Blizzard of 1978

On January 25 1978 it was a mild day. Highs were in the 40's with some fog. The weather forecast for January 26 1978 was a normal January day with High's in the low 30's with some snow. The weather was to be much worse than expected.

On January 25th, a low pressure area in Louisiana formed. It then moved north late on the 25th and combined with a another low pressure area and cold air over the Great Lakes. The storm merged over Southern Ohio. The National Weather service was not able to pinpoint the forecast for Cleveland until 10 p.m. A blizzard warning was then issued

The storm first hit Cincinnati and then Columbus. At 4 a.m the storm passed over Cleveland. The temperature was 44 degrees by 6 am, the temperature had dropped to 14 degrees. The barometer dropped to 28.28 which is still a record to this day. The winds at Hopkins gusted to 82 mph. A wind gust of 103 mph was recorded at the water intake plant in Lake Erie. The J Burton Ayers, an iron ore ship, battled gusts near 111 mph. Snow and wind knocked out power to tens of thousands in the Cleveland area and around Ohio.

In Euclid, 8,000 people lost power. Emergency Centers were set up at Euclid Square Mall, Briardale Community Center and some local schools. Police helped 33 stranded motorists and 60 cars were towed after they got stuck.Winds tore off a canopy on East 266th.

 In Cleveland 1000 people were in emergency shelters due to blizzard conditions. Northwest Ohio was even harder hit with people trapped on the Ohio turnpike. Radio stations in the area interrupted regular programming for news reports on the blizzard.

On the evening of January 26, Governor James Rhodes called out the National Guard. They rescued people that were stranded on the Ohio Turnpike. Rhodes also asked for four wheel drive vehicles to find stranded people on the highway. Airports around the state of Ohio were closed.

The blizzard wound down by the evening of January 27th. By the 28th the blizzard had ended. Schools were closed into the next week. Cleveland ended up with only 7.1 inches of snow. In northwestern Ohio helicopters brought in supplies and brought people to hospitals. Roads were still clogged due to the blowing and drifting snow into the following week. The state hired outside contractors to clear the roads. 51 people were killed during the storm. Agricultural loses totaled 73 million dollars due to the storm.