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Topic: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Topic: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

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giacomo
General User

Member Since: 11/20/2007
Post Count: 2,688

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42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/25/2020 5:27:39 PM

Reminiscing about that crazy experience in Upper Sandusky.

Mike Johnson
General User

Member Since: 11/11/2004
Location: North Canton, OH
Post Count: 1,719

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RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/25/2020 7:03:43 PM

In '78 my office was in downtown Cleveland and I lived in the eastern burbs. We closed up at 3 pm that day. It took me 8 hours to drive - or should I say inch - home. On the way, at University Circle, I picked up another commuter who lived in the eastern burbs. I warned him that I was driving without heat or headlights. He said he wished that he'd done likewise. His car was one of hundreds - thousands? - that died as overworked batteries pooped out.

My neighbor across the street also worked downtown. Remarkably we arrived home within minutes of each other. There was a difference, though; at one point he got out of his car, walked into a restaurant, had a bite to eat, and then resumed inching his way home.

The winds coming off Lake Erie were blowing fish onto the Shoreway.

As you might imagine, driving snow and icy winds were having their predictable effect on bladders. Lots of pissing in the streets.

Two days later when we reopened our office and were swapping experiences, a secretary who took a bus home to the southern burbs related that she held out pissing so long that when she got home she couldn't piss right away. Her muscles had contracted.

http://www.facebook.com/mikejohnson.author

CatsUp
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Member Since: 4/15/2019
Post Count: 753

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RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/25/2020 9:46:12 PM

Happened during my last quarter. Memorable. ;)

greencat
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Member Since: 3/12/2005
Post Count: 2,232

Status: Offline

RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/26/2020 2:03:57 AM

I was living in the "apartments" above the plasma place close to the A&P.

That was one strange winter (without going into too many details). It started with John and Jeff, the "townies" who lived above Swanky's hosting a New Year's Eve party with a massive amount of "hairy buffalo" aka "grog." Some local biker girl got so drunk from it, she was stumbling around and asking people "who put acid in the grog?" She was so drunk, she actually thought she was tripping on acid. Things stayed strange all winter to say the least.

doubledribble
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Member Since: 10/6/2010
Post Count: 554

Status: Offline

RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/26/2020 11:24:30 AM

Giacoma, We had to split up because we needed a scout of one of the other directional Michigan teams. (this was way before streaming and video exchanges) The drive to Athens was amazing. The timing getting through the Toledo area and down towards BG had me only ten or so minutes ahead of the bus, and I somehow made it on towards Athens as the bus was getting stranded. I made it all the way to the outskirts of town before plowing into a huge snowdrift. Stranded til morning when a farmer saved the day with a tractor. How long was the bus stranded?

cbus cat fan
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Member Since: 12/2/2011
Post Count: 1,169

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RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/26/2020 3:38:25 PM

Changed Meteorology forever in the Midwest. Folksy TV weathermen like Jerry Rasor (channel 4 in Columbus who was made more famous by 1960s his Dance Party show) were replaced with real meteorologists who often used private meteorological services and the latest data. We now use terms like computer models (GFS--North American or the other Euro model, among others. The 1978 Blizzard also changed athletics. Schools now coordinate with other schools when bad weather approaches. You don't see football games with lightning in the area either. It didn't use to be that way.

OhioCatFan
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 14,158

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RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/27/2020 10:39:31 AM

cbus cat fan wrote:

This reminds me when I was at Marshall in the early 1970s, I had a colleague from Oklahoma who once remarked, "Back in Oklahoma we have real meteorologists doing our TV weather, not a "weather girl" like around here." Anyone else remember "DJ the weather girl" on WSAZ?

