As Winter Storm Nemo heads toward the East Coast, people in the Northeast are reminded of the Blizzard of 1978, when a huge snowfall ground the region to a halt. In February 1978, a massive storm left much of the area encased in snow. Massachusetts and Rhode Island were hit worst, with more than two feet of snow blanketing some parts. Thousands were injured and the blizzard caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Conditions were so severe that President Jimmy Carter declared parts of the two states federal disaster areas. Here are some dramatic photos from the nor'easter that was one for the history books.
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A carnival of stalled cars, stranded pedestrians, snowplows, and children took over a boulevard in Queens, New York, as heavy snowfall transformed a normally congested throughfare into a winter park.
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A lone pedestrian braces herself against the wind and snow while making her way up a deserted highway in Philadelphia.
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Lightning may not hit twice, but snowstorms sure do. In 1978 two successive storms hit New York City within 17 days, blanketing the city.
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Garment District delivery boys fight through the snow at Broadway and 37th Street.
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There's a car somewhere under there. Falling and drifting snow surrounds a VW Bug on Morrissey Boulevard in Boston during the early-morning hours of the historic blizzard.
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Brave Bostonians walk down a snow-covered downtown street of closed shops.
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Business in Boston's shopping district, along with a lone automobile, ground to a halt during the snowstorm.
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Car owners, city workers, and the National Guard joined the collective effort to dig out cars buried in snow in South Boston after the massive blizzard hit.
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Traffic was stopped for days as snow cut off roads and highways. Here, Roy Sodersjerna suns himself on the hood of his car on Route 128 in Massachusetts while waiting for plows and tow trucks to dig him out. Unable to move the vehicle for three days, he camped out at a Red Cross shelter nearby.
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