Was The Blizzard of ’78 Really That Big?

Remember The Blizzard of '78

January 26th marks the 48th anniversary of the “Blizzard of ’78”! Can you believe it was 48 years ago? If you were in Metro Detroit at the time, you were probably doing a lot of snow shoveling. This storm was one of the biggest snowstorms ever to hit this area.

The major impact was felt across the East Coast and the Great Lakes. The storm lasted 3 days and was over 30 inches in some parts. I was 13 years old at the time, and I remember the snow drift that was as high as the gutters on the house.

January 26, 1978, fell on a Thursday. I remember the storm starting the night before. Schools were closed a day in advance to get ready for all the snow. My father went to work as normal. He called at about 10 am and told me to get out and get the driveway cleared so that when he got home, he could get his car into the driveway. I spent a few hours shoveling. At the same time, my mother had our big red Toro snow thrower.

This machine was a monster. Another special thing is that the muffler had rusted over time and had a huge hole. The snow blower was so loud that everyone in the neighborhood knew when we plowed the driveway.

The Blizzard of 1978 dropped significant snow across Michigan, with totals varying by region, from around 8-10 inches in Southeast Michigan (Detroit/Flint) to over 30 inches in West Michigan, including 30 inches in Muskegon, 19.3 inches in Lansing, and 19.2 inches in Grand Rapids, with lake-effect enhancement contributing to the higher totals in western areas.  

So what did the neighborhood kids do after the "Blizzard of 78'?? We did what all kids did back then: Bumper Hitch. When a car would go by, you would run behind and grab the bumper, and in the snow-filled street, you would surf, holding on for life and hoping the driver didn't stop. I lost a few mittens over the years on bumpers, but kept my fingers.

The "Blizzard of '78" will be remembered for years to come, as any storm that comes our way is always compared to the big one that hit us on January 26th, 1978.