46 years since the Blizzard of 1978

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

46 years ago today is when all of Ohio was in the second day of the worst winter storm in the state’s history.

It’s now known as the infamous “Blizzard of 1978” and it literally paralyzed the entire Buckeye State. The massive winter storm shut down transportation, business, industry and schools statewide for two days and it was nearly a week before things were back to normal.

With hardly any warning, the blizzard hit northwest Ohio before dawn on Thursday, January 26, 1978, and lasted well into Friday, January 27. As the historic winter storm arrived, temperatures plunged by over 30 degrees in just hours. Heavy snow was followed by winds gusts of 50-80 miles per hour with gusts over 100 miles per hour near Lake Erie. In addition, the barometric pressure reached historically low levels.

More than 13 inches of snow fell and with the strong winds, snow drifts in some locations measured over 15 feet high. Thousands of people were stranded tens of thousands were without power in the extreme cold. I-75 was closed for three days and the length of the Ohio Turnpike was closed for the first time in its history. The Ohio National Guard was called into active duty with over 5,000 personnel to assist in rescue and recovery efforts.

President Jimmy Carter declared a federal disaster and dispatched 300 federal troops with front-end loaders, bulldozers, personnel carriers and fuel tankers, to clear roads and rescue people in northwest Ohio. The death toll of 51 reported made the Blizzard of 1978 one of the deadliest winter storms known in Ohio.

Van Wert County EMA Director Rick McCoy was 19 at the time and was working at the county extension service and part-time as the Village Marshal in Convoy.

“I actually got stranded at home when the storm hit,” McCoy said. “I helped my dad milk the cows during the storm and we actually had to dump the milk down the drain because the milk truck couldn’t make it to the farm to get the milk. Once a bulldozer came down and opened our road, we transported milk into Convoy for people as they had no milk.”

“I remember listening on our base CB radio to semi drivers stranded on 30 with their semi rigs buried in the snow,” he continued. “The fire department kept talking to them on the radio to keep them awake so they wouldn’t fall asleep and die from hypothermia.”

Anyone who was living in Van Wert County or the surrounding area and has memories of the Blizzard of 1978 is encouraged share them via email, editor@thevwindependent.com. Please include your name and where you lived at the time of the blizzard. Photos are welcome as well. If enough submissions are received by 5 p.m. Sunday, they’ll be featured in a special article on Monday.