34 Years ago today

[KEITH L.I]

The snow started in Babylon Long Island at midnight on Sunday night the fifth.It was light snow at first but winds started gusting.BY morning there was an inch or two in the ground.Snow hand wind picked up around 9am and by noon there was whiteout conditions..we had about a foot on the ground by 6 where there was a dry slot.Storm Field on channel 7 said the worst of the storm is over lol..LIttle did anyone know about the backlash which started about 8pm on the 6th.Heavy snow and hurricane force wind gusts and visability near 0 continued until 8am the next morning.I walked outside with my dad and could not believe the drifts..to the top of my garage.the snow continued until a little after noon when it fianlly tapered off.Incredible storm..the most snow I ever seen!

[CT Rain]

On the south coast we had zero snow left from the Jan storm, we had a torch rainstorm in between storms.

Yeah just north did though. Storrs, Thompson, etc had snow OTG as did areas west toward HFD.

[ORH_wxman]

It's funny how you have a fetish for downsloping in Hartford in big events yet it rarely happens. Springfield is an entirely different story. But I honestly don't think downsloping in HFD or Middletown is anywhere near as big of a deal as you and some others make it out to be lol

Well there's a reason that BDL only had one snow event over 20" in their history before Feb '06 and Jan '12 where they got smoked by mesoscale banding.

Maybe they just got unlucky. I didn't really ever quantify the downslope effect there, but it definitely exists. Just look at all the snow maps in the Kocin book, there is frequently a min there...I agree its definitely worse in MA than N CT though.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Well there's a reason that BDL only had one snow event over 20" in their history before Feb '06 and Jan '12 where they got smoked by mesoscale banding.

Maybe they just got unlucky. I didn't really ever quantify the downslope effect there, but it definitely exists. Just look at all the snow maps in the Kocin book, there is frequently a min there...I agree its definitely worse in MA than N CT though.

Jan 2012???

Do you mean 2011? Or did I sleep through something again

[ORH_wxman]

Jan 2012???

Do you mean 2011? Or did I sleep through something again

Oops, I got Jan 12th and 2011 crossed in my head...but yeah, 1/12/11

[Hambone]

Good story Hambone. I remember you talked about that storm several months ago. I think I know the golf course you talk about.

I think it's called Wedgewood Country Club now. It used to be Pine Valley back in the day. WE had the old Skyview Drive In in our backyard.

[HoarfrostHubb]

The inaccessible roads didn't stop the calls from coming, though. While he remembers the cold, Uxbridge Police Chief John Creighton said thinking about the storm always reminds him of the search for Peter Gosselin, a young boy found dead a few months after the storm, buried under snow mere feet away from his family's front door.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x573334566#ixzz1ljRm6FVt

[Ginx snewx]

AMS journal on 78

http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0493%281978%29106%3C0746%3AWACOF%3E2.0.CO%3B2

[CoastalWx]

I think it's called Wedgewood Country Club now. It used to be Pine Valley back in the day. WE had the old Skyview Drive In in our backyard.

Yeah I know where it is. I grew up on the sw side of the city, like 2 miles nw of there.

[Turtle]

I think as the low occluded, there was a weenie band that rolled in from BOS harbor and points sw into interior se mass and ri. Part mid level frontogenesis, but also part CF/OES perhaps. And yeah, I wouldn't even doubt mt grandparents had more. I'm being conservative with 3', but I think there was some still OTG before the storm happened, in shady areas. I saw a 55" report in Lincoln RI, but I think that's too high for that storm.

Agreed on the 55" total but I do thing there were a lot of us that got 42"+ (Woonsocket had 38" officially) just from that storm in an arc from that Lincoln, RI area up to Foxboro and over towards Brockton. This storm coupled with the prior system of ~18" imby, 4-5' otg is not hard to believe.

Dave, I did post pictures either here or at Eastern from what my dad found.

OK people...I only included the 55" report from Lincoln, RI, because it was on a map that was published in the Providence Journal. We feel this was measured in drifts. I thought I made sure that it was "unofficial" reports, and I believe it says that on the scanned newspaper map.

You also need to remember that between the mid January storm and the Blizzard there was ANOTHER storm, the one that is called the "Blizzard of '78" in the Ohio Valley with the lowest pressures ever recorded there. We got rain out of that one (which was forecasted snow BTW), which took out some of the snowpack before the Blizzard. It was amazing to see THREE major storms, two in the northeast, during a nearly 2 week timeframe.

Also remember, too, that the LFM was in its infancy. It was pretty much horrible in forecasting storms that winter, EXCEPT for the Blizzard. That one, it nailed except for being off on the timing by a few hours, which made all the difference in having folks heading into work vs. staying home on a Monday morning.

