RMCIII 838 #1 Posted January 7, 2014 This is not cold and really not much snow... Here is a photo of what it could be..... This was taken in 1978, in Kings Illinois. Just a little over 10 miles from where I lived in Oregon Illinois. This is snow and cold at it's best. You could call it an artic freeze/ Post a picture from your area in 78 - 79, will make this seem like a HEAT WAVE//// 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lane Ranger 10,495 #2 Posted January 7, 2014 This looks like what I saw yesterday when I got to the Illinois state line on U.S. 36 west of Dana, Indiana! No kidding completely drifted over and I assume unpassable from Chrisman, Illinois to Dana. We had to turn around and go back to Indiana SR 63 and take it north to I-74. Lots of wrecks and drifts. Took 3 hours from Greencastle to Champaign/Urbana (100 Miles) and we returned on I-74 and U.S. 231 in three hourse. Followed a state plow truck from Crawfordsville to SR 238 clearing drifts on U.S. 231 (longest highway in Indiana) and made it back to Greencastle around 9:0015 PM. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
decksetter 50 #3 Posted January 7, 2014 Wow that's no joke! I've heard stories of that storm all my life, part of me wishes I could have seen it, but another part of me is glad I wasn't born till 83. Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SousaKerry 500 #4 Posted January 7, 2014 My parents tell stories of this storm all the time, I was only 2 so of coarse I don't remember a thing. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bk-scouter 93 #5 Posted January 7, 2014 Those were the best winters as a kid. -BK Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 22,230 #6 Posted January 7, 2014 It was not a storm as such in 1978...it was the whole winter. It started out with a 6" snow (Elgin) on Thanksgiving and we never had a warm up to melt what was on the ground all winter. Every snow was just on top of the last one. Don't get me wrong...we had a couple of good snows that season, but it was the whole winter thing and no melting. I was a lineman with the phone company that year. I was climbing poles in back yards and working on the lines. We were wearing snowshoes to get to the poles, and I had a plastic to-bogon that I pulled with my tools and hardware on it. On some poles, you could just stand on top of the snow and reach the wires. It was a crazy winter and I was a lean, mean 29 years old then. I think I have some pictures somewhere. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shorts 182 #7 Posted January 7, 2014 I remember I 75 and the ohio toll road I 80/90 being closed for several days, I spent 4 days transporting hospital personel to/from work in the Toledo area 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaynard 14,898 #8 Posted January 7, 2014 In 1977, the Chesapeake Bay froze over. Look at this picture of a tractor pulling a wagon and a sled across the frozen saltwater. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMCIII 838 #9 Posted January 7, 2014 This looks like what I saw yesterday when I got to the Illinois state line on U.S. 36 west of Dana, Indiana! No kidding completely drifted over and I assume unpassable from Chrisman, Illinois to Dana. We had to turn around and go back to Indiana SR 63 and take it north to I-74. Lots of wrecks and drifts. Took 3 hours from Greencastle to Champaign/Urbana (100 Miles) and we returned on I-74 and U.S. 231 in three hourse. Followed a state plow truck from Crawfordsville to SR 238 clearing drifts on U.S. 231 (longest highway in Indiana) and made it back to Greencastle around 9:0015 PM. Yep, once you get out of any city, Illinois winters are hard. There is noting to stop the winds once the fields are out. It is just open space and the winter winds are truly something in Illinois. We had livestock during that time. I was 9yrs. old. I do remember helping dad outside. It was truly "awful" By the time you drew the water from the pump house, in a 5 gallon bucket, to take and water the animals which took all of 3 minutes. There was already a thin sheet of ice forming on the top. Winds were so bad one time, they literally just blew us down to the barn. We sat on the ice and the wind did the rest. People talk of stories about how bad it was, I lived it, and many more did also. Illinois was one of the hardest hit states for snow and wind chill during those years. Dad had just purchased a brand new 1979 jeep J-10 Honcho pickup in the late November of 1978. Great truck by the way. Sidetracked. During the peak of the winter storm it ran for a week straight. It was never shut off. Dad was afraid it might not start so he just left it running. Every 2 days he would take it into town and fill it back up. At one point, out in the country, the only way you could get to town was by snowmobile. The roads were drifted completely shut. No 4x4 would even think of trying to break through. That lasted about a day and a half. We burned wood back then. Thank goodness for free heat... Man we cranked that thing up....Memories. My parents tell stories of this storm all the time, I was only 2 so of coarse I don't remember a thing. I was only 7 years older than you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 22,230 #10 Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) Rob, my brother lived out in Burlington...just a few miles east of that picture. They were out for days and nights rescuing people that were stuck in there vehicles. He told stories of running the roads with his snowmobile...going over buried cars and pulling people out. These winters are dangerous...you can die out there. We have one of those winters going this year...be safe my friends...and smart....spring is only 70 some days away...you don't want to miss that. Here is one from 1978...my Dad with his 857... Edited January 7, 2014 by stevasaurus 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 38,932 #11 Posted January 7, 2014 I was a lean, mean 29 years old then. I think I have some pictures somewhere. They had camera's back then?? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lane Ranger 10,495 #12 Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) The winter blizzard/ storm of 1967 was the one I will always remember! It hit Chicago and Northwest Indiana and was over 58 inches of snow. Drifts were up to the eves on all kinds of houses! Here is a youtube video of that storm from a TV Station piece! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxcS57hhOas http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t88qEWuI3Wg Edited January 7, 2014 by Lane Ranger 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMCIII 838 #13 Posted January 7, 2014 I was a lean, mean 29 years old then. I think I have some pictures somewhere. They had camera's back then?? You were just 20yrs. older than me... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMCIII 838 #14 Posted January 7, 2014 Rob, my brother lived out in Burlington...just a few miles east of that picture. They were out for days and nights rescuing people that were stuck in there vehicles. He told stories of running the roads with his snowmobile...going over buried cars and pulling people out. These winters are dangerous...you can die out there. We have one of those winters going this year...be safe my friends...and smart....spring is only 70 some days away...you don't want to miss that. Here is one from 1978...my Dad with his 857... They were dangerous, but I am not sure I really grasp that, at 9yrs. old. I know my parents did, but that did not stop us kids, from going outside to play. Not sure if it was just the magnitude of snow that we liked or forts we built, in the snow drifts, to play hide and seek in. Dad would come out, to inspect the forts, to ensure they were not going to cave in. Our school, Oregon School, was ALWAYS the last school to close. I do remember that. My parents would get so mad. Every school in Northern Illinois would be closed, but Oregon, would still be open... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
