FARMERSBURG, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Here we are in the middle of winter, and we really haven’t had that much snow this season, let alone a blizzard. Station Meteorologist Savanna Brito details the last blizzard in our area, and just how rare it is for them here.
The odds of a blizzard across the Wabash Valley are only roughly about 2%, so very rare.
Blizzard criteria is defined by visibility reduced to a quarter of a mile or less and 35mph or higher winds for at least three hours.
You don’t need to have snow falling to have a blizzard. If snow already on the ground is blown by 35 mph winds and visibility is reduced to a quarter of a mile or less, you have what is called a “ground blizzard”.
The last actual blizzard in this area was the blizzard of 1978. The last near blizzard conditions were on Dec. 26, 2012.
The blizzard of 1978 started on the afternoon of Jan. 25 and lasted through the morning of Jan. 27.
The wind chill dropped to -55 degrees which was the lowest wind chill ever recorded here.
Wind gusts hit 55mph on Jan. 26.
The first ever blizzard warning was issued for the entire state of Indiana back in 1978, and this storm still stands as the worst snowstorm/blizzard in the state’s history.
Snow was hard to measure with the wind, but there were about 15 inches recorded, and we had snow drifts as high as 20 feet during the blizzard of 1978 here in the valley.
