Daylight Saving: When Does the Time Change? Our sons went to a movie at Times Theater. When they talk about that winter, people still tell stories about where they were when the brunt of the storm hit; where they left their car, and what motel or restaurant gave them refuge. (2006). The city manager later ordered an investigation of snow-removal failures. fashion show raises money for breast cancer, Meet the Rochester Philharmonics new assistant conductor, Rochester Lilac Festival 2023: Heres what to expect, Chocolate Ball Fundraiser raises money for epilepsy, Autism Awareness & Acceptance Walk raises thousands, Healthy Male Role Models focuses on root of Roc. Our home was totally snowed in from every angle. [3] The storm was primarily known as "Storm Larry" in Connecticut, following the local convention promoted by the Travelers Weather Service on television and radio stations there. The ground blizzard of 1977 occurred in western New York and southern Ontario between January 28 and February 1, 1977. We had to go out on our tenants porch and slide down the drifts to get to the store at the corner. Here's your Rochester weather forecast for today and 5 days out. Hurricane force winds of 86 mph, with gusts up to 111 mph, and heavy precipitation, dropping at rates of up to 4 per hour, combined to create zero visibility conditions, making travel impossible and knocking out power in many areas. All across the western New York-Southern Ontario region, winds of up to 70 mph eventually created drifts that swallowed houses. I remember when all the people were out shoveling and walking the streets that is was odd because we were all talking and visiting and this was not done much in Cambridge. What a memory!! The storm helped make the winter of 1959-60 the snowiest in local history. WTCM radio staffer Marty Spaulding, who closed the bayfront location station the previous night at 11pm, was called to reopen it the next day at 6am as regular staffers could not get there due to impassable roads. This storm was billed at the worst in Rochester in a decade. Many people were stranded on highways and many did not make it home and had to stay the weekend at their places of employment, including my twin sister. 28.8 inches. She burned her lungs and died in 1978. It was around 1:30 p.m. that the employees were summoned to leave for home as it was predicted that a large snow storm was coming in with winds in excess of 70 miles an hour. yes i remember that was when the roads got plowed in back to back storms , and we had a competent highway dept supt, now for get it. Schools and most businesses closed; those that remained open had few customers, as no one could travel. Other transportation links were disrupted and shut down throughout the region, stranding public-transit commuters in city centers. The weekends storm has prompted many comparisons to the Blizzard of 1978. I do have some old pictures of this Historic & Deadly Storm. This reads like the beginning of a Stephen King story. If you ever get a chance to purchase it from the History Channel you willl see for you self it was a Historical event that will go down in History as one of the biggest and baddest winter snow storms ever. February 7, 2013 / 11:12 AM Several cars stuck on the roads and . I was in Rochester,NY for that storm(i was onlyl 10 yrs old) but my little brother and i will never forget it. A severe blizzard is characterized by wind speeds of 45 mph or higher accompanied by a great density of falling and/or blowing snow that frequently reduces visibilities to near zero, along with temperatures generally 10 degrees or lower. With all the snow this winter, we have often mentioned the big blizzard of 78. I felt panic because I couldnt get out of the drift. with them that day. You could see the top three or four inches of his van in the snow. My dad called me and said Uncle J was out of firewood. Historically strong winter storm across central and eastern USA in 1978, This article is about the blizzard in the central United States and Southern Ontario in Canada. In the city, people bemoaned the fact that the daily milk train had been hours late and delivery vehicles weren't able to navigate the streets. Please select one of the following: Local KILN Standard Radar (low bandwidth), Summary from NWS Akron, OH (Special Weather Statement from Feb 1, 1978), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I watched that county truck hit the drift and his rear wheels came off the ground! Some did not make it home for several days. February 5-7, 1978. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. [18][19] Duxbury Beach was hit with 85mph (137km/h) gusts and 93mph (150km/h) in Chatham.[20][21]. Snowmobiles became the only mode of transportation. An inch or more, usually much more, of snow remained on much of that area for nearly two months. The Blizzard of '66 featured a great deal of lake-effect snow, with reports of 100-inches snowfalls and 30-foot driftsat locations near the east end of Lake Ontario. It was a blessing that she wore a bright red car coat that day. It is often cited as one of the most severe blizzards in US history. Farmers had to pour out their milk because trucks could not get through to haul it to market. February 27 - March 3, 1984. DETROIT - It's been 44 years since a powerful blizzard dropped more than a foot of snow in Southeast Michigan, establishing itself as one of the more memorable weather events in recent history.. Harris, Patricia and Lyon, David. Elizabeth Alderfer, Rochester, submitted this photo showing above right the front of Torin, now Lau Industries, 510 N. Indiana 25, taken in January 1978 after the blizzard. NOTE: Unofficialrecords show a one-day snowfall of 30 inches on Feb. 15, 1837, and multi-day storms totaling 30 inches on Feb. 2-7, 1845 and Feb. 4-6, 1854. The 1978 blizzard killed about 100 people and injured about 4,500. We lived in South Bend, Indiana at the time, and I had a 6 y/o and a 1 y/o. Did you live through the Blizzard of 78? It was reported 100 contractors with frontend loaders were paid by