On This Day 1978

[llowry61]

My family was from SW Virginia but moved to Ohio and I grew up in Licking County.

We lived way out on a very small country road. I remember the blizzards of 77 and 78.

In 1978 we were snowed in for 10 days or more and had to be dug out with a huge front loader. The snow was piled up as high as the power lines.

The blizzard of 1978 was pretty rough too. We were snowed in for about five or six days, but with a tractor and a bunch of west virginia high-lifts, (shovels) we were able to dig our way out. The problem was the snow would drift back in just about every day.

You couldn't travel without a FWD vehicle so for two weeks or more we would check on the neighbors and get them to town for food etc. Fortunately I don't recall any medical emergencies and we were without power for just a short time.

In the aftermath of the 78 blizzard a found a lot of frozen birds, especially doves, and that was the last of bobwhite quail in my hunting grounds.

Before these blizzards we would see covies of 25 to 30 birds in our front yard. Everything else bounced back pretty well, but not the quail.

I live in Licking County and know how remote it can be today even more so at that time. We lived in the Worthington area during the storm.

The quail population has never really recovered. The pheasants were hit hard as well. It was a bad storm.

 

[Golddollar]

I don't think anyone can top Iggy's story! In the Ohio 78 Blizzard, up by Mansfield, a semi was snow bound on SR3. on day 4 his brother found him. The top 4" of his rabbit ear CB antennas were sticking out above the snow drift (around 20-21' tall!)

Scarry time for many people!

Ivan

I remember that! My parents lived in Painesville which was above Mansfield. That semi was totally buried before the driver's brother found him.

 

[JRB416]

IIowry61,

My wife is from Worthington. In 1978 she was a freshman at Ohio State University. She remembers the storm due to cancelled classes at OSU. Back in those days that was unheard of.

We met the following July.

 

[dben002]

I was in 10th Special Forces at Fort Devens, MA during the Blizzard of '78. We were heavily involved with supporting the snow removal effort for Boston - as were other Army units deployed from as far away as Fort Bragg. We actually trucked snow the 40-odd miles from Boston and dumped it on our drop zone. We helicoptered medics into remote locations like Cape Cod to provide medical suport. Guys came back with amazing stories like seeing seaweed coming up out of storm drains miles from the coast.

I was there, working in Boston at Boston University as staff member in the ROTC office....By the time the powers to be decided we better get the hell out of there It was tooooooo late..I lived in Bedford outside of Boston....Left the office at 2:00pm...streets clogged, abandoned cars and trucks everywhere...Snow so deep that on the loop outside of Boston you could not determine where the road was or was not....I got home at 8:30pm and the following morning the snow drifts burried my VW beetle that got my butt home...It truly was a blizzard....and one of the reasons I left Boston to return home to NC.

 

[chuckie]

I remember it well, I worked for the DPW. We worked for 3 days before we could go home and catch some sleep. When we came back they split us into 2 shifts, 12 on and 12 off. That worked out very well. We had 2 Sicard snowblowers that went 24 hours. The City fed us every 6 hours, while we ate, the mechanics, I was one, greased the blower drivetrain. Fun times!

 

[JRB416]

May 31, 1985 tornados

I was thinking a little more about this thread and a 1985 outbreak of tornados in Ohio probably left the greatest impression on me.

On the afternoon of May 31, 1985 there was an outbreak of tornados in east and north east Ohio. My cousin lived in Licking County not far from the small town of Utica. It was a payday Friday and her husband was sitting at the dining room table writing checks during a storm.

There was a large picture window across the table where he was sitting and when he heard a loud roaring noise he looked up and saw a huge twister coming towards them. He yelled for my cousin to run to the basement and grabbed their two year old son.

He said the noise was unbelievable as they ran underneath the basement staircase. After a very short while (seconds) it became quiet and he dared to peek out from under the stairs. He said all he could see was sky. As they were running to the basement, the house was being removed from over their heads.

I came out the next morning and spent a number of days helping my cousin and her husband clean up and salvage what little was left.

What I saw was amazing. The house was a two story and the only thing remaining was the first floor decking and a short section of wall where the kitchen cabinets were. They lost all of their animals, vehicles, clothing, etc.

My cousins in-laws had some land just north and there was about a one acre pond between the two property lines. The tornados path was along this pond and it sucked all but about one foot of water out of it. Her father in-laws house was completely gone except for a bathtub. They fortunately were not at home when the twister hit.

