Ohio
Related: About this forumMore than 50 people in Ohio died as a result of the Great Blizzard of 1978
The morning edition of The Columbus Dispatch on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 1978, reported slick roads due to rain and ice that morning, in part due to a recent snowstorm. The newspaper's weather forecast reported that Thursday, Jan. 26, 1978, would be “Windy and cold with snow flurries" By 9 p.m. that night, however, updated weather reports were anticipating a major winter storm.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 26, 1978, temperatures in Columbus quickly dropped from 34 degrees to 13 degrees as a cold front moved over the state from the west. Unlike many of Ohio’s other memorable winter storms, it wasn’t just the snowfall (which measureed 4.7-12.9 inches, depending on the location) that made this “The Great Blizzard of ‘78” — one of the greatest snowstorms of the century for Ohioans. At one point, winds in Columbus reached 70 mph. With temperatures remaining near 10 degrees for most of the day, that put the wind chills at below -50 degrees.
Because of the high winds, snowfall was difficult to accurately record. Columbus had one of the lower counts, estimated at around 5 inches, but nonetheless reported consistent whiteout conditions and massive snow drifts upwards of 10 feet tall due to the winds.
Read more at: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/history/2025/01/26/more-than-50-people-in-ohio-died-in-the-great-blizzard-of-1978-and-the-national-guard-was-activated/77594801007/
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Emile
(32,404 posts)I was snowed in at work for four days.
Midnight Writer
(23,447 posts)Xavier Breath
(5,295 posts)We lived in a small town but the grocer, post office, and many people and essentials were within waking distance. A radio station in Springfield, WBLY, had live coverage throughout the days of people calling and asking for help, or offering their four wheel drive get people out. There were also tales of people being stranded, and having no heat. My Mom and I sat and listened for hours. We felt fortunate that we had so many amenities nearby. Mom passed last spring, but she always referred back to that storm when winter rolled around.
I've always felt that the storm broke a lot of people. Now, whenever even just a few inches are forecasted, everyone feels they have to clean out Kroger and Meijer of every slice of bread and every drop of milk.
SharonAnn
(13,938 posts)There didn’t seem to need to be much snow on the ground because I lived near farm fields and the snow had piled up against buildings, not in the fields. However, when I opened the hood of my car to jump the battery, because the car wouldn’t start, I got a surprise. The engine compartment was packed solid with snow. The winds had blown the snow up into the compartment and packed it tight. Had to dig the hard packed snow out by hand.