--Turtle

[CoastalWx]

OK people...I only included the 55" report from Lincoln, RI, because it was on a map that was published in the Providence Journal. We feel this was measured in drifts. I thought I made sure that it was "unofficial" reports, and I believe it says that on the scanned newspaper map.

You also need to remember that between the mid January storm and the Blizzard there was ANOTHER storm, the one that is called the "Blizzard of '78" in the Ohio Valley with the lowest pressures ever recorded there. We got rain out of that one (which was forecasted snow BTW), which took out some of the snowpack before the Blizzard. It was amazing to see THREE major storms, two in the northeast, during a nearly 2 week timeframe.

Also remember, too, that the LFM was in its infancy. It was pretty much horrible in forecasting storms that winter, EXCEPT for the Blizzard. That one, it nailed except for being off on the timing by a few hours, which made all the difference in having folks heading into work vs. staying home on a Monday morning.

--Turtle

Yeah I think the 55" may have had to do with drifting. It's no big deal, I actually saw Harvey throw that up, and not from your site or anything else. If you recall..we kind of had the same problem in the big Jan 2005 blizzard. There were 12" differences in snow amounts within the same town..lol. Besides, 35"..45"...what's the difference, that is a sh*t load of snow.

[CoastalWx]

Who posted that article about how HPC forecasted QPF amounts of 1-2" based on the mid level track features? There was an article about how they forecasted QPF amounts and went much higher than the actual model QPF.

[ORH_wxman]

OK people...I only included the 55" report from Lincoln, RI, because it was on a map that was published in the Providence Journal. We feel this was measured in drifts. I thought I made sure that it was "unofficial" reports, and I believe it says that on the scanned newspaper map.

You also need to remember that between the mid January storm and the Blizzard there was ANOTHER storm, the one that is called the "Blizzard of '78" in the Ohio Valley with the lowest pressures ever recorded there. We got rain out of that one (which was forecasted snow BTW), which took out some of the snowpack before the Blizzard. It was amazing to see THREE major storms, two in the northeast, during a nearly 2 week timeframe.

Also remember, too, that the LFM was in its infancy. It was pretty much horrible in forecasting storms that winter, EXCEPT for the Blizzard. That one, it nailed except for being off on the timing by a few hours, which made all the difference in having folks heading into work vs. staying home on a Monday morning.

--Turtle

\

I think it was the LFM model (IIRC) that forecasted the Ohio Blizzard of '78 to be a huge east coast snowstorm...I recall reading that somewhere...maybe it wasn't the LFM that predicted it, but I thought it was. Regardless I also remember reading that a lot of places canceled school the night before and then woke up to 55F and rain, lol.

[Hambone]

Yeah I know where it is. I grew up on the sw side of the city, like 2 miles nw of there.

We were the first house in West Bridgewater... 2 Copeland St. Golf course across the street, horse and cow Farm next door with hundreds of acres of fields, Drive In theatre in the back yard... my dad and his brothers built a 20X40 inground pool in 1960.... it was like living in Disneyland in the 1960s.

[CoastalWx]

We were the first house in West Bridgewater... 2 Copeland St. Golf course across the street, horse and cow Farm next door with hundreds of acres of fields, Drive In theatre in the back yard... my dad and his brothers built a 20X40 inground pool in 1960.... it was like living in Disneyland in the 1960s.

So you thought about 42" huh? Wow. My folks were saying the snow got wet for a time...maybe briefly, but do you remember that?

[CoastalWx]

We were the first house in West Bridgewater... 2 Copeland St. Golf course across the street, horse and cow Farm next door with hundreds of acres of fields, Drive In theatre in the back yard... my dad and his brothers built a 20X40 inground pool in 1960.... it was like living in Disneyland in the 1960s.

LOL, we used to go to the south side Shaw's a lot when I lived there. Small world.

[Hambone]

Yeah I think the 55" may have had to do with drifting. It's no big deal, I actually saw Harvey throw that up, and not from your site or anything else. If you recall..we kind of had the same problem in the big Jan 2005 blizzard. There were 12" differences in snow amounts within the same town..lol. Besides, 35"..45"...what's the difference, that is a sh*t load of snow.

Just south of Brockton, in the swath from Weymouth to Providence, I remember this band that moved in late on the first night of the storm that poured dendrites for hours like nothing I have seen then or since. I stayed outside (with some errr.... "assistance") for a huge % of the storm and witnessed a tremendous thunderstorm, 50 MPH sustained winds and conditions that were once in a lifetime. A biblical snow storm. It was almost impossible to accurately measure the snow around us because of the winds.

