The Great Blizzard of 1899 was an unprecedented winter weather event that affected the southern United States. What made it historic was both the severity of winter weather and the extent of the U.S. it affected, especially in the South. The first reports indicated record-high barometric pressure over Assiniboia (now Saskatchewan) due to the weight of the frigid and dense air. Later reports of the impending freeze were relayed down through Florida by the Florida East Coast Railway.