Weather History

This Day In Weather History

In 1978, a severe blizzard walloped the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions. Also known as "The White Hurricane" in that it resembled a hurricane more so than a winter storm, the historic event overwhelmed most of 6 states with 1 to 3.5 feet of snow. Hardest hit were Indiana, Michigan and Ohio where 50 to 70 MPH winds, with gusts that reached 80 to 100 MPH, caused whiteouts and produced drifts 20 to 25 FEET HIGH. Many houses were buried. In Indiana all roads and highways were closed. The entire length of the Ohio Turnpike was closed for 2 days. Classes at Notre Dame and Ohio State were cancelled for the first time and classes at Purdue were cancelled for only the 3rd time. The cyclone was so explosive that it became known as "The Cleveland Super Bomb". The barometric pressure at Cleveland Hopkins Airport was 28.28 inches which was the lowest barometric pressure recorded in the U.S. that wasn't associated with a hurricane. In all, 71 people died, of which 51 were in Ohio.

This Day in Weather History Archive