My father worked for the phone company and had a Civil Defense Card that allowed him to drive during the ban. He had to head to the south coast to check on underground conduit that got washed out. Somewhere around Scituate he found a beach covered in 2-3 pound lobsters that were slowly freezing to death... My mother boiled and froze lobster meat for a couple of days... Our freezer had over 100 pounds of meat that lasted us into the summer. (We're a big "lobster" family)

[CoastalWx]

Just south of Brockton, in the swath from Weymouth to Providence, I remember this band that moved in late on the first night of the storm that poured dendrites for hours like nothing I have seen then or since. I stayed outside (with some errr.... "assistance") for a huge % of the storm and witnessed a tremendous thunderstorm, 50 MPH sustained winds and conditions that were once in a lifetime. A biblical snow storm. It was almost impossible to accurately measure the snow around us because of the winds.

My father worked for the phone company and had a Civil Defense Card that allowed him to drive during the ban. He had to head to the south coast to check on underground conduit that got washed out. Somewhere around Scituate he found a beach covered in 2-3 pound lobsters that were slowly freezing to death... My mother boiled and froze lobster meat for a couple of days... Our freezer had over 100 pounds of meat that lasted us into the summer. (We're a big "lobster" family)

LOL, wow! That's awesome about the lobster meat.

That sounds like maybe the band that moved in and got that area good. I think another band or two came in the next day as well, when the storm started to occlude and the precip got a little more banded instead of uniform. Great accounts.

[Collinsville]

My father wrote this about his ride home in the 78 storm

-1978 snowstorm – scariest ride ever

I was working at one of the fortune 500 insurance companies in Hartford. When I came back from lunch every doodoo in the building could see the snow really starting to accumulate. Everyone stopped working and was looking out the windows. Talk centered around when the corporate brains would let us out early.

Two o’clock came and went and no word from the corporate brass. It was getting ridiculous. I had a 17 mile commute out to the suburbs. I snapped. I just went out the back door and didn’t tell anyone I was leaving.

I got on I-84 westbound with my 1972 Ford Torino wagon. This boat was pathetic in the snow, any snow. I kept it to the floor and just plowed ahead knowing full well if I stopped I was dead. Outbound a few miles (I think) and all of a sudden I realized I had no idea where I was and where the road was. I mean ANY of the three lanes. I couldn’t see the road, overpasses, lights, railing, no other cars…..no nothing. I started to slow down now worried I was going to plow into something. Luckily, just then, a SUV blew past me going some 60+ and I floored it trying to keep his red tail lights in view. I figured if he went off the road I could still stop the boat in time.

Now I was very lucky when I was just losing sight of the SUV when I realized that he actually took my exit. It was basically flat road from then until the last mile when I had to head up a steep hill to my house. I knew I wouldn’t make it and wouldn’t even try.

It was already getting dark. At the bottom of the hill, downtown, I took a turn and pulled into the Town Hall public parking lot and slid into a spot. There were just a few cars there all pretty well buried. I walked into the police station in the bottom floor of the building and asked the dispatcher if the town plow was in the area and ready to go up the hill. I needed a ride. It was dark now

The plow pulled up to the police station 20 minutes later. I knew the driver. He was a short French guy who was now sitting on cushions in the driver seat to keep him elevated over the window. It was a junk snowplow. The defrost wasn’t working. The lights were blinding with the snow. Even worse, this Frenchie was puffing on a cigar in the cab. Forget the smell. I couldn’t even see to the INSIDE of the windshield with all the smoke. He kept wiping the windshield with a towel. I couldn’t see the road. I asked him if he could see the road. He didn’t say anything.

Then the plow truck lurched to the left. I banged my head against the passenger side window.

“What was that?” I asked.

He said, “There was a car stuck there.”

Jesus, I didn’t see it.

He dropped me off near my driveway and I just ran into the front door. My office shoes and suit were wet. It was already up to my knees….but I made it. A thousand co-workers were stuck back in the office…FOR 3 DAYS.

[ORH_wxman]

Wow, great story...that sounds like many of the stories from around Boston with people getting stuck at work.

[Ginx snewx]

Just south of Brockton, in the swath from Weymouth to Providence, I remember this band that moved in late on the first night of the storm that poured dendrites for hours like nothing I have seen then or since. I stayed outside (with some errr.... "assistance") for a huge % of the storm and witnessed a tremendous thunderstorm, 50 MPH sustained winds and conditions that were once in a lifetime. A biblical snow storm. It was almost impossible to accurately measure the snow around us because of the winds.