the federal government to dig Indiana out. Below are a list of the worst winter storms in Rochester History. Nicholas Goldberg: Is God on the side of blasphemy laws? Rochester schools opened Feb. 1 but many were still unable to get through the rural roads. Electrical outages and shortages of natural gas caused the entire city to simply shut down. January 29 - February 2, 1966. Dick and Bea Gilliland took this photo above left of Westside Drive looking west toward Moose Lodge after the Blizzard of 1978. photo provided In many cases, those who had become ill or had been injured during the storm had to be taken to hospitals by snowmobile. At one point, he looked up at the lowering western skies and said, What the hell is that?. The storm was primarily known as "Storm Larry" in Connecticut, following the local convention promoted by the Travelers Weather Service on . This was the second day of a three-day event that became the biggest snowstorm on record here. [17], Women standing atop a snowdrift in Boston, Cars and trucks stuck in snow on Route 128 near Needham, Massachusetts, The storm's straight-line surface winds destroyed buildings along the coast, often aided by flooding and waves. I was In the Army at that time and it was my Unit from Ft. Bragg, NC that went to Buffalo and helped them to get dug out and made way to Ft. After experiencing several months of below-average temperatures, the western and northern regions of New York were ill-prepared for a massive snow storm. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, A powerhouse U.S. doctor slain in Sudan, killed for nothing, In final Mass in Budapest, pope urges Hungary to open doors, What GOPs plan for Medicaid work requirements would mean, Column: A centrist, third-party alternative for 2024 is a nice idea but a nightmare in practice, Chinese man who reported on COVID to be released after 3 years. In Indiana schools were closed for as much as three weeks,[13] and the historic state basketball tournament was postponed for 17 days. On the drive back home it seemed like it was getting colder and colder in the car and I turned on the heat. The 100 Years Ago article in The Sentinel told that on Feb. 2, 1878, the heaviest snow of the season occurred. And of course, we're along the shore of one of the world's largest snow-generating machines Lake Ontario. Wind gusts of 100mph (160km/h) were recorded in Plum Island and 110mph (180km/h) at First Cliff in Scituate, Massachusetts. On the way to Uncle Js, my radio just stopped working which mad efor a long drive If I remember right, the wind chill factor was -35 or -40 degrees. The Empire State has seen more than its fair share of historic snowy weather. Remember it well here in NYC,bout 18 inches fell up to two ft in long island,one of the worst storms ive seen,the forecasters here nailed it several days before. The weekend's storm has prompted many comparisons to the Blizzard of 1978. Scribbling about all things New York and Buffalo related while also keeping you updated on the latest travel news! The onslaught in 1993 may have been the last time before Wednesday that the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Rochester. This storm was billed at the worst in Rochester in a decade. We lived in Northern Indiana at the time, and was hit with the storm before it got to New England! My dad was stuck on 128 outside of Boston and my mom was home with 6 kids. Two days later, people wandering along the streets looking for food, drink and just something do to had bought up the shops entire liquor supply. [4] Snow fell mostly from Monday morning, February 6, to the evening of Tuesday, February 7. With our western borders lying along the shores of both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, this half of our state has become all too familiar with troublesome snow storms. On Friday, sensing the oncoming maelstrom, I caught the last Greyhound bus out of Buffalo back home to Syracuse. Please Contact Us. I was 16 years old and was out of school for a week as school was cancelled! Over 5,000 members of the Ohio National Guard were called in to make numerous rescues. So heres a yarn about one hopeless battle with Old Man Winter at his angriest. The cooperative observer station at the Bennetts Bridge power plant, near Altmar, NY, established an official all-time New York State monthly snowfall record with 192" of snowfall in January 1978.[16]. Monomoy Island was split into north and south parts. Some 2,500 houses were reported as seriously damaged or destroyed and 54 people were killed, many because of fallen electrical wires. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Governor Otis R. (Doc) Bowen declared a snow emergency for the entire state the morning of the 26th. Wind chills remained at 40 to 50 below zero nearly all day. The Great Blizzard of 1978 was a historic winter storm that struck the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions of the United States as well as Southern Ontario in Canada from Wednesday, January 25 through Friday, January 27, 1978. Thousands of employees were sent home starting in the early afternoon of February 6,[11] but thousands more were still caught by the storm. They had a woodburning stove and extended warm hospitality to family and neighbors in need . The powerful winter storm of 1978 was a severe blizzard. Classes at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana were canceled for the first time in the history of those universities; at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana (where 25 inches of snow fell) for the third time in its history; and, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for the first time since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. For them, the Mother of All Storms came earlier, that cruel January ambush known as the Blizzard of 77, with its icy fangs gnashing, its breath frozen. I was 5 at the time. A usual 15 minute ride turned into 2-1/2 hours, and as myself and another woman got off on the corner of West Utica, we immediately fell into a couple feet of snow.