Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978

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The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 ^{[1] [2]}was a severe nor'easter that brought blizzard conditions to the New England region of the United States, and the New York metropolitan area.

The Blizzard of 1978 formed on February 5, 1978, and broke up on February 8, 1978. Snowfall occurred primarily between the morning of the 6th and the evening of the 7th. Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts were particularly hard hit by this storm. In all, up to 55 inches of snow fell in some areas.

The Blizzard of 1969, the Great Blizzard of 1888, and The Great Snow of 1717 were storms that were similar in their magnitude as this one.

[edit] Meteorological synopsis

The Blizzard of 1978 formed after three air masses were merged into one. One air mass formed over western Pennsylvania, another over northern Georgia, and the third over the Atlantic off the coast of North Carolina. They all then converged over New England.

National Weather Service forecasters in Boston had seen this potential on their then-primitive computer forecast models. They issued a Winter Storm Watch for southern New England early morning on Sunday the 5th. Heavy snow warnings were issued by early Monday morning with blizzard conditions predicted shortly thereafter.^[3]

As the storm intensified, a strong high pressure area was stationary over eastern Canada, effectively trapping the developing low off the Southern New England coast, causing the heaviest snow bands to loop continuously across the Southern New England area.

Satellite Image of 78 Blizzard

[edit] Storm strength

The storm's great power was made apparent by its sustained hurricane-force winds of approximately 75 mph and the formation of an eye-like structure located in the middle of the storm. While a typical nor'easter brings steady snow for six to twelve hours, the Blizzard of '78 brought heavy snow for a full 33 hours as it was blocked from heading into the North Atlantic by the strong Canadian high pressure area.

An atypical vertical development of storm clouds brought unusual thundersnow to southern New England and Long Island. These storms resulted in lightning and thunder accompanying the snowfall as it fell at a rate of 4 inches an hour at times.

[edit] Impact

[edit] Conditions

One of the major problems with the Blizzard of 1978 was the lack of knowledge about the storm's severity. Because weather forecasting in New England is difficult, meteorologists had developed a reputation as being inaccurate. Forecasting techniques and technology had improved dramatically in the 1970s, but the public was still quite skeptical. Despite the accuracy of NWS forecasters' predictions concerning the Great Blizzard, when the snow failed to arrive in the pre-dawn hours as predicted, many locals felt it to be another failed forecast and went to work and school. Because of this, people did not have enough time or will to prepare properly for the blizzard.^[4]

The state of Massachusetts had a system in place for notifying major employers to send employees home early in the event of heavy storms. Although thousands of employees were sent home starting in the early afternoon, thousands more were still caught by the storm. Some did not make it home for several days.

Many people were stranded in their cars along roads and highways throughout the New England region. People perished on Interstate 95/Route 128 outside Boston as snow piled high enough to prevent the exhaust from escaping from their idling vehicles. Route 128 eventually had to be evacuated by cross-country skiers and snowmobilers. Over 3,500 cars were found abandoned and buried in the middle of roads during the clean-up effort. This figure does not include the countless other vehicles buried in driveways, on the sides of streets, and in parking lots. Other transportation links were disrupted and shut down region-wide, stranding public transit commuters in city centers.

Throughout eastern Massachusetts, automobile traffic was banned for the remainder of the week. Thousands of people walked around the quiet city streets and frozen Charles River, some on cross-country skis.

This blizzard was one of the worst in Rhode Island's history, catching many residents as well as the state's government off guard. Providence County, Rhode Island was the hardest hit by the blizzard; in particular, the towns of Lincoln, Smithfield, Woonsocket and North Smithfield all reported at least 40" of total snowfall from the system. ^[5]

In New York City, it was one of the rare times that a snowstorm closed the schools; in fact, the New York City school district would not close again due to snow until the Blizzard of 1996, 18 years later. While most suburban districts in the area close for snow several times each winter, they rarely do in the city itself because of relatively easy access to underground subways whose ability to run is not appreciably affected by moderate snowstorms.

While the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was closed, students created other projects

