Captivating Short: Connecticut's Worst Blizzard in State History

February 6, 1978, started out as just another day in Connecticut. But by midday, the Blizzard of 1978 hit with 15 to 30 inches of snow, bone-chilling temperatures, wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour and snowdrifts as high as 16 feet, and many residents found themselves stranded or in danger.

The Blizzard of ’78 is legendary not only in the amount and intensity of the snow and wind, but in other impacts as well, such as politics – it is seen as central to the re-election later that year of Governor Ella Grasso.

Connecticut Public Television aired a documentary about the Blizzard of ’78, which included these statistics:

30 inches of snow

70 mile per hour winds

5,000 people stranded

16 foot snowdrifts

Air and rail traffic were shut down amidst 3 days of snow

Snowfall as heavy as 4 inches per hour

1,200 cars towed from state highways and thousands stuck on secondary roads

Cars and trucks stranded and abandoned in deep snow along Route 128 in Dedham, Mass., are seen in this Feb. 9, 1978 file photo, as military and civilian plows begin to dig them out during the blizzard of 1978. (AP Photo/ File)
The “Blizzard of ’78” a 24-hour storm that pounded the Northeast, crippled Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, cutting off power, closing the airport and straining state resources. The “Blizzard of ’78” a 24-hour storm that pounded the Northeast, crippled Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, cutting off power, closing airports and straining state resources.
The “Blizzard of ’78” a 24-hour storm that pounded the Northeast, crippled Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, cutting off power, closing the airport and straining state resources. The “Blizzard of ’78” a 24-hour storm that pounded the Northeast, crippled Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, cutting off power, closing airports and straining state resources.
The “Blizzard of ’78” a 24-hour storm that pounded the Northeast, crippled Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, cutting off power, closing the airport and straining state resources. The “Blizzard of ’78” a 24-hour storm that pounded the Northeast, crippled Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, cutting off power, closing airports and straining state resources.