January 30, 1977: The Blizzard of ’77

This post was first written forty two years later, on January 30, 2019.

Today, I am eleven months, and five days old. Less than a month until my first birthday. While I do not remember anything of today’s events, this is a day that my parents would talk about for much of my life.

“The Blizzard of ‘77 got underway in Western New York —the start of a five day event that shut the region down. Snowfall totals reached 100 inches in some areas, wind gusts peaked at 69 MPH and snow drifts towered 40 feet high. The devastating winter storm resulted in 23 deaths in Western New York.”

This was one of those weather events that coloured much of my life. I always heard about it and how scary it was being the first winter for our family on the farm in Peoria.