Flashback the Blizzard of 1978

Blizzard of 1978
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Flashback the Blizzard of 1978

Waking up in the morning on January 26th, 1978, was a wonderful time if you were a kid in Toledo, Ohio, Though the blizzard only dropped a little over a foot of snow, the wind was gusting at 50 miles per hour, causing drifts as high as 16 or more feet. Plus there was already snow on the ground from a December 5th 9″ snowstorm and then a December 9th snowstorm of another 9″, three inches on New Year’s day, and more snow on the 8th and 4 more inches on the 9th. The temperatures had only reached the low 50s, causing some, but little melting of the snow. Then the blizzard starts with freezing rain and a thunderstorm. By 6 a.m., the temperature dropped to the negative single digits, followed by large wet snowflakes.

I remember climbing out the second-story window and onto a drift of snow that had blown against the house. One of the hardest hit areas was Lucas county and I lived in Lucas County in the Point Place area.

I remember walking down the “street” pulling a sled, and walking to the store as a family.

In many areas, the snow was too much for a snow plow to move and it required heavy equipment. We were snowed in for days and school was canceled for a while as well.

The Blade, January 26, 1978
Jeff Heitz from WTOL 11 News covering the storm The Blizzard of ’78 Documentary Sources: https://www.toledohistorybox.com/2018/01/19/the-blizzard-of-1978-toledo/
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Average Joe

Welcome to the Average Joe Weekly blog. This is basically my place on the web where I can help spread some of the knowledge that I have accumulated over the years. I served 10+ years in the Marine Corps on Active Duty, but that was some 25 years ago.

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By Average Joe

Welcome to the Average Joe Weekly blog. This is basically my place on the web where I can help spread some of the knowledge that I have accumulated over the years. I served 10+ years in the Marine Corps on Active Duty, but that was some 25 years ago.

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