The Great Blizzard of 1978 -- CVG

JANUARY 25TH - 27TH OF 1998 MARKS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BLIZZARD
OF 1978.

ON JANUARY 25TH - 27TH OF 1978...A LARGE STORM SYSTEM RACED ACROSS THE
OHIO  VALLEY REGION  AND TRACKED ACROSS  CENTRAL OHIO.   THIS DEEP LOW
PRESSURE  SYSTEM PRODUCED  PRESSURE READINGS  AROUND  28.50 INCHES  OF
MERCURY ACROSS  MUCH OF  THE REGION...COLUMBUS  RECORDED A RECORD  LOW
PRESSURE  OF 28.47  INCHES  OF  MERCURY ON  JANUARY  26TH.   CLEVELAND
AIRPORT HAD A  READING OF 28.28 INCHES.  NO READING THIS LOW  HAD EVER
BEEN  REACHED ON THE UNITED STATES MAINLAND BEFORE THIS TIME EXCEPT IN
HURRICANES.

ACROSS WESTERN AND  SOUTHWESTERN SECTIONS OF OHIO...THIS  STORM SYSTEM
WAS A  MAJOR PRODUCER OF  SNOW WITH DAYTON RECEIVING  ALMOST 13 INCHES
AND CINCINNATI NEARLY 7 INCHES DURING THIS TIME PERIOD.  WHILE  ACROSS
CENTRAL OHIO...THE  PRECIPITATION FROM  THIS STORM  BEGAN AS RAIN  AND
CHANGED OVER  TO SNOW...WHICH RESULTED  IN LESSER AMOUNTS  ACROSS THIS
REGION.  WIND  GUSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE  BLIZZARD WERE AS HIGH  AS 69
MPH AT THE  PORT COLUMBUS AIRPORT.   THE RESULT OF THESE  STRONG WINDS
WAS THE SIGNIFICANT  BLOWING AND DRIFTING  OF SNOW ACROSS MUCH  OF THE
REGION.

FOR CINCINNATI IN PARTICULAR...JANUARY 1978 WILL GO DOWN IN THE RECORD
BOOKS AS A COLD AND SNOWY MONTH WITH MANY MONTHLY AND SEASONAL RECORDS
BROKEN.  THE MONTHLY SNOWFALL FOR JANUARY 1978 WAS 31.5 INCHES...WHICH
IS THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF  SNOW FOR ANY MONTH.  THE  GREATEST SNOW FALL
FOR A SEASON WAS ALSO BROKEN WITH THE 1977-1978 SEASONAL TOTAL OF 53.9
INCHES.

THE MAXIMUM  SNOW DEPTH AT CINCINNATI UP TO  THAT TIME WAS JUST BEFORE
THE BLIZZARD  WITH 14 INCHES  ON JANUARY 20TH AND  21ST OF 1978.   THE
MOST  CONSECUTIVE DAYS  WITH ONE INCH  OR MORE  OF SNOW ON  THE GROUND
OCCURRED  FOR 63 DAYS  FROM JANUARY 8  THROUGH MARCH 11  1978.  DURING
THAT WINTER...FIVE OR MORE INCHES WERE ON  THE GROUND FOR 43 DAYS FROM
JANUARY 13 THROUGH FEBRUARY 24, AND  10 INCHES OR MORE INCHES WERE  ON
THE GROUND FOR 10 DAYS FROM JANUARY 16 THROUGH JANUARY 25.

THE WINTER  OF 1976  - 1977  HAD 39  CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF  ONE OR  MORE
INCHES ON THE GROUND FROM JANUARY 4 THROUGH FEBRUARY 11 1977.

OTHER EXTENDED PERIODS OF AN INCH OR MORE OF SNOW COVER WERE:

   29 DAYS...JANUARY 11 1918 - FEBRUARY 8 1918
   27 DAYS...DECEMBER 22 1969 - JANUARY 17 1970
   25 DAYS...JANUARY 20 1960 - FEBRUARY 13 1961
   24 DAYS...JANUARY 1893 AND JANUARY - FEBRUARY 1948
   21 DAYS...FEBRUARY - MARCH 1914
   20 DAYS...JANUARY - FEBRUARY 1895 AND JANUARY 1968

THE LAST OF THE SNOWFALL FROM THE BLIZZARD  OF 1978 MELTED AWAY ON
MAY 5TH IN NORTHWEST OHIO.

TOP FIVE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD
---------------------------------------------
      AMOUNT                  DATE
     --------                ------
       12.8 INCHES           JANUARY 6-7 1996
       12.6 INCHES           FEBRUARY 4-5 1998
       11.0 INCHES           DECEMBER 7 1917
       10.0 INCHES           DECEMBER 22 1883
        9.8 INCHES           MARCH 22 1968

TOP FIVE SNOWFALL FOR A SINGLE STORM
------------------------------------
      AMOUNT                  DATE
     --------                ------
       18.5 INCHES           FEBRUARY 4-6 1998
       14.4 INCHES           JANUARY 6-7 1996
       11.5 INCHES           DECEMBER 7-8 1917
       11.3 INCHES           JANUARY 16-17 1978
       10.5 INCHES           MARCH 22-23 1968

TOP FOUR MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTHS ON THE GROUND FOR EACH MONTH
---------------------------------------------------------
      AMOUNT                  DATE
     --------                ------
       19 INCHES             FEBRUARY 6 1998 
       14 INCHES             JANUARY 20-21 1978 AND JANUARY 18 1922
       12 INCHES             DECEMBER 4 1917
       11 INCHES             FEBRUARY 1 1951 AND FEBRUARY 17 1910

TOP FIVE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FOR A MONTH
-------------------------------------
      AMOUNT                  DATE
     --------                ------
       31.5 INCHES           JANUARY 1978
       30.3 INCHES           JANUARY 1977
       27.0 INCHES           JANUARY 1996
       23.5 INCHES           JANUARY 1863
       21.4 INCHES           FEBRUARY 1914

TOP FIVE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY
--------------------------------------------------
      AMOUNT                  DATE
     --------                ------
       31.5 INCHES           1978
       30.3 INCHES           1977
       27.0 INCHES           1996
       23.5 INCHES           1863
       20.2 INCHES           1918

TOP FIVE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FOR A SEASON
--------------------------------------
      AMOUNT                  DATE
     --------                ------
       53.9 INCHES           1977-1978
       50.0 INCHES           1849-1850
       47.3 INCHES           1976-1977
       46.0 INCHES           1950-1951
       44.6 INCHES           1995-1996

WHAT IS A BLIZZARD?  A BLIZZARD IS DEFINED AS THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS
LASTING FOR  3 HOURS OR LONGER. (1) WIND SPEEDS OF 35 MILES AN HOUR OR
MORE, (2)  CONSIDERABLE FALLING  AND/OR BLOWING  SNOW (THE  VISIBILITY
MUST FREQUENTLY  BE BELOW 1/4  MILE) AND GENERALLY TEMPERATURES  OF 20
DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OR LOWER.  A SEVERE BLIZZARD HAS WIND SPEEDS  OF 45
MILES PER HOUR OR MORE, (2) A  GREAT DENSITY OF FALLING AND/OR BLOWING
SNOW (VISIBILITY  FREQUENTLY NEAR ZERO) AND TEMPERATURES OF 10 DEGREES
FAHRENHEIT OR LOWER.  THE 1978 STORM WAS A SEVERE BLIZZARD.