#Snow accumulation indiana windows#

The first ever Blizzard Warning for the entire state of Indiana was issued at 3:45 PM EST on January 25th. Seventy people perished during the storm. During the afternoon of the 26th, the Indiana State Police considered all Indiana roads closed. The governor declared a snow emergency for the entire state the morning of the 26th. In Franklin, the Daily Journal published on pink paper, explaining that the color would help readers find their papers in the snow. Indiana Bell was forced to halt all phone traffic but emergency calls.

A snowbank stalled a seven car Amtrak train in Putnam County. The governor sent National Guard tanks onto I-65 to remove stranded semis. Throughout the Midwest, doctors and emergency personnel were forced to reach people on skis and snowmobiles. Highways were clogged with stranded motorists. The human drama extended far beyond the confines of the NWS office at the Indianapolis International Airport. Some recalled staff members trying everything to get some rest, including sleeping on boxes of teletype paper pushed together. Several other NWS employees who were on duty at the time became stranded for up to 74 hours.

One NWS employee who was off duty during the blizzard recalled stuffing newspaper into the cracks around his garage door to keep the howling winds from forcing the snow in through them.

#Snow accumulation indiana windows#

Many recall homes buried in snow, close calls with danger on the roadways, or even sledding from second floor windows after the storm finally released Indiana from its grip. The storm set records still in place to this day, including the most snow in one month at Indianapolis, 30.6 inches, and the most snow on the ground at Indianapolis, 20 inches. Even experienced weather professionals, who knew what was coming, had little idea of exactly what they would face over the next few days. Wayne News-Sentinal.įew citizens of central Indiana could have known the devastating impact that this once-in-a-generation blizzard would have on their lives, despite the warnings coming from forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Indianapolis. Beginning Wednesday January 25, 1978, Indiana was paralyzed by a snow storm that came to be known as the Blizzard of '78, the worst blizzard on record for the Hoosier state.Ī familiar scene across Indiana during the Blizzard of 78.