Ever since I moved to RI in December of 1979, all I ever heard about was the Blizzard of ’78. It was a horrible storm that immobilized much of New England for many days.
Emergency Management wasn’t really much of a thing back in 1978. FEMA didn’t even exist until April of the following year (and the Blizzard of ’78 was part of the justification). Various governors and mayors were late in closing down cities and roads, and by the time people were trying to leave work for home, it was too late. That lack of planning and procedures, coupled with a New Englander’s tendency to ignore dire weather forecasts, meant that even though the storm ‘only’ dropped 27.6″ of snow, people died in their cars stuck on interstates, and school busses were stranded with children inside.
Beginning this past Sunday February 22, and continuing through Monday evening, the “Blizzard of ’26” struck New England. Ultimately 37.9″ of snow fell in RI. That combined with much higher sustained winds and gusts, and wetter snow fall, made it the strongest Blizzard to ever hit the state. In fact, more snow fell on that day that is usual for the entire year!
While days later, people are still digging out, in reality, despite the impact of the storm, the state has recovered MUCH more quickly. The governors instituted travel bans and states of emergency. People stayed home. As a result, folks didn’t die in their cars, and kids were making snow angles in their yards rather than being stranded in busses.
Although not a formal radio topic, I bring this up because of its impact on infrastructure. We lost power at about 10:30AM Monday. Thanks to hard working Rhode Island Energy crews, we had power back by 6:30PM Tuesday. The total number of power outages and the duration was far lower this time than in ’78. I was blessed to have a generator and fuel, and all my radio antennas remained in the air. Our Generator ran from 4:00PM Monday through 7:00PM Tuesday: 27 hours on 3 gallons of gas, supplying power for our heat, refrigeration, lights, internet, and a radon removal fan.
The movie below shows neighbors working together Tuesday afternoon to clear 3 feet of snow from our local roads.
