Providence Journal file photo / J. David Lamontagne
A plow operator tries to make his way down Route 95 in Providence as the cleanup of the Blizzard of 1978 got underway.
PROVIDENCE -Thirty-five years ago Wednesday, the flakes began falling, falling, falling.
During the Blizzard of '78 snow dive-bombed for 36 hours straight and gave Rhode Islanders memories to last a lifetime - "Where were you during the Blizzard?"
Woonsocket got the most - 54 inches. Block Island got off lightly with 10 inches. Twenty-one deaths were attributed to the storm in Rhode Island. At its most intense period, on Feb. 6. from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Blizzard deposited 3 inches per hour.
Drivers abandoned nearly 2,000 cars on Routes 95, 195 and 146. A thousand others spent the first night in their vehicles, eyeing gas gauges with trepidation.
Hundreds spent the ensuing days sheltering in churches, factories, hospitals, schools, hotels and the homes of strangers.