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It's a good point, and one I make to the old timers I know. The forecasts have improved dramatically in the elapsed ~4 decades. Weather forecasts still have room for improvement of course. But given current technology and atmospheric modeling, the likelihood of a repeat of the kind of event that led to the stranded in-place cars during the blizzard of '78 is small.
actually the forecasters back then saw the blizzard coming, three separate low system from the west, north and south, but no one had the guts to forecast what they saw. Predicting 2-4 feet of snow was not commonplace anywhere except the Rockies and they would be subject to ridicule if they were wrong. They could not believe what they were seeing. Fortunately the Weather Channel was not around with the naming of the winter storm and the 4 plus days of "The Blizzard is coming, The Blizzard is coming".
My mom worked at the airport and called the school to get me out after lunch and I remember taking my time driving home not really aware of the seriousness of the coming storm.
Looking back, I never asked her how she knew. Social media was none existent and with the storm going into the night I didn't really know the significance (even though it was howling at night) until the morning and then it was like holy sh$t!!!
Even with the forecasting as we had with this storm there were hundreds of people that spent hours stranded on the freeway in Kentucky with this storm.
It's amazing, storms now as an adult are a pain in the azz, but as a child it was better than going to Disneyworld.
No matter what we banter about on this board who didn't love Salty Brine and Foster Glouster (spelling?)
I was in college in RI when it hit. A group of buddies and me were heading down to Newport for some fun and had no idea that such a big storm was on its way. We barely got back and had no classes for a week. It was a blast though. One week of solid partying. What fun. We walked into town to stock up on beer and we were all set. Great memories. Jay
I was at URI. No worries, everything taken care of. Somebody took a sled or something to Kenyon's and we had a big party over at Fayerweather dorm. Some of the basketball players from NY wanted to go home so they walked to the train station in Kingston. Said it reminded them of Bug Tussle. I walked my friend there for her trip back to Providence to be with her mother. Can't say I didn't disagree with the basketball players.
I was in the nursing program at CCRI in Warwick in 1978 and remember looking out the top floor window of the building and saw the flakes coming down and decided to skip my noon class and head home to Bristol. By the time I got to Providence it was pretty bad, and I decided to take the Veteran's Memorial Parkway instead of staying on the highway so I could at least crawl home at my own pace because the highway was crazy. Fortunately I was able to make it home in about 3 hours. My late father was not so lucky as he got stuck on the Thurber's Ave curve for nearly a week and slept on the floor at some diner on Eddy St. He and some guy he met eventually shoveled their cars out, drove down the wrong side of the highway being chased by the State police and once they got to Mass the Staties let them go. My father said once he crossed the border into Seekonk the roads were cleared down to the pavement. Since that blizzard I never leave home without a shovel, boots, bag of sand, and a few other essentials just in case
I was in the nursing program at CCRI in Warwick in 1978 and remember looking out the top floor window of the building and saw the flakes coming down and decided to skip my noon class and head home to Bristol. By the time I got to Providence it was pretty bad, and I decided to take the Veteran's Memorial Parkway instead of staying on the highway so I could at least crawl home at my own pace because the highway was crazy. Fortunately I was able to make it home in about 3 hours. My late father was not so lucky as he got stuck on the Thurber's Ave curve for nearly a week and slept on the floor at some diner on Eddy St. He and some guy he met eventually shoveled their cars out, drove down the wrong side of the highway being chased by the State police and once they got to Mass the Staties let them go. My father said once he crossed the border into Seekonk the roads were cleared down to the pavement. Since that blizzard I never leave home without a shovel, boots, bag of sand, and a few other essentials just in case
OMG what a story your father had to tell! Good logic for you to take the VMP instead of 95.
"Since that blizzard I never leave home without a shovel, boots, bag of sand, and a few other essentials just in case"
Yeah, I'm not that bright. I remember in those days I used to go out to the clubs in my heels - no boots, no shovel, nothing. What a dope. One night I got stuck in the snow just getting out of my own road. Luckily my car had broken down earlier and I had borrowed my fathers car. At least somebody in the family had enough sense to put a shovel in the trunk during the winter in New England. I shoveled the stuck car out in my heels and went on my way. Nothing was going to stop me from my night out in those days.
Now you'll find me looking out the window, reading my books, as the plows go by (no - I have two rocking chairs in the living room - {oh and 2 afghans crocheted by my grandmother} but they are not my perch - yet!)
OMG what a story your father had to tell! Good logic for you to take the VMP instead of 95.
"Since that blizzard I never leave home without a shovel, boots, bag of sand, and a few other essentials just in case"
Yeah, I'm not that bright. I remember in those days I used to go out to the clubs in my heels - no boots, no shovel, nothing. What a dope. One night I got stuck in the snow just getting out of my own road. Luckily my car had broken down earlier and I had borrowed my fathers car. At least somebody in the family had enough sense to put a shovel in the trunk during the winter in New England. I shoveled the stuck car out in my heels and went on my way. Nothing was going to stop me from my night out in those days.
Now you'll find me looking out the window, reading my books, as the plows go by (no - I have two rocking chairs in the living room - {oh and 2 afghans crocheted by my grandmother} but they are not my perch - yet!)
Too funny -- we all had pretty much the same experience -- come 'snow' or high water -- we were going to get out! I remember driving home from dances/dates in the winter with sopping wet high heels (suede heels were the rage) and hose, and slush on the carpet mats. And gawd forbid we would have a hat on ! ruin our hair-do ? no wayyyy. We had a very unusal good 18" of snow here in my mountain neighborhood, and out came the LL Bean boots. Nice looking boots. Probably the 3rd time I've worn them in 14 yrs. Shovel? what shovel.
In '78 though we were one of the few on our street that heated with gas and gas stove, we were fine hunkered down, and didn't lose power. Luckily the Pres. of the gas company lived around the corner and he had it brought in to a few of us when we built in there.
I can't imagine Nightengale's dad living in the diner, sleeping on the floor, wow. But many were stuck in their cars, and had to walk miles to save their lives.
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Probably the 3rd time I've worn them in 14 yrs. Shovel? what shovel. 
