More than 50 people in Ohio died as a result of the Great Blizzard of 1978

[Emile]

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/