Here in Scioto County we have a winter storm warning with the latest predictions for 3-6 inches of snow over January 16-17, 2022. Of course, the anticipation sets off a frenzy of human activity as people make last-minute preparations for the coming storm. People rush to stores to stock up on groceries, get out their snow shovels and sleds, and generally speculate about the chance of being snowbound.
The prediction of a sizable snowfall also sets off recollections of big snows of the past … like the one approximately 27 years ago that also occurred on the extended Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. It was a doozy – a true unforgettable dose of the incredible force of nature. I remember it as the most snow I have even seen in a 24-hour downfall. Let's take a minute or two to reflect on that amazing storm.
Up to 30 inches of snow officially piled up (even more?) to bring parts of the Ohio Valley sliding to a halt on January 17, 1994, as National Guardsmen mobilized and major highways shut down. To the delight of area children, schools remained closed for at least a week. Bone-chilling temperatures set record lows around the tristate.
The storm immobilized many residents, and was also unforgivably deadly. At least 18 deaths were blamed nationwide on snow, ice, and cold during that holiday weekend.
"Nobody's moving," said Willie Duley, co-owner of a service station in Morgantown, W.Va. "It's pretty bad."
(Associated Press. “Snow Cuts Wide Swath in Midwest and South.” The New York Times. January 18, 1994.)
Highways were closed by deep drifts and abandoned cars in extreme Southern Ohio. Nine South-central counties declared snow emergencies banning all but emergency travels and essentially shutting down the region. I remember that even the sidewalks in Portsmouth were impassable due to the humongous piles of snow shoved aside by road crews clearing area street. Walking in that much snow – I remember as over 30 inches – was nearly impossible. One word describes the outside navigation – “struggle.”
Major roads were reopened Tuesday but rural highways of Southern Ohio were blocked and families remained snowbound. Deep snow and temperatures below -25 degrees caused huge problems. The extreme cold on top of all that snow made for arctic conditions.
The 216th Battalion of the National Guard continued working through the week in Scioto County with eight Humvees, two field field ambulances, a grader, and heavy trucks.
(Thomas W. Schmidlin and Jeanne Appelhans Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland: A Chronicle of Outstanding Weather Events in Ohio. 1996.)
That’s me (Lisa Rickey) sitting on a swing in our back yard during the Great Snow of ’94. As an archivist, I cringe at the thought/speech bubble sticker, but I also know that somewhere at my parents’ house, the negative for this picture is safe (and unmarred) in a cabinet, waiting for me to scan it someday.
Lisa P. Rickey, an archivist in the Miami Valley, recorded an excerpt of what the Schmidlins had to say about the Great Snow of ’94 (from pages 76-77):
“January 1994 was an 'old-fashioned' winter month in the upper Ohio Valley, with two exceptionally deep snowfalls followed by record cold on 19 January. Snowfall on Tuesday, 4 January totaled twelve to twenty inches from Marietta to Steubenville…
“A greater snowfall arrived on Monday 17 January. This storm left six to ten inches across nearly all of Ohio but, again, the deepest snow was along the Ohio River. Portsmouth received twenty inches of snow, and thirty inches was reported at Lucasville. Twenty-two to twenty-four inches fell in Adams County, with fifteen inches reported in Piketon and Jackson. Snowfall intensities of five inches an hour were measured at Chillicothe.
“Highways were closed Monday by deep drifts and abandoned cars in extreme southern Ohio. Nine south-central counties declared snow emergencies Monday morning, banning all but emergency travel and essentially shutting down the region. Temperatures were cold, so the snow did not stick to trees and there was no widespread disruption of phone and electric service. (p. 77)
“Businesses assisted residents who could not get out in the deep snow. The pharmacy at Kroger’s in Portsmouth delivered medicine to customers who were unable to travel, according to the Portsmouth Daily Times. Southern Ohio Medical Center [the hospital in Portsmouth] employees were picked up and delivered to the hospital in four-wheel-drive trucks and rescue squads.
(Lisa P. Rickey. “Recalling the Great Snow of ’94.” Glancing Backwards. January 19, 2014.)
The arctic blast lasted for three days from January 18 to 20. Columbus, Ohio set an all-time record-low temperature of −22 °F (−30 °C) on January 19. Cincinnati reached -21 degrees F and Mansfield reached a chilling -57 degrees F.
Cleveland also reached a record-breaking -20 degrees F on January 19 and a wind chill index of an astounding -41 degrees F. With the rock-solid, frozen Cuyahoga River, this deep freeze left its mark on Ohio as one of the coldest winters on record.
(April Dray. “In 1994, Ohio Plunged Into An Arctic Freeze That Makes This Year’s Winter Look Downright Mild.” Only In Your State. January 17, 2018.)
In Glancing Backwards, Rickey shares her recollections from childhood (She was 11 years old and in the fifth grade at the time.) …
“Major roads were reopened Tuesday, but rural highways of southern Ohio were blocked and families remained snowbound. The effort to clear side roads continued into Wednesday. Schools were scheduled to be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day and remained shut all week in southeastern counties by the deep snow and temperatures below -25 degrees…
“Snowfall during January totaled 45.5 inches at Newport and 33.3 inches at Marietta. These were among the heaviest snowfalls ever recorded in Ohio outside the Lake Erie snowbelt. At the Parkersburg Airport, five miles south of Marietta, snowfall totaled 40 inches during January 1994. This was a record for any month, exceeding the old record of 35 inches in November 1950. The January snowfall was more than had fallen in the entire past two winters combined in southeastern Ohio.
“We actually lived in Minford, Ohio, a smaller rural town outside of Portsmouth; it was closer to Lucasville (7 miles away, mentioned in the excerpt as having 30 inches of snow!) than Portsmouth (14 miles away).
“I remember that there seemed to be about 2 feet of snow (which is substantiated by the above excerpt); it was over my knees (as illustrated in the included photos!). I remember that simply walking through the snow (which was no easy feat) left these trailing paths like you were in some sort of a maze, because the snow was so high it almost felt like maze walls (maybe I made this association because I always loved doing mazes in those activity books when I was a kid).”
(Lisa P. Rickey. “Recalling the Great Snow of ’94.” Glancing Backwards. January 19, 2014.)
What is it about a big snowfall that takes us back to a magical time in our past and ignites our memories with both delight and fear? I assume anticipation of an upcoming adventure beckons our imaginations to consider once more being at the mercy of Mother Nature. Those who were in living in 1994 know what I mean. What will January 17, 2022 bring? Whatever the reality, the fancy sparked images of blizzard-like days of our past. 1994 is likely a once-in-a-lifetime impression vividly and indelibly pressed into the brains of so many area residents. Are you one?
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