuing for several hours. The unusual weather brought both widespread delight and unexpected social disturbances to the typically temperate city.

The sudden snowfall sparked immediate excitement, especially among children who seized the opportunity for winter recreation. Makeshift sleds appeared on hills, and a toboggan club was reportedly formed on Haight Street, showcasing an unusual adaptation to the snowy conditions. This playful atmosphere, however, soon gave way to more chaotic scenes across the city.

The snow caused considerable disruption to daily life and public services. Streetcar operations faced challenges as drivers and passengers became targets of snowball assaults, leading to broken windows on vehicles across various lines, including Market, Sutter, and Polk streets. Telegraph communications were also severely impacted, with outages lasting days and even weeks in some of the more heavily affected districts.

Beyond the playful chaos, the snowfall unfortunately escalated into serious social unrest and violence. Reports from the time, including those in the San Francisco Chronicle, detailed "race strife" near Chinatown, where white men and boys "unmercifully mauled" Chinese residents with snowballs and other projectiles. Retaliatory actions from the Chinese community, including throwing stones and bricks, were also documented, alongside incidents of individuals firing revolvers at snowball-throwing youths.

The 1886-1887 winter was notably harsh across much of North America, impacting regions far beyond California. For San Francisco, such significant snowfall remains an extreme rarity, with only six other measurable snowfalls recorded since 1887, none approaching the accumulation of that historic day. The February 5, 1887 event stands as a unique and complex chapter in the city's meteorological and social history.