 DISCUSSION: As we look back to the earlier days of the U.S., we get to reflect on the major winter storm which occurred between 29 and 30 January, 1947. During this period of time, a fierce winter storm gradually buried southern Wisconsin under two feet of snow with even higher snow drifts due to strong persistent northeasterly winds. More specifically, strong northeasterly winds piled drifts up to 10 feet high in some parts of the Milwaukee area, shutting down the city for two days. Note how in the video above, you can clearly see the older automobiles scattered on the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin at that point in history which reflects the essence of the era that people were living in during the late 1940s. It is also worth noting how at that point in time people generally did not have as good of an advanced warning for major snowstorms than the current day. However, with life generally being simpler without advanced forms of modern communication as there are today, people generally had less expected of them from a societal standpoint during and just after major snowstorms. Just goes to show on multiple levels how "flaky" times can be.
To learn more about other past historic weather events from around the world, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz
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Remembering the Blizzard of 1978! (credit: NWS Cleveland, Ohio via This Day in Weather History)1/28/2017  DISCUSSION: As of just two days ago, it was officially the 30th anniversary of the 1978 blizzard. As many "baby boomers" will recall, this was one of the more impressive and historic winter storms which took place during the course of the 20th century. Attached below is a neat first-hand account of this historic winter storm from the perspective of writers (Thomas W. Schmidlin and Jeanne Appelhans Schmidlin) from across the north-central United States as they experienced and reflected on this historic winter weather event.
"The worst winter storm in Ohio history struck before dawn on Thursday, 26 January 1978. The Blizzard of ’78 continued through Thursday and into Friday. Transportation, business, industry, and schools were closed statewide for two days, with the normal pace of society not returning to the state for five days. Wednesday evening, 25 January 1978, was relatively quiet in Ohio. Rain and fog were widespread, some freezing rain was falling in the northwest, and temperatures were in the 30s and 40s. Wednesday evening’s weather map, however, presented an ominous combination of weather headed for Ohio. A strong winter storm was moving northward from the Gulf of Mexico trough Tennessee and Kentucky, bitterly cold air was moving along the Atlantic Coast. Computer models of the National Weather Service forecast a major winter storm over Ohio for Thursday. The southern storm intensified as it tracked northward, entering Ohio near Portsmouth at midnight and exiting across Lake Erie from Cleveland at 4:00 A.M. Thursday. Records for low atmospheric pressure were already being set Wednesday evening in eastern Tennessee, and more records fell as the storm intensified through Ohio. Atmospheric pressure of 28.28 inches at Cleveland was the lowest pressure ever recorded in Ohio. This was also the second lowest pressure not associated with a hurricane recorded this century in the forty-eight contiguous states (Blackburn 1978). Other low pressure records included Akron-Canton with 28.33 inches, Youngstown with 28.39 inches, Columbus with 28.46 inches, Toledo with 28.49 inches, and Cincinnati with 28.81 inches (Blackburn 1978). Old pressure records were exceeded by .3 inch or more at most cities. The rapidly intensifying storm pulled bitter cold air from the west across Ohio on winds of fifty to seventy miles an hour by Thursday morning. These conditions combined with heavy snow and blowing of deep snow already on the ground to cause full blizzard conditions all across Ohio. Blizzard conditions arrived first with the arctic cold front in Cincinnati at 1:00 A.M., reached Dayton an hour later, Columbus and Toledo at about 3:00 A.M., and extended northeast to Akron, Youngstown, and Cleveland by 7:00 A.M. on 26 January. This blizzard caused the most complete disruption of transportation ever known to Ohio. Maj. Gen. James C. Clem of the Ohio National Guard reported the immobilization of Ohio was comparable to the results of a statewide nuclear attack (Clem 1978). Prolonged blizzard conditions created enormous snowdrifts that stopped highway and rail transportation and isolated thousands of persons. Air travel was stopped for two to three days by low visibility and deep snowdrifts on runways. The almost complete immobilization of Ohio continued through Friday. Some highways and airports reopened late Friday or Saturday, but many roads were not passable until Monday, 30 January. State roads remained closed in half of Ohio counties on Saturday. Interstate 75 was closed for three days, and a portion of Interstate 475 near Toledo was closed for six days. Motorists stranded on Interstate 75 near Findlay broke into a truck weigh station for shelter. The entire length of the Ohio Turnpike was closed for the first time in its history. The turnpike was reopened east of Elyria Friday afternoon but remained closed in northwestern Ohio until Saturday. Airports at Cleveland and Toledo reopened Saturday, but schedules were uncertain and delays common. In many communities, a snowplow was parked at each fire station to clear the snow ahead of the fire truck if a fire broke out." As you can see above in this detailed summary pertaining to the Blizzard of 1978, this was a multi-faceted winter weather event which had a variety of different implications and impacts for multiple forms of travel both on the ground and in the air. There is no question that throughout the all-time meteorological record books, the Blizzard of 1978 stands out as one of the more recognizable "benchmark" winter storms which resonates through the course of time. To learn more about other past historic weather events from around the world, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz  DISCUSSION: As we look very far back in weather history (i.e., more than 120 years), there was quite a historic weather event by way of the January 1886 blizzard. Here is a neat excerpt from some of the first-hand accounts from this true event which will be remember for centuries to come!
"Two great blizzards hit western Kansas the first week of January 1886. The first blizzard began on the 1st around noon at Dodge City and continued until the early morning hours of the 3rd. During this time, seven and a half inches of snow fell (Although it could be argued that much more than that fell based on "melted snow" observations that were taken. See meteorological discussion below) and wind speeds averaged 20 to 30 mph from the north to northwest. The lowest temperature was 12 °F on the 3rd. A second, more severe blizzard followed on the 6th and 7th and was accompanied by Arctic air that sent temperatures plummeting to well below zero. Even though only two inches of snow fell, the wind combined with the brutally cold air made this one of the coldest periods on record. The temperature did not rise above 10°F at Dodge City until the 11th. The coldest temperature was 16°F below zero on the 8th. There was no advance warning for the cold wave and 2nd blizzard that hit on the night of the 6th. The Chief Signal Office sent a notification for a cold wave. However, because of the conditions, the telegraph office in Dodge City did not receive it until the storm came to an end. It is not clear how many more cattle were lost across Kansas during this time. It was estimated that 75-80 percent of cattle had been killed in some counties. What is known is that this was the worst natural disaster for the entire stateof Kansas. There was a livestock fence north of the Union Pacific railroad tracks in northern Kansas. Cattle would drift south with the storms and eventually wound up dying of starvation and exhaustion along the fence. It was said that a man could walk along the fence over bones all the way to eastern Colorado. South of the railroad, cattle would march south until they ended up falling into ravines or small canyons. Other cattle would follow and eventually would wind up on top of the cattle in the ravine. The cattle would die by smothering, starvation or freezing. There was also a newspaper account of cattle trains headed east across Kansas. The trains were rushed to Dodge City which was a feeding station at the time for cattle. The next morning less than 25 percent of the cattle that were unloaded were alive. Cattle also died tried trying to cross the Arkansas River, creeks and water holes. A man who came in to Dodge City from his ranch told of seeing cattle standing on their feet, frozen! The blizzard and Arctic air mass also affected the southern plains. Cattle had drifted several hundred miles south into northern Mexico." To learn more about other past historic weather events, be sure to click here! ©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz |
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