Blizzard of ’78 remains a touchstone for New Englanders who lived through it
There is a good reason New Englanders of a certain age can remember where they were the first week of February 1978. That’s the day everything went white.
For those who lived through it, the Blizzard of ’78 has been a touchstone for more than four decades. A slow-moving storm walloped the region fast falling, wind-blown sheets of snow.
The storm formed on Sunday, Feb. 5, and churned over New England throughout the day Monday, through Monday night and continued on Tuesday.
How many inches of snow fell during the Blizzard of '78?
By the time the snow settled, nearly 2 feet was on the ground in Boston. Part of Rhode Island measured it at 40 inches. Most of the area had around two feet of snow.
The effects were catastrophic. Widespread power outages affected thousands. Roads were closed and blocked with abandoned cars. Thousands were stranded in shelters as then-Gov. Mike Michael Dukakis declared a week-long state of emergency, making it a crime for non-emergency vehicles to use the roads.
PHOTOS: Looking back at the Blizzard of ’78 in Massachusetts
In all, 29 people were killed, 2,000 homes were destroyed and thousands more damaged.
The stories have lived on for more than two decades.
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Where were you during the Blizzard of '78?
A New Bedford mother remembers getting a ride home from strangers on snowmobiles after leaving the hospital following the birth of her son.
A Sherborn woman tells the story of her hours-long trek home from work aided by a friendly snowplow driver, resulting in a tearful call from her grateful mother to the highway superintendent.
Former Worcester Department of Public Works Commissioner F. Worth Landers recalls the challenges of the cleanup as snowplows had to dodge abandoned cars covered by the snow.
Cape Cod, Scituate, and other coastal communities had record storm surges
Cape Cod didn’t see the snowfall totals much of the rest of the state did, but winds were clocked at 93 miles per hour and record storm surges and new-moon high tides battered the region, sweeping away a literary landmark known as The Outermost House.
PHOTOS: Remembering the Blizzard of ’78 on Cape Cod
The tide was so bad, a Scituate man remembers a National Guard troop carrier coming to evacuate him after the first high tide of the night.
A Dover Point, New Hampshire, man shares the story of the Can Do, a 47-food pilot boat that was damaged in Gloucester Harbor as it tried to assist a 44-foot Coast Guard vessel that had run aground going out on a Mayday call for the tanker Global Hope that was anchored in Salem Sound and taking on water. Five men died aboard the Can Do.
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READ MORE: New Hampshire residents remember what it was like on the Seacoast
Rhode Island came to a complete standstill
The Providence Journal on Feb. 7, 1978 printed only a few thousand copies, and many were delivered by snowmobile — but the Storm Edition, bannered with the headline “R.I. strangled by blizzard,” had made it to press, as recalled in a 40th-anniversary article of the news coverage.
“10 dead, maybe more; emergency declared,” the main headline stated. “900 students marooned in schools,” read the headline of another front-page story. “Buses halted, Green closed, autos stalled,” read a third. Inside, advice was offered: “A sense of humor is best snow defense.”
READ MORE: Rhode Island tales: Blizzard of ’78 memories swirl 40 years later
So 43 years later, do you remember where you were during the blizzard?
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Blizzard of 1978: A look back at a historic snow storm for New England
