Remembering the Blizzard of 1978

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - There's no question about it, we've been very lucky this winter when it comes to big snowstorms. On Friday the sun was shining and there isn't even any snow on the ground but 34 years ago this month it was a very different story.

It's sometimes referred to as "the week the state stood still". From February 5th through the 7th the Blizzard of 1978 paralyzed parts of New England, especially Massachusetts.

One woman who was working at Baystate at the time remembers what it was like when she was finally was able to leave work.

“It was a little white car and it was totally covered with snow and I remember standing there and I was so tired I cried and cried and then a stranger came around the corner with a shovel and started shoveling me out, never said a word and shoveled me out and I got in the car and cried all the way home,” said Marybeth Dillion of West Springfield.

The strong winds along with heavy snow caused white-out conditions and travel became nearly impossible.
As bad as it was here in western Massachusetts it was much worse in the Boston area. Route 128 became a virtual parking lot with over 3,000 vehicles stuck on the highway.

Along the coast the combination of strong northeast winds and the slow moving storm caused serious beach erosion and coastal flooding.

In all 73 people died in Massachusetts as a result of the blizzard with damage estimates upwards to around $500 million dollars.

Despite the fact we've had such a mild winter so far some say it still could all change.

Oh sure this is New England. I've lived here all my life and I know we've had storms in April and I think we've even had some as late as May some serious ice storms with trees and power outages so I mean anything can happen,” said Steve Pippin of Westfield.