Blizzard of ’78: Where Were You 35 Years Ago Today?
Three and a half decades ago Watertown was blanketed with more than two feet of snow.
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On Feb. 6, 1978, the Boston area was blanketed with a record 27 inches of snow, with the added bonus of hurricane force winds. The storm began the morning of Feb. 6 and lasted through the following evening. It was a storm that was never really predicted to be so large, and yet from it one good thing came – we learned about emergency preparedness.
The snow came down so quickly (at a rate of an inch an hour) thousands of motorists were stranded in snowdrifts as they drove down Rte. 128. Roads throughout the state were impassible and cars were abandoned at every turn.
The storm not only caused chaos, it also took more than a dozen lives, including Daniel Scadding, who died in his car in Watertown, according to blizzardof78.org.
For those of us who were old enough to remember, the memories differ. The motorist stuck in his car for hours on the highway, the family wondering where that person was, to a community paralyzed by Mother Nature in a storm no one ever expected.
We would love to hear your stories from the Blizzard of '78 and see your photos. You can upload your photos directly to our image gallery and share with us your memories and stories of the big storm.
Also, check out what some Somerville residents said about the blizzard a year ago today.
Janice Camano
7:15 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
In the blizzard of 1978 I was living with my husband and 2 week old son in a basement apartment in Everett. Every little while we had to shovel around the house, as our doors and windows opened out. Had we not continued to shovel we would have surely been buried alive. Having a newborn baby made us do everything in our power to be able to leave in an emergency.
Brian McCarthy
2:22 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I was in high school and working for Johnnie's Foodmaster on Beacon Street at the time as a bagger. The amount of snow was unreal. However, we were out of school for three weeks.
Cheryl Petrola
7:39 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Living closest to Stop&Shop on Somerville Ave, my friend and I shoveled our way across the parking lot to work during the storm...it was an amazing time....customers skiied and came on taboggon or sled to the store...everyone made the best of the situation....neighbors reunited and strangers became friends....