Many of us woke up this morning dealing with ice or a trace of snow on the ground. On this date 43 years ago, it was a completely different story as snow storms and wind hit west-central Ohio, leaving many people stranded for days.
The storm began as two weak areas of low pressure on the 25th. The two systems phased together in the span of 24 hours, exploding to unimaginable strength by the 26th. The storm ravaged the region with fierce winds and tremendous snow. To this day, this stands as the strongest low pressure system to ever hit Ohio, with atmospheric pressure dropping to levels equivalent to a major hurricane.
What made this situation particularly severe was the fact that a foot of snow was already on the ground prior to the storm. Wind gusts of 50 to 70 miles per hour blew the snow into great drifts, up to the rooftops in places.
"I mean it was so bad that we called the National Guard in, and the National Guard took us to calls that we absolutely had to go to," says retired Lima Police Major James Thorburn. "That was the only mode of transportation, we at that time didn't have any 4-wheel drive vehicles. Those of us that were on third shift the night of the blizzard, we stayed on duty. The morning of the blizzard, all the third shift stayed, and the National Guard brought some cots and stuff in for us and set-up so that we could grab some sleep," adds Thorburn.
In all, more than 5,000 Ohio National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were called to assist in rescues over an 11-day period. A total of 51 Ohioans died, and the storm produced over $200 million dollars of damage across the state. A once in a life-time storm, which will hopefully never be matched again.
