The Great Blizzard of 1978 -- DAY

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 DAYTON IN PARTICULAR...THIS STORM WILL GO DOWN IN THE RECORD BOOKS
AS PRODUCING THE GREATEST SNOWFALL IN A 24 PERIOD WITH 12.2  INCHES ON
JANUARY  26TH AND THE GREATEST SNOWFALL  FROM A SINGLE STORM WITH 12.9
INCHES ON JANUARY 26TH - 27TH OF 1978.

THE MONTH OF JANUARY OF 1978 WAS A COLD AND SNOWY MONTH FOR THE DAYTON
AREA.   THE  MONTHLY SNOWFALL  TOTAL  WAS 40.2  INCHES...WHICH IS  THE
HIGHEST  AMOUNT OF SNOW  FOR ANY MONTH.   THE RECORD  FOR THE GREATEST
AMOUNT  OF  SNOW FOR  A  SEASON WAS  ALSO  BROKEN  WITH THE  1977-1978
SEASONAL TOTAL OF 62.7  INCHES.  THE MAXIMUM SNOW  DEPTH EVER RECORDED
AT DAYTON WAS JUST BEFORE THE BLIZZARD WITH 24 INCHES ON  JANUARY 20TH
AND 21TH OF 1978.  THE LAST OF THE SNOW FROM THIS BLIZZARD MELTED AWAY
ON MAY 5TH IN NORTHWEST OHIO.

                           SNOWFALL
                         ------------
TOP FIVE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD
---------------------------------------------
     AMOUNT                   DATE
    --------                 ------
      12.2 INCHES            JANUARY 26 1978
      11.3 INCHES            MARCH 22-23 1938
      10.0 INCHES            NOVEMBER 25-26 1950
       9.0 INCHES            FEBRUARY 21 1912
       8.9 INCHES            JANUARY 16-17 1994

TOP FIVE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FOR A MONTH
-------------------------------------
      AMOUNT                  DATE
     --------                ------
       40.2 INCHES           JANUARY 1978
       31.6 INCHES           FEBRUARY 1910
       26.9 INCHES           MARCH 1906
       24.6 INCHES           JANUARY 1996
       24.4 INCHES           JANUARY 1918

TOP FIVE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FOR A SEASON
--------------------------------------
      AMOUNT                  DATE
     --------                ------
       62.7 INCHES           1977-1978
       54.7 INCHES           1950-1951
       50.3 INCHES           1909-1910
       44.8 INCHES           1963-1964
       43.2 INCHES           1993-1994

                         TEMPERATURE
                       ---------------

TOP FIVE COLDEST JANUARYS
-------------------------
      TEMPERATURE             YEAR
     -------------           ------
       11.6 DEGREES          1977
       15.0 DEGREES          1918
       17.4 DEGREES          1940
       18.4 DEGREES          1912
       18.7 DEGREES          1978

TOP FIVE COLDEST WINTER SEASONS (DEC-JAN-FEB)
---------------------------------------------
      TEMPERATURE             YEAR
     -------------           ------
       21.5 DEGREES          1977-1978
       21.8 DEGREES          1976-1977
       22.9 DEGREES          1962-1963
       23.0 DEGREES          1917-1918
       24.2 DEGREES          1903-1904

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 (3)  GENERALLY TEMPERATURES OF
20 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OR LOWER.  A SEVERE BLIZZARD HAS (1) WIND SPEEDS
OF 45 MILES PER  HOUR OR MORE, (2)  A GREAT DENSITY OF FALLING  AND/OR
BLOWING SNOW (VISIBILITY FREQUENTLY NEAR ZERO) AND (3) TEMPERATURES OF
10 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OR LOWER.  THE 1978 STORM WAS A SEVERE BLIZZARD.