I don't recall the number of casualties in Ohio that day, as there were multiple outbreaks in northeastern Ohio. We were just lucky this was a sparsely populated area and no towns were hit. If I remember correctly this twister was an F4.

My cousin and her husband rebuilt on their land and they still live there today. The potential of tornado spawning storms has always made me nervous after seeing this aftermath.

 

[Rudi]

The Columbus Day Storm. Here in the PNW, the tail end of a hurricane hit us. Was it '62 or '63? I was just a little kid. Winds over 100 mph. Massive damage, trees down everywhere. I remember the apple tree in our front yard whipping back and forth, like a fly pole and shingles pealing off the roof. The power was off for a couple weeks. I remember mom making stew on our Coleman stove. Candles and a lantern and flashlights for light. Dad kept a good fire going in the fireplace.

 

[Onomea]

Our NY blizzard was about the same time. The day before my car had been broken into in the plant parking lot, so early the morning of the storm I dropped my car off at the glass repair shop. They drove me to work. The plan was that my boss would drop me off on his way home to pick up the car. The storm had been gathering all morning.

About 11:00 am my boss heard me on the phone. The message was from the shop that my car was ready. He said we are leaving now and not coming back. I was to pick up my wife later that afternoon from her job. She called me that her coworker was taking to her house, only a mile away. I picked her up and we were both hone snug as a bug in a rug.

Our driveway was blacktop and the direction of the wind passed the detached garage and out back door made the wind completely blow out my driveway. Our road had 4 feet of snow but I never had to lift a shovel. The house next door had a 20' drift up the front.

I had a case of beer, ample food and a gallon of milk. The furnace was plugging along We were stranded for 3 days, but we had no worries.

My first son was born 9 months later. I don't care what people say, but tht storm was the best week ever.

This is a wonderful story! Every now and then, if we are very, very fortunate, something like this happens.

 

[wood714]

Was the great blizzard of 78. I was a junior in high school, and it was the first and only time I experienced "thunder snow".

It was a true blizzard and the most severe weather emergency that directly affected my family and myself.

What is your most memorable weather event ?

I'd just moved from Cincinnati to Fairfield...around 25 miles north. I was 18 and still living at home. Had my girlfriend there, and my dad said to call her dad to see if she could stay due to the storm he'd just heard about on TV. Needless to say I was on my way back to Cincinnati when it hit. Took my dad's 66 Fairlane that had steel studded snow tires.

I made it to her house okay, but on the way back all the roads I knew were blocked with wrecks. We'd just moved to Fairfield that December. Took me 3 hours to make it back.

I think the April 3, 1974 tornado outbreak was worst than the 78 blizzard.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I think the April 3, 1974 tornado outbreak was worst than the 78 blizzard.

That is a true statement, but it is location based. It was horrible in the Xennia Area, but the rest of the state only experienced it from the news. The Blizzard covered most of Ohio, plus other major aeras out of state.

Ivan

 

[wood714]

That is a true statement, but it is location based. It was horrible in the Xennia Area, but the rest of the state only experienced it from the news. The Blizzard covered most of Ohio, plus other major aeras out of state.

Ivan

Sayler Park was destroyed too. Those tornadoes did a lot of damage in my area. Town Hall was condemned, it lifted the roof off out gym. Many houses were damaged beyond repair.

 

[otis24]

The winter here two years ago was the worst I’ve seen after living 34 years in South Dakota (originally from Arkansas). Five days of continuous snow and shutdowns. For many who were older than I, it was the worst blizzard in memory.

 

[The Big D]

Hurricane Camille-1969

Had a summer job at Morton’s Frozen Food in Crozet, VA, in 1969. My friend and worked evenings and typically got off after midnight. There were no outside views while working; we had no idea it was one of the largest hurricanes ever recorded.

We were traveling home to Charlottesville in monsoon rain when we crested a hill on Rt. 250 at the city limits. We were immediately submerged in water. Rolled down the windows, opened the doors, and swam to “shore.” It was not far but found Charlottesville PD personnel on the city side of the line.

Asked why they weren’t stopping traffic on the other side; they said it was out of their jurisdiction. Needless to say it was the single dumbest thing I (still) have ever heard.

Hurricane brought recorded breaking rain to Central Virginia and many lives were lost. It remains unforgettable.

Be safe.

 

[JohnRippert]

In 1970 we were living in Corpus Christi, TX when Hurricane Celia hit. I am including a pic of where we lived right next to Oso Bay. I am still amazed that storm surge did not flood us. Wind gusts were estimated to be up to 175mph since the wind gauge broke at 160mph. The eye went right over us but we were very lucky about damage. Broken windows and some shingle loss were it for us. The next door neighbors lost most of their roof.

