Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana Timeline

January 25, 1978 Blizzard

40th Anniversary of the "White Hurricane of 1978", Matthew Leach, Jan 24, 2018 on YouTube.
Feature story on the Blizzard of 1978 (Jan 24-27) from the perspective of one Fort Wayne, IN, resident who remembers the event like it was yesterday. Aired on ABC21, Fort Wayne, January 24th, 2018 during the 5 pm newscast.

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. according to the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office of Indianapolis, IN. More than ten inches of snow fell the first day and seven more followed over the next two days. ... Snow fell at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour with sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph. Visibilities were brought down to one sixteenth of a mile. Northern Indiana Blizzard of 1978, 40th Anniversary of the Blizzard of '78 at Northern Indiana Weather Forecast Office at the National Weather Sevice.

  1. Almost 100 Blizzard images and less than 40 for Blizzard of 1978 in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.
  2. Fort Wayne Indiana Blizzard of 1978 and 1978 Blizzard of Indiana Google search Rresults
  3. Photos: The History Center remembers the Blizzard of ’78 posted Jan 24, 2018 at CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15.
  4. 39th anniversary of Blizzard of '78, WANE 15 News, January 25, 2017, on YouTube.
    NewsChannel 15 Meteorologist Hannah Strong reports.

  5. January 25, 2017 video post by the IndyStar on Facebook:

    Blizzard of 1978

  6. January 26, 2017 post by Matt Leach - 21Alive Weather on Facebook:.

    **39TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BLIZZARD OF 1978**

    39 years ago, 1-2 FEET of snow fell in less than 24 hours with sustained wind speeds between 35-45 mph. Below is the total snowfall accumulations from the 25th to the 26th.

    Can you imagine if I released a snowfall prediction map like this today?!

    Who remembers this event? I'd love to hear your story!

  7. January 25, 2018 post by WANE 15 on Facebook.

    40 years later: Remembering the Blizzard of '78

    THE BLIZZARD OF '78 | It's been 40 years since the historic Blizzard of '78, which dumped 1-2 inches of snow per hour and 55 mph wind gusts blew it around on Jan. 25, 1978. What do you remember about that storm?

    ARCHIVES: 40 years later: Remembering historic 1978 blizzard

  8. Photos: 40 years ago today, Fort Wayne’s Blizzard of 1978 by Lisa M. Esquivel Long published January 25, 2018 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
  9. January 25, 2018 post by Matt Leach - 21Alive Weather on Facebook

    TOTAL SNOW FROM THE BLIZZARD OF '78 | Can you imagine a snowfall map like this today, especially on top of snow pack that already exceeded half a foot?

    Of course, we can't forget about the wind-whipped 6-10' snow drifts all across Northern Indiana, either. Just an amazing event!

    And for those asking if we could see something similar in the future: Yes. If it can happen once, it can happen again!

    January 25, 2018 post by Matt Leach - 21Alive Weather on Facebook

    Viewer Pam Wolfe stopped by the studio today to show me her "Survivor Blizzard of 78" t-shirt! She received it after the storm 40 years ago.

    Anyone else have this groovy shirt? I hear there aren't many of them around anymore!

  10. Kent Hormann’s career was set up by Blizzard of ’78 by Blake Sebring published January 29, 2018 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
  11. January 25, 2022 post by the Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

    On January 25, 1978, Indiana was hit with a blizzard lasting until the 27th. The "Great Blizzard of 1978" left National Weather Service (NWS) employees stranded for days and prompted the NWS to issue its first statewide Blizzard Warning.

    Conditions were so extreme that the National Guard dispatched utility vehicles to help stranded travelers. Governor Otis Bowen declared a snow emergency and Indiana University closed for the first time in the campus's history.

    The image below is courtesy of the St. Joseph County Public Library.

  12. January 23, 2023 post by the Indiana Archives and Records Administration Facebook:

    Anyone else disappointed with the small amount of snow Indy got yesterday? Enjoy these #ThrowBack photos of the historic blizzard of 1978. These photos are of the Fort Wayne Developmental Center.

    #Snow #Indianapolis #Blizzard #ThrowbackThursday #ArchivesPhotos #FortWayne

  13. January 26, 2023 post by US National Weather Service Northern Indiana on Facebook:
    It was a snowy day at the Fort Wayne International Airport yesterday! ❄️ In fact, for January 25th, FWA set a new record daily maximum snowfall! A total of 6.2" of snow fell yesterday! This breaks the old record of 5.4" which was set back in 1978, during the start of the Blizzard of '78!

  14. January 27, 2023 post by Gregg Bender on Facebook:

    You can almost hear the groans when it comes up to those who weren't there... my cartoon in today's Journal Gazette

    Gregg Bender Bilizzard 1978 cartoon

    January 26, 2024 post on The Journal Gazette newspaper.

1978, February 17 - Lindenwood Cemetery was enrolled on the National Register of Historic Places. See photo from July 15, 2013 Dearly Departed 2013 tour on The History Center on Facebook page.

1978, March 25 - #5 Worst Fort Wayne Flood: Estimated $55 Million in damages, 25 miles of streets closed, FW declared a disaster as area rivers crested at 23.76 feet from Chronological Flood History at City of Fort Wayne.

  1. Flood Leaves 1,000 Homeless in Fort Wayne, Ind. March 25, 1978 in The New York Times archive.
  2. Floods of March 1978, in the Maumee River basin, northeastern Indiana Open-File Report 81-695 By: Richard Earl Hoggatt at USGS Publications Warehouse.
  3. Three dozen Flood of 1978 photos with over two dozen Flood of 1978 of those photos in the Fire Fighter Photographs collection at the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

See the Floods section of our Rivers of Fort Wayne page.

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