The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org

CatsUp
General User

Member Since: 4/15/2019
Post Count: 753

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RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/27/2020 8:29:58 PM

OhioCatFan wrote:

cbus cat fan wrote:

Yep. DJ, Bos Johnson, Bob Brunner and Bob Bowen. All part of the WSAZ super team. At least I thought so. They were about all we could get even though our family was kind of special in that we had one of those "modern day" rotary antennas. ;) Oh yeah, and don't forget Jule Huffman.

cbus cat fan
General User

Member Since: 12/2/2011
Post Count: 1,169

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RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/27/2020 8:44:31 PM

CatsUp wrote:

OhioCatFan wrote:

cbus cat fan wrote:

Ohio Cat Fan, Oklahoma was ground zero for serious TV meteorology because in Tornado Season, it was literally life and death. They had the first TV radars. I believe Dayton TV stations had radar before the Columbus stations. The link below is grainy but it is the live break in coverage of the infamous Xenia Tornado, which at the time was the most devastating tornado, Dr. Fujita (pioneer of the tornado scale) had ever seen.

As for WSAZ, in the 80s, and 90s I do believe they had Tony Cavalier as a meteorologist. He was very knowledgeable and a good guy to boot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkWmNamVS2Q

Ted Thompson
Administrator

Member Since: 11/11/2004
Location: MAC Play
Post Count: 7,568

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RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/28/2020 1:11:52 PM

We had a couple of steps going leading up to our porch and I remember walking straight off the porch and couldn't find the steps. Our house was on a very busy thorofare. But for at last a week afterwards, we could play football right in the middle of the street. RTA stopped running. I used to deliver the Dayton Daily News and they stopped printing I think for the first time ever. Eventually, they started printing every other day.

According to this, the Miami basketball team was stranded and had to be housed in the Vandalia jail: https://www.libraries.wright.edu/community/outofthebox/2011/03/03/the-blizzard-of-1978/

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akroncat
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Member Since: 7/23/2010
Location: Akron, OH
Post Count: 190

Status: Offline

RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/28/2020 3:50:23 PM

Ted you might appreciate this. I worked at Monsanto and was on second shift. I left the plant a 11 in pouring rain. I lived near Vandalia which was only about 12 miles north of the plant on Nicholas Road. Cars were being flooded out by high water under a railroad bridge. Fortunately, I made it through and it took me forever to get home. There was over six inches of snow on I-70 and I just barely made it. My wife and I lived in a condo and the plowing service did not have large enough equipment to clear the 6 foot high drifts. It took us 3 days before we could go anywhere. I always felt sorry for my replacements at the chemical plant. They had to keep everything from freezing (it was on open air plant) and could not leave. They had no food and nothing was open and the roads were impassable. It took 3 days for replacement workers to get there. We had a heat pump and resistance heating and a three week old baby. We kept praying that we would not lose electricity. My inlaws out in the rural area had to be rescued because of no power.

MonroeClassmate
General User

Member Since: 8/31/2010
Post Count: 2,038

Status: Offline

RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 1/28/2020 4:24:13 PM

It is really amazing how lucky we have been the last few years regarding winter weather conditions.

I hope the youth have blankets, some water, snacks stashed in the car because you just have to be prepared. Not for some, I am dreaming of a white Christmas with a Curier and Ives landscape but rather one where the snow is horizontal except you cannot even see what is up and what is down and the cold immediately penetrates every opening and the wind quickly piles up the white stuff. Where cars won't start and if they did they can only keep you warm until the 1/8 tank you were driving peters out.

Safe travels to the MAC athletes and fans this winter.

I bet all you who are telling these memories of '78 are prepared.

giacomo
General User

Member Since: 11/20/2007
Post Count: 2,688

Status: Offline

RE: 42nd anniversary of blizzard of ‘78

Posted: 2/4/2020 11:50:11 PM

Bill Brown was in a car behind the bus when we had to stop because of the snow. The wind was so strong that it blew the car into the back of the bus! They tried to get into the bus to get into safety. When we opened the bus door, the wind broke the door and sucked the gym bags out of the door like in the Airplane movie. Pretty scary. We then had to take turns holding pillows and blankets against the broken door so we wouldn’t freeze to death. Our bus driver Billy Bulger was on the CB radio trying to get some help. We were running out of gas and it was getting cold. I think we were on the bus for 12 hours until they towed us into Upper Sandusky where we stayed for a week. There is more to the story.

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