My father worked for the phone company and had a Civil Defense Card that allowed him to drive during the ban. He had to head to the south coast to check on underground conduit that got washed out. Somewhere around Scituate he found a beach covered in 2-3 pound lobsters that were slowly freezing to death... My mother boiled and froze lobster meat for a couple of days... Our freezer had over 100 pounds of meat that lasted us into the summer. (We're a big "lobster" family)

Not too many people remember that T storm as it was around 2 AM and was super intense, constant lightning and thunder with winds so loud it was hard to hear anything even inside. I was living near the Ocean, winds were gusting near 90 and in that totally insane TStorm higher.

[Baroclinic Zone]

I know my mother had to get to work and she was driven by the police from the end of our street to Norwood Hospital. She ended up statying there the week I belive leaveing my dad to take care of us. He had to walk to Shaw's in Sharon, ~2miles one way, to get some food, etc....

[CoastalWx]

All these stories goes to show you how epic the storm was. These weren't some old farmers tale from 1750 about snow up to thy knickers or whatever the hell they wore, this was the real deal.

[Ginx snewx]

All these stories goes to show you how epic the storm was. These weren't some old farmers tale from 1750 about snow up to thy knickers or whatever the hell they wore, this was the real deal.

I worked at Almacs grocery store, after 3 days being closed we opened and delivered food to folks in the country through the Nat Guard. It is hard to describe how incredible some areas were. What I do remember was the density of the snow was so thick because of the winds. There was a period of sleet too for an hour or so. My neighbor up here once told me that he measured 44 inches in non drifted areas, lots of woods up here and lots less wind. I wish there were radar images, I imagine there were bands from the Boston area to NE CT that were sick.

[Baroclinic Zone]

Omg

Almacs, I remember that store.

There was one in foxboro.

[Ginx snewx]

Omg

Almacs, I remember that store.

There was one in foxboro.

I worked from age 15-21 at the Westerly store. Our softball team won the New England championship in 77.

My favorite memory was skiing to work down RT 1 to help open so people could get supplies.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Omg

Almacs, I remember that store.

There was one in foxboro.

We walked pulling a sled to the Shaws, too, but it was still BPM back then. I also remember getting a hot chocolate at the Bliss Bros at the end of that strip. I worked at Shaws in high school and college

[HoarfrostHubb]

And Almacs (now a Job Lot) was cool because they had one of those wheeled conveyor things that sent your bagged groceries outside to be picked up

[NorthShoreWx]

The snow started in Babylon Long Island at midnight on Sunday night the fifth.It was light snow at first but winds started gusting.BY morning there was an inch or two in the ground.Snow hand wind picked up around 9am and by noon there was whiteout conditions..we had about a foot on the ground by 6 where there was a dry slot.Storm Field on channel 7 said the worst of the storm is over lol..LIttle did anyone know about the backlash which started about 8pm on the 6th.Heavy snow and hurricane force wind gusts and visability near 0 continued until 8am the next morning.I walked outside with my dad and could not believe the drifts..to the top of my garage.the snow continued until a little after noon when it fianlly tapered off.Incredible storm..the most snow I ever seen!

One of my memories from the weeks following the storm was at my high school where we had some portable classrooms at the time. Because of the drifting, we had to walk through tunnels of snow way over our heads to get from the main building to the portable classrooms.

A friend of mine lived across the street from a sod farm (now Stillwell Woods) and the north side of his two story house (actually the tall side of a split level) was buried up to the roof. And this was in Nassau County. To the east was allegedly worse.

This video isn't great quality, but it is from Massapequa (SE Nassau) and is quite awesome:

[Turtle]

I think it was the LFM model (IIRC) that forecasted the Ohio Blizzard of '78 to be a huge east coast snowstorm...I recall reading that somewhere...maybe it wasn't the LFM that predicted it, but I thought it was. Regardless I also remember reading that a lot of places canceled school the night before and then woke up to 55F and rain, lol.

Yes, Will, that is correct. I think the LFM and the spectral (a very early, primative version of the GFS, as I recall) were the only games in town when it came to models, not that they were much to write home about. Took hours to run on the slow mainframes in DC, then had to wait for them to print out of fax paper line by line. Oh, the days....

I do seem to recall being out of school for this one, then out of school again for 2 1/2 weeks (most of February) after the Blizzard. Never had to make it up either (was a senior in HS that year, and got out early before graduation!!).

The "in between" the two heavy '78 storms reminds me of a storm a year or two ago that we forecasted lots of snow (was it February '10??), only to end up with a few flurries <the heavier snow came later that night, at least here in Taunton>. They called off school and closed businesses early, only to see rain in Boston. Oh, and the TV reporters didn't let us hear the end of it!! Remember???

--Turtle