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The Blizzard of ‘78
by Keith of Retro PlanetLet it Snow!
February 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the Blizzard Of ‘78. Arguably New England’s “Storm of the Century,” the Blizzard of ‘78 dumped 30 plus inches of snow on the area, paralyzing Boston and surrounding suburbs for a week. The snow fell for a full 33 hours and at times as much as 4 inches an hour. Even worse were the hurricane force winds and high tides that devastated the New England coastline.
Over 3,000 cars were found abandoned on the highways during the clean up which took about a week to complete. My memory of the storm was almost becoming one of those who had to abandon their cars on route 93.
A friend of mine had a job somewhere down around Route 128 in Woburn, MA. On February 6th with the storm cranking along he decides to work some overtime. By the time he leaves he is going nowhere in his Firebird so he gives me a call for a ride. Well my Father was not about to let me ride off into the storm so he volunteers to drive me down and pick him up. Talk about a long, white knuckled ride. We made it but just barely. Route 93 was nothing but a couple of ruts by the time we got back to Salem, NH sometime around midnight.
Have any memories of the “Blizzard of ‘78” ? Let us know.
Posted
Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 3:05 pm EST by Keith
Read more in New England Memories
February 19th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Hello Keith,
My name is Robert, I grew up in Salisbury / Salisbury Beach. I am inquiring to see if you have any other photos of Salisbury and the beach. Thank you so much.
Robert
March 11th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I was a senior in high school in Northborough, MA when the Blizzard of ‘78 hit. We had two days of school in the month of February! The roof of the hockey rink in Westborough collapsed under the weight of the snow….my dad was a snowplower for Digital Equipment in Marlborough. I never saw him for three days! After the storm broke, I had bronchitis and had to go to the doctor, but all the roads were closed under a State of Emergency. My dad had to come and get me in the plow truck so we could be on the road. It is hard to believe that it has been 30 years…I can vividly remember the snow. It also was the year that there was a massive snowstorm in May that year. Our yard was lined with lilac bushes and we lost every one of them from the weight of the heavy snow of the newly-blossomed bushes.
April 1st, 2008 at 7:57 am
I was almost 18 during the Blizzard of ‘78. I was sort of still a senior in High School. I had all my credits for graduation by January and my school had an option to “graduate” in 3 1/2 years so not really liking the school thing, I took advantage of it and decided to look for “real” work instead of the part time gig at Market Basket that I had worked at for the past year or so. My first real, full-time job was at a manufacturing company in Wilmington MA, down Rt 93 past the Rt 495 area. The Monday the storm started was my first day. I don’t remember paying attention to any weather rpt that day. That stuff didn’t really matter to me. I grew up in NH all my life. Snow happens. Plus, since I had not been a part of the Rt 93 lifestyle I really had no inclination of what would have become the drive of the decade.
My normal drive from Salem NH to Wilmington only took about 35-45 minutes. My first day was pretty uneventful. Just learning as much of the ropes as one can on the first day of a new job. Getting introduced to the people I would work with and forgetting all their names. Filling out mounds of paperwork. Reviewing policies/procedures. Sitting in the lunchroom with people I didn’t even know and feeling totally out of place. I don’t even think I did any real work. It has become pretty much of a blur. Except for the ride home.
I don’t remember when the snow started. I think maybe around 10 a.m.?? Our normal hours of operation were 7-3:30 but the president of the company let us leave around 2:00. I remember wading thru snow that was already past my ankles and I hadn’t even worn boots that day. I drove a ‘70 Chevy Nova at the time. Not that bad in the snow but I could not afford snow tires. As anyone who witnessed this momentous event can imagine, it took me an amazing 3 1/2 hours to get home. I remember having to blast the defroster just to keep the windshield clear and needed to keep my window open a bit as I was dying from the heat. The wind-swept snow beat against my cheek. I do remember listening to Steely Dan Aja on 8-track on the way home and having to turn it off so I could concentrate on the road. At least what I could see of it. The road I lived on had a slight incline and I remember having trouble just getting up it. I pulled into the driveway and left my car where it would go no further.
Massachusetts declared a State of Emergency and closed all roads in and out. I had worked only one day and received the rest of the week off. Paid.
We lost electricity at home and it was so boring so a close friend of mine in my neighborhood and I decided to go outside on Tuesday night looking for adventure. We heard, and I don’t know how, that there was a bar open in the Depot (those from Salem will know this area). We walked all the way down there only to find that they were just closing up. It was a long walk home but it was serenely quiet since barely a car was present.
I didn’t stay at that job in Wilmington longer than 6 months. I hated the commute and the job wasn’t as cracked up as I thought it would be. I have not worked in Massachusetts since.