Columbus and Central Ohio Weather
COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — A white desert of snow piled up through Ohio 46 years ago, leaving vehicles stranded in frigid weather and more than 50 people dead during what would become known as the Great Blizzard of 1978.
A buildup of smaller snowstorms combined with low temperatures ahead of the great blizzard compounded the situation. Columbus already had a record snow cover of 17 inches from the earlier days in January. Yet the night of Jan. 25 brought a rise in temperatures to 41 degrees, along with rain.
After midnight passed on Jan. 26, low pressure surged into Ohio from the south, resulting in temperatures dropping sharply and turning the rain into snow. Wind gusts reached speeds of 69 mph in Columbus, 82 mph in Cleveland and 86 mph over Lake Erie, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
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Snowfall in Ohio reached nearly 20 inches in Novelty, Geauga County. State storm totals were between 5 and 15 inches. In Columbus, 50-70 mph wind gusts stacked the snow into huge drifts between 10 and 20 feet high in outlying areas, trapping some people in their homes for days.