Forty-seven years ago, Ohio residents were digging out from the state’s worst winter storm in history. The Great Blizzard of 1978, which struck on Jan. 26, remains a defining weather event for the region.
The first three weeks of 1978 brought multiple snowstorms and persistent cold. From Jan. 9 to Jan. 23, Columbus recorded a snowpack of 17 inches, a January record, with a total accumulation of 28 inches.
But the worst was yet to come.
On Jan. 25, temperatures in Columbus climbed to 41 degrees following a mild, rainy day that brought 0.65 inches of rain. Forecasters, using then-primitive computer models, had predicted a major winter storm developing in the Gulf of Mexico, about 900 miles south.
The storm system intensified as low pressure combined with arctic air over the Northeast, forming what is now known as a “bomb cyclone.” By midnight, the low-pressure system entered Ohio near Portsmouth and moved rapidly northeast to Cleveland by 4 a.m.
Temperatures plummeted 30 degrees in two hours after an arctic cold front swept through, turning rain into a wind-driven snowstorm.
Ohioans were jolted awake by violent winds shaking windows as frigid air surged into the storm. Barometric pressure dropped to record lows across the state. Columbus recorded an all-time low of 28.46 inches (963.8 millibars), comparable to a Category 3 hurricane. Cleveland saw a record low of 28.28 inches (957.7 millibars).
By daybreak on Jan. 26, the temperature in Columbus had fallen to 7 degrees, with sustained winds of 30 mph driving snow horizontally and reducing visibility to less than a quarter-mile. Wind chills plunged to -25 degrees or lower.
The storm’s ferocity extended to Lake Erie, where a stranded ore carrier reported sustained winds of 86 mph and a gust of 111 mph, according to NOAA. Wind gusts peaked at 82 mph in Cleveland, 75 mph in Akron, and 69 mph in Columbus and Dayton.
Columbus officially recorded 4.7 inches of snow, though high winds and drifting likely made that total conservative. Snowfall across Ohio ranged from 3 to 6 inches in the southeast to 8 to 15 inches in the north and west. The highest total, 19 inches, was recorded in Novelty, Geauga County.
While other infamous Ohio blizzards, such as those in January 1918 and November 1950, occurred under similarly frigid conditions, they did not result in as many fatalities as the Great Blizzard of 1978.
Columbus saw its deepest modern snowstorm on March 7-8, 2008, with 20.5 inches of snow and a record snow depth of 18 inches on March 9. Though severe, it did not approach the intensity of the 1978 storm.
Elizabeth Ehrhardt
January 28, 2025 at 4:31 pmI grew up on the chausee at Cedar Point. The snow drifts were up to the top of the telephone poles. It tooke 3 days for the snow to be plowed and that was only one way.
Ada Cline
January 29, 2025 at 4:16 amI was in high school in 1978 in Delaware County. My dad was in the hospital at the time when the Blizzard hit. He was there for a total of two weeks before mom could go get him. Wind chills were so low you didn’t stay out very long.
Lel
January 29, 2025 at 3:42 pmMy 8 month daughter was in Akron children’s hospital following surgery. Ar that time there was no Ronald McDonald house, family slept in the lobby. I went home to ashland the day before to shower and get a good night’s sleep. The blizzard hit that night. I wasn’t able to get back to my baby for 3 days!! I couldn’t even call the hospital. Not something I want to go through again.