48 YEARS AGO: Blizzard of ’78 INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It may have been overlooked over this past weekend as Indiana dealt with an impactful winter storm, but it’s been 48 years since the Blizzard of ’78. This storm holds so many records in the Great Lakes and Ohio River Valley regions, including Indiana. Snowfall totals from Jan. 25-29, 1978, were 52 inches for Muskegon, Michigan; 36 inches for South Bend, Indiana; 19.2 inches for Grand Rapids, Michigan; 15.5 inches for Indianapolis; 12.2 inches for Dayton, Ohio; and 8.2 inches for Detroit. A surface low-pressure system in the south underwent rapid intensification on Jan. 25 before traveling north toward the Great Lakes. Conditions quickly deteriorated on Jan. 25 in central Indiana. This resulted in the first-ever blizzard warning to be issued for all of Indiana. Remarkably, visibility would be under a quarter-mile in Indianapolis for 25 straight hours. Heavy snow, high winds, wind chill values near -50, and snow drifts of 20-25 feet were some of the memorable traits of the historic blizzard. Legendary WISH-TV meteorologist Stan Wood famously nailed the forecast with the storm. He and the WISH-TV crew provided key coverage of the blizzard as it unfolded. For more about the WISH-TV coverage on the Blizzard of ’78, watch station staff remembering Blizzard of ’78. Some may not know that the same winter produced another storm in February 1978, which many refer to as the Blizzard of ’78 on the East Coast. On WISH-TV YouTube | WISH-TV special report on Blizzard of 1978 ...read more read less