How much snow could we get?

SANDUSKY — There's both good news and bad news when it comes to this week's potentially historic winter storm. Let's start with the good: The latest projections show the area not getting as much snowfall as originally expected. And now the bad: It's still a lot. Throughout north-central Ohio, this week, models anticipate the region receiving up to 18 inches of snow — down from earlier forecasts of 24 inches — paired with blizzard-like conditions. The snow should start falling later tonight and continue throughout the night. It's also going to be very windy. "The wind is going to be a problem," said Ross Ellet, a meteorologist with 13abc in Toledo, which covers the Sandusky area. "The wind gusts are really going to crank up Thursday afternoon into Thursday night. We anticipate the wind guests to be between 30 and 40 mph." Ellet wants people to treat this weather event "as something that could potentially delay, if not significantly alter, your daily lives." While not everyone can stay home, due to their jobs, those who can should, Ellet said. "If you have that luxury where you can make other plans at home and not be out on the roads, that would be best," said Ellet, realizing many others must travel for work. In Toledo's history, the most snowfall on record occurred in March 1900 with 20.2 inches, Ellet reported. A storm from one year ago, Feb. 16, 2021, saw 14.5 inches falling on the city. In terms of temperature, the coldest days could follow this week's snowstorm. Ellet predicts it could dip to -10 on Friday and Saturday with wind chill possibly at -25. Back to the Blizzard of '78 With this week's expected storm, many have harkened back to one of the worst winter events in Ohio's history, paralyzing the region 44 years ago. Known as the Blizzard of 1978, it causes local schools, businesses and other entities were forced to shut down and ride out a storm that brought low temperatures and weather extremes never experienced by many before. In Ohio, snow accumulation ranged from 7 inches to more than a foot of snow, depending on the location. Within hours, the temperature dropped dramatically, down 40 degrees in a short time. Wind gusts were relentless, too. "An ore carrier stranded in thick ice on Lake Erie just offshore from Sandusky reported sustained winds of 86 mph with gusts to 111 mph that morning," a report with National Weather Service stated. Also on Jan. 26, 1978: The storm's strength prompted President Jimmy Carter to declare Ohio a "federal disaster" area. In the days afterward, members of the National Guard were needed to clear roads, evacuate residents, deliver food and other necessities, drive people to hospitals for treatment and more. A handful of local residents — in a Register news story printing in January 2018, commemorating its 40th anniversary — shared their storm-related memories "My mom was stuck at work (at) Good Samaritan Hospital, so my dad and aunt had us sleep in our basement and we ate SpaghettiOs heated over a (Bunsen) burner," Sandusky resident Chris Biglin Selman said. Sandusky resident Tony Schaefer was 26 when the blizzard hit on Jan. 25, 1978. While living in a condominium near Bogart Road with his then-wife and two young children, he remembers hearing the wind whip around his home that morning, lasting a couple hours. The power went out, too. "I've never heard the thunder and lightning I heard for a half hour like that in the middle of January before," Schaefer said. "The wind sounded like a tornado or a hurricane coming through my backyard." The family didn't have heat in their home for a day or so, but the temperature didn't drop below 50 degrees inside. Schaefer said they couldn't get out of their home for two or three days, but he had to take in his niece and nephew, who didn't have heat in their Bogart Road home. "Back then, they couldn't predict it," Schaefer said of the storm. "I really didn't know what the heck was going on. You don't have social media like you do now, and we didn't have electric, no TV or radio or anything." While living on Carr Street, Sandusky city commissioner Dave Waddington recalled digging out nearby sidewalks after the storm. "If you had two-wheel drive, you couldn't go anywhere," he said. "I was out of school then, but it was fun for the kids." As a firefighter, Bob McCormick went to work Jan. 25, 1978, to help transport and rescue residents, including nurses going to Providence Hospital. Snowplows paved the way for fire trucks to get to help. He and his co-workers didn't sleep much and cooked for each other at the station. During rescues, he recalled he and his fellow firefighters carried people on their backs. "Everyone worked together — citizens, everybody. You feared what you would find," McCormick said. While responding to calls for help, their eyelashes froze. They pressed their fingers against them to thaw them, but some eyelashes would fall off. McCormick summed up how many people feel about the horrific weather event. "I never want to go through that again," he said. Editor's note: Register reporter Caitlin Nearhood contributed to this news story.