When it was time to close the store, I gathered up a few groceries, milk, eggs, bread, etc., for I had 3 young sons depending on just me. Well it went through 1 ear and out the other. My dad had told me not to fret, that it was not going to do anything. I had gotten my brother to go check my bottled gas tank to make sure I had plenty of gas for heat. It was about 4:00 pm, the Knox radio station had announced blizzard warnings. I was working for my dad in a small country grocery store, located on Highway 8 between Highway 23 and Highway 17. How well I remember! Seems like it was yesterday.

In addition both stations set their all-time recorded minimum pressures on January 30th with South Bend reporting 28.82 inches (976 millibars) and Fort Wayne down to 28.78 inches (975 millibars). Fort Wayne faired little better with an average winter (DJF) temperature of 17.8В° and snowfall total of 60.6 inches with 25.3 inches coming in the month of January. January was the worst month overall with an amazing month snowfall of 86.1' and observed snowdepth of 41' on January 30th. This was preceded by the snowiest autumn (SON) on record with 30.6' recorded. This particular winter was especially fierce across the lower Great Lakes with the coldest and snowiest winter on record (since 1893) at South Bend with an average winter (DJF) temperature of 19.7В° and snowfall total of 136.3'. The Winter of 1977-78 had been one the coldest on record across the central and eastern United States as arctic airmasses periodically spilled southeastward out of Canada and met up with warm moist air from the deep south. The Great Blizzard of January 26-27th, 1978 came about in a winter known for cold and storms. As the arctic cold front pushed through the Great Lakes early on the 26th, temperatures plummeted with rain changing to heavy snow over northwest Ohio where winds gusted over 60 mph and an incredible gust of 82 mph measured at the Cleveland airport.Д«lizzard Warnings were hoisted across much of the Great Lakes and Upper Ohio Valley Region by daybreak on the 26th as the huge storm ( surface | 500mb) continued to track north into southwest Ontario with Sarnia ON reporting the lowest pressure on land at 28.21 inches (955 millibars). During the height of the storm, snow fell at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour with sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph with higher gusts and visibilites frequently at or below 1/16th of a mile. All-time record low barometric pressures were set along its path with the low's central pressure falling an incredible 40 millibars in 24 hours!Д«ands of heavy snow quickly developed overnight on the 25th and continued through most of the 26th. At the same time, snow began breaking out across Illinois, Indiana and Michigan with a mix of rain and snow changing to all rain over northwest Ohio due to warm air surging northward ahead of the rapidly intensifing storm. Meanwhile, across the north, the Arctic front barreled east across the upper midwest and into the western great lakes.ДЄs this process unfolded overnight on the 25th, the surface low deepened explosively over Alabama and Georgia as the subtropical and arctic jet stream began to phase with a jet streak of 150 knots noted and of which contributed to the tremendous intensification of the surface low as it ' bombed' northward into west Virginia. These two jet steaks initially split by a huge upper level ridge of high pressure along the west coast combined on the 25th with low pressure deepening as it moved from east Texas into Georgia by evening ( surface | 500mb). Concurrently, a strong upper level sub tropical jet streak was present across Arizona. It all began as the tremendous Arctic stream jet streak surged nearly due south while the associated Arctic cold front blasted through the northern plains late on the 24th. The phasing of these two systems was the key to the subsequent intensification and extent of this great storm. At the same time, another low pressure system in association with a disturbance embedded with the sub tropical jet stream across the southern United States was taking shape over eastern Texas. A strong low pressure system and arctic airmass was dropping southward out of Canada into the northern plains on the 24th. The massive storm began as two small but distinct storms. We will take a look back in time and look at how this Great Blizzard developed and share some memories from longtime residents of the area. One of the most powerful winter storms on record paralyzed the central and eastern United States in late January 1978.

White out blizzard