I don't remember much of the aftermath because Mom and Dad sent my sister and I down to the Rio Grande Valley to stay with our aunt and uncle. I heard they were out of water for almost a week and power for two weeks or more. My most vivid memories of that incident were the patio door glass flexing in and out a inch in both directions before Mom grabbed and hustled us to the main bedroom. While in there a piece of debris broke the window. Dad got a piece of plywood out of the garage and was nailing it up over the window and got a cramp in his hand. That was the first time I ever heard him curse.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Asked why they weren’t stopping traffic on the other side; they said it was out of their jurisdiction. Needless to say it was the single dumbest thing I (still) have ever heard.

Be safe.

Not any worse than normal winter snowfalls: But on Valentines Day 2007 we had 5 or 6 inches in the Dublin, Powell, & Westerville area of Central Ohio. I shoveled, "snowblowered", and snow plowed for about 13 hours. On the way home. Powell PD/FD closed Powell Rd (SR 750) at the hill by SR 315, because of all the accidents. They diverted traffic onto a side street with no outlet! They could have diverted onto Liberty Road about 200' sooner and caused no problems at all! That's my "Dumbest Road closing story!"

Ivan

 

[llowry61]

I'd just moved from Cincinnati to Fairfield...around 25 miles north. I was 18 and still living at home. Had my girlfriend there, and my dad said to call her dad to see if she could stay due to the storm he'd just heard about on TV. Needless to say I was on my way back to Cincinnati when it hit. Took my dad's 66 Fairlane that had steel studded snow tires.

I made it to her house okay, but on the way back all the roads I knew were blocked with wrecks. We'd just moved to Fairfield that December. Took me 3 hours to make it back.

I think the April 3, 1974 tornado outbreak was worst than the 78 blizzard.

I agree that the devastation of the tornadoes in 74 was extreme, but not nearly as widespread.

My grandfather ran an apartment complex just outside of town which was not hit by the tornado, but we visited him regularly, so I was familiar with the town. When we visited after the tornadoes, we drove through the area the tornado hit. It looked like it had been bombed. You could not recognize where you were because everything was leveled.

The tornado hit shortly after school was out and the entire primary school was destroyed. If there was any good out of that whole event it was the timing.

I don't recall the 85 tornadoes in Licking County, but I am intimately familiar with the area around Utica. I had a friend who live on Ginger Hill just east of the Velvet Ice Cream factory off 13. I deer hunted out there for years. Big buck country for sure.

Ivan, that downhill on Powell Road to Olentangy is doozy when it is slick. I know it well. Used to go to the Powder Room before the uppity crowds shut them down.

 

[kozmic]

We beat the OP by a year and had the "Blizzard of '77". Everything was closed down for a week. I recall after the travel ban was lifted I was driving south on Transit Rd towards Buffalo and watched a plow driver smashing into a snow pile to get it off the side of the road. He got out of his sizable Cat 'dozer and was scratching his head as I approached. The snow was at least 10 foot tall and as I passed I saw some paint. The driver had been trying to move a buried vehicle. I can't imagine what it looked like when it was finally removed from its white tomb.
The other "highlight" (if you will) was our HS graduation was on 7/7/77 after having so many snow days they just kept extending the school year.

 

[Countrycuz]

Was the great blizzard of 78. I was a junior in high school, and it was the first and only time I experienced "thunder snow".

It was a true blizzard and the most severe weather emergency that directly affected my family and myself.

What is your most memorable weather event ?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/t...&cvid=0149218cb0344ebbc1beb9dc6cac55c4&ei=104

Was this about the time the "experts" were telling us the Earth was cooling and in 40 years we would be in a new Ice Age?

 

[llowry61]

Was this about the time the "experts" were telling us the Earth was cooling and in 40 years we would be in a new Ice Age?

Pretty much..........

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

RE. Blizzards and snow in Western New York.

One of the young couples from our church moved to the Buffalo area, they had no job lined up and everything they owned fit in their two 4x4 Pick-up trucks. About 8 years later they came by our church for a Homecoming Sunday. I got to talking to the wife about their employment. They never found jobs. The put snow blades on the trucks and plowed snow for a living. The previous winter they owned 14 trucks and had 20 some employees! They had no other jobs, plow snow as long as it lasted, then repair trucks getting ready for next year.

Ivan