Looking back at the worst blizzard in Ohio history

The worst blizzard in state history struck 45 years ago this week, knocking out power across Ohio and forcing then-President Jimmy Carter to declare a state of emergency.

Flashback: Residents suffered from wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour, wind chills of 60 degrees below zero and snow drifts a whopping 25 feet deep.

• Fifty-one Ohioans lost their lives in the 1978 storms.
• Because most roads were closed, the state recorded no traffic crash deaths over an entire weekend for the first time in decades.

Threat level: Civilians with four-wheel drive vehicles helped Ohio National Guard service members search for stranded drivers, clear off roads and deliver supplies.

• Hundreds were rescued along a six-mile stretch of I-70 west of Columbus alone. One truck driver near Mansfield was rescued after six days under a mound of snow.
• OSU nursing students volunteered at a local psychiatric hospital after only four of 215 workers showed up for their shifts.

What they said: "Unfortunately it takes the worst of nature to bring out the best in people," The Lantern student newspaper opined in the storm's aftermath.

• "But the BEST of you did turn out to help and did a splendid job."

📬 Did you experience the Great Blizzard of 1978?

• Reply with your memories for us to share in an upcoming newsletter.