The blizzard hitting the northeastern states as I write reminds me of The Great Blizzard of 1978 that swept across the Ohio Valley. The recap by the National Weather Service says it was not a blizzard but an even more dangerous "severe blizzard". This meant that winds exceeded 45 mph. It paralyzed the state for almost five days. Fifty-one deaths in Ohio were attributed to the storm. Near Cleveland, a barometer reading was recorded that was the lowest ever on the continental United States. It was like a hurricane on land. One to three feet of snow dropped from January 26th thru the 28th. Wind gusts exceeded 100 mph.
Here's the way it developed according to various reports. On January 24th, two unrelated low pressure areas were noted - one in the Gulf of Mexico and the other in North Dakota. The North Dakota system was expected to pass north of Ohio through the Great Lakes and the southern low was expected to move slowly to Ohio bringing rain maybe turning to snow.
On the morning of Wednesday, January 25th, the two weather systems seemed to be moving as forecast. Then, shortly after midday, something ominous happened. The North Dakota system began to track more to the southeast and the atmospheric pressure of the Gulf system, which was now leaving Louisiana, began to fall rapidly. The Weather Service now saw that the two systems were on a collision course - probably meeting over Ohio. At 4:30 pm, they issued a winter storm warning for the state and a heavy snow warning for northern Ohio. At 9:00 pm, the Weather Service changed the warnings to blizzard for the entire state.
It started here as rain. Temperatures were in the 40's. The last minute forecast change seemed crazy if you heard it. Many people were in bed before it was broadcast. By midnight, it seemed we were having a typical spring rainstorm. But, the wind speed continued to increase toward the morning of the 26th.
The two low pressure systems did meet in Ohio and a rare occurrence ensued. The systems twisted together. Warm air was now coming from the north and cold air from the south. The rain in Cincinnati abruptly changed to snow. Wind speeds increased to 70 mph and gusting much higher. Tree limbs, power lines, billboards and mobile homes were being taken down as we awoke on Thursday. Visibility was reduced to almost zero. The city shut down. Autos were stranded all around town and the wind blew huge drifts over them. Announcements were made that only emergency vehicles were permitted to travel. The Ohio National Guard was called in to assist. The temperature fell to near zero as the day wore on and the wind chill to minus 60 degrees.
I think I sat at the dining room table for four days; staring out the window to our back yard. I put food out for the birds on makeshift feeders. My sister, who was an emergency room nurse at the time, was picked up at her home by a big National Guard vehicle and taken to work.
It was the worst storm ever to hit Ohio. By the time I went to work the next Tuesday, it was still a mess on the roads. I just had to get out of the house. Thank God we didn't lose power.
Good luck, Boston. You've had a lot more notice than we had.
\o.o/
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