While many people had been caught in the storm while driving, many others were trapped in their homes or offices with snow drifts of up to 15 feet in some places blocking the exits. In many cases, those who had become ill or had been injured during the storm had to be taken to hospitals by snowmobile. Other people were able to leave their homes and travel for assistance by cross-country skis and sleds. One unofficial report stated that 4% of the students, staff, and faculty at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, incurred some sort of injury requiring medical attention as a result of the blizzard.^{[citation needed]} On the evening of the blizzard, two Brown students who were also Red Cross volunteers were able to make their way on snowshoes to the Providence office of the Red Cross. All the regular Red Cross disaster staff were stranded at their homes. People from throughout the city called the office to ask for food and other supplies. Many of these people had abandoned their cars on the I-195, and found their way to makeshift shelters in various buildings near the highway. At 2 am the two students loaded backpacks full of supplies from the Red Cross stockrooms and headed out towards the shelters. They encountered high winds and cars covered in feet of snow. One Providence fire truck was stranded across an intersection in Fox Point, its red lights spinning and firemen asleep in the cab. The students were able to reach shelters with food and supplies, and headed back to the Red Cross office. At 5 AM they were able to borrow snowshoes and skis from the Brown Outing Club, and contacted the media to recruit neighbors and students who were skilled in winter travel. More than 500 students and neighbors took shifts around the clock delivering supplies to private homes and makeshift shelters across Providence. At one point a National Guard helicopter landed on the school's athletic field to refresh the Red Cross supplies. These volunteers were part of a larger effort of citizens taking care of each other for days, awaiting rescue by National Guard units from the Carolinas who came equipped with front-loaders large enough to begin moving snow off the streets of Providence.

There was also the issue of flooding along coastal areas. The fierce northeast winds from the storm - with the low pressure area stalled off of Martha's Vineyard - combined with astronomically high tides and storm surge resulting from the storm's low pressure to send water over low-lying land along the shores of Long Island Sound, Cape Cod Bay, and other bodies of water, resulting in some of the worst coastal flooding ever recorded. The flooding continued through two days of tide cycles, a total of four successive high tides. Thousands of homes throughout coastal Massachusetts were damaged or destroyed, as well landmarks such as "Motif Number 1" in Rockport, an oft-painted fisherman's shack renowned in art circles. ^[6] The region's fishing fleet was likewise decimated by the storm. ^[7]

[edit] Aftermath and recovery

Both Boston and Providence recorded all-time highs for 24-hour and storm snowfall records.^[8] Many people were left without heat, water, food, and electricity for over a week after the storm finished. Approximately 10,000 people were forced to temporarily move into emergency shelters. Some 2,500 houses were reported seriously damaged or destroyed and 54 people were killed, many from fallen electric wires. Several people were found dead in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, particularly in the vicinity of the central police station, who may have died trying to seek shelter. A young child in Massachusetts disappeared in the snow just feet from his home's front door, but could not be found until the snow melted. The majority of the interstate system had to be shut down, with some stretches not reopening to traffic until the following week. Air and rail traffic also had to be shut down until the situation cleared up.

Because the snowfall rates were so high, plows could not keep up with removal as fresh amounts fell, causing it to pile up too high to be plowed easily. Plows were further hampered by the number of cars stuck on the roads because of the heavy snow. In Boston, much of the snow had to be hauled and dumped in the harbor. Throughout the region, the high winds caused enormous drifts.

A state of emergency was declared by governors in the affected states and the United States National Guard was called out to help clear the roads. Additional troops were flown into Boston to assist. It took six days to clear the roads as cars and trucks buried under the snow needed to be removed before they could be opened. The blizzard brought out a feeling of camaraderie, as it affected everyone equally. Neighbors assisted each other, using sleds to transport elderly persons and helping to deliver groceries for those in need. Governor Ella Grasso ordered all roads in Connecticut closed except for emergency travel, effectively shutting down the state for three days; Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts did the same.

Extensive beach erosion occurred on the east coast of Massachusetts. Especially hard-hit were Cape Cod and Cape Ann, both located on the eastern shore of Massachusetts. Duxbury Beach was hit with 85 mph gusts. On Cape Cod, the Pamet River broke through to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time during this storm, completely washing away the link between the North and South Pamet Roads. The town chose not to reconstruct the link, though the right-of-way is still open to pedestrians.

Many homes along the New England and Long Island coastlines were destroyed or washed into the ocean. Many roof collapses occurred across New England from the snow (although not that of the Hartford Civic Center, which had collapsed a few weeks earlier in the morning of January 18, 1978^[9] during another snowstorm).

The Blizzard of '78 eventually gave birth to a tradition in Southern New England known as the "bread and milk runs". This was because when frantic people went to the supermarket, all the bread and milk that the markets had were gone in a flash. Thus, some of the injuries incurred because there was a shortage of bread and milk.^[10] In one situation, a plane had to carry supplies of milk to Providence College because all the roads in the neighborhood (which is also home to Rhode Island College and La Salle Academy, a Catholic high school) were blocked by the snowfall. After the Blizzard of '78, it became a custom in regions of Massachusetts and Rhode Island that whenever a severe storm approached, such as a hurricane or a blizzard, most Bay Staters and Rhode Islanders jammed supermarkets to buy bread and milk, while the markets tried to keep up with demand. This also became common in the Mid-Atlantic region as well (such as in the New York City and Philadelphia areas).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• NWS Boston Page of the 1978 blizzard