Providence Journal file photo / J. David Lamontagne
This photo dated Feb. 10,1978 shows Route 95,
south of Smith Street, on the fourth day
of the Blizzard of ' 78. Nearly 1,000
R.I. drivers spent the first night of the blizzard
in their cars.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Wednesday marks the 35th anniversary of the Blizzard of '78, when snow blanketed the state for 36 hours straight. Here's a look back at a list of Blizzard of '78 statistics that The Providence Journal first published in 2003.
Editors Note: This represents figures available in 2003 when this list was first published.
Official snowfall: 28.6 inches at T.F. Green Airport, the National Weather Service measuring station. During the most intense 24 hours, 27.6 inches fell, a record dating to 1905.
Deepest Weather Service-listed unofficial snowfall: 54 inches, Woonsocket.
Least unofficial snowfall: 10 inches, Block Island.
Most intense snowfall: 3 inches/hour Feb. 6, 7 to 8 p.m.
Biggest wind gust: 58 knots, or 67 mph, Feb. 6, 8 p.m.
Duration: Began Feb. 6 at 10:10 a.m.; ended Feb. 7 at 10:44 p.m.
Deaths attributed to Blizzard: 21 (in Rhode Island).
Cars abandoned on Routes 95, 195 and 146: 1,950.
Abandoned cars towed from Providence streets: 3,000.
Drivers who spent first night in cars: 1,000.
Motorists rescued by Rhode Island National Guard: 2,968.
Children stranded overnight in schools: 900.
Shelters opened: 66.
Trips by National Guard ferrying doctors, nurses, medicine: 3,527.
Home, businesses losing electric power: 11,800.
U.S. military rescue force: 478 soldiers, 178 vehicles.
Pieces of equipment rented from Buffalo, N.Y.: 100.
City's initial estimate of snow-clearing force: 100 pieces.
City's later estimate of snow-clearing force: 8 pieces.
State of emergency declared: Feb. 6 at 5 p.m.
Providence reopened to business: Feb. 13
Cost to state: $6.6 million, expenses and lost taxes.
Total federal disaster assistance: $14,841,484.
Federal snow-removal aid: $4,272,116.
Food stamps: $7,665,768 to an estimated 90,000 people.
Lost wages, private sector: $30 million.
Workers who lost wages: 152,000.
Unemployment benefits paid: $8 million.
Homes damaged: 30.
Looting suspects charged: 25.
Sources: National Weather Service, American Red Cross, Journal files, state Emergency Management Agency (formerly Civil Preparedness Agency).