In 1978, West Virginia Plunged Into An Arctic Freeze That Makes This Year's Winter Look Downright Mild

What seemed like a system that would pass us by completely (according to local meteorologists) turned out to be the worst blizzard to ever hit the east coast.

In just a few hours, temperatures dropped from the 30s to single digits as an arctic air mass moved in, dumping snow on the entire east coast, turning the world white. It must have felt like a second ice age to some.

By the next day, our state capital was buried under two feet of snow. The heavy snow and howling winds rendered motorists snowblind, providing close to zero visibility. The heavy winds collapsed thousands of trees, which tore through power lines across West Virginia and neighboring regions. Highways, turnpikes, and interstates shut down, lines of communication were lost, and the power went out — many portions of the east coast fell dark.

The U.S. military mounted helicopter rescues and distributed food and supplies in many regions. Snowmobiles and vehicles with four-wheel drive were employed to transport medical personnel and supplies to various regions.

The end result was 70 deaths and millions in damages. It wasn't until the following week that things went back to normal for most of the region.