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Ohio Valley No Stranger to Major Snow Events

Photo Provided A bulldozer is used to move snow from 41st and Franklin streets in Bellaire during the Blizzard of 1978 in this photo posted on social media.

The frequent snowstorms the Ohio Valley has dealt with this winter likely brings back memories of past blizzards experienced by many people in the region.

One such infamous storm talked about recently on social media is the “Blizzard of 1978.” The Ohio State Highway Patrol recently commemorated the 43rd anniversary of this massive storm by posting pictures of its aftermath on social media. The deadly storm, which happened in January, caused several feet of snow to pile up across Ohio and beyond.

“This historic winter storm struck the Ohio Valley from Jan. 25-27, 1978. The blizzard dumped vast amounts of snow with near-hurricane-strength wind gusts heaping snow into enormous drifts up to 15 feet tall,” the OSP noted.

On the Ohio Department of Transportation’s social media, Program Administrator Megan Mendenhall noted all storms are now measured against the 1978 blizzard because of its voracity. During the storm 70 people died with 51 of those people living in Ohio, she said in a video posted on ODOT’s Facebook page.

“With heavy snow and 70 mph winds, those winds created snow drifts of up to 25 feet, and dropped wind chills up to 65 degrees below zero,” she said.

Some interstates were closed for a week, and the Ohio Turnpike closed for the first time ever, Mendenhall added.

“Even the Ohio National Guard was called out to clear roads. Thousands of Ohioans were stranded in their vehicles and their homes,” she said.

According to the Ohio History Connection, wind gusts during the storm reach 100 mph in some areas leaving some to dub the blizzard the “white hurricane.”

“Nearly 6,000 people were stranded on Ohio roads. The extreme cold and precipitation caused the deaths of 51 people and resulted in more than $100 million in damage. Gov. James A. Rhodes declared a state of emergency calling the blizzard the ‘greatest disaster in Ohio history.’ The last of the snow didn’t melt in some northern areas of the state until May 5,” according to the Ohio History Connection Facebook page.

The history connection noted there were actually three major storms in January and February of 1978 that hit the Midwest and Northeast. But Ohio was hit hardest by the second storm, Jan. 25-27, with one to three feet of snow falling.

Though not technically classified as blizzards, many will likely also remember the great snowstorms of 1993, 1996 and 2013, all dumping significant amounts of snow across the Ohio Valley, forcing the closure of schools for days.

Prior to the Blizzard of 1978, one of the more significant storms was named the Great Appalachian Storm of 1950. It pounded portions of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky, with some areas receiving up to 62 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS notes this storm had both a frigid side and warm side. The warm side of the storm, which occurred Thanksgiving weekend, caused significant rain and flooding to occur in Pennsylvania.

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