The Blizzard Of 1978: Was Winter 2015 Worse?

winter 2015 blizzard boston storm arlington

Snow piles up during the winter of 2015 in Boston. (Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images)

This is Part 2 of a series on the Blizzard of '78--read Part 1 here.

BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Which storm was more impressive--the Blizzard of 1978, or the Winter of 2015?

If you ask Bostonians, you get a strong response on both sides of the debate.

You think Blizzard of 78, and you picture the iconic photo of dozens of snow-covered cars stranded on Route 128.

WBZ newsman Gary LaPierre informed listeners about what was happening as the great blizzard moved through New England. 

"National guardsmen, volunteers, and snowmobiles are out looking people who are still stranded in cars, because that is also the case," he told his audience.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh summed up the Winter of 2015 at one of his many press briefings.

"This isn't Loon Mountain," he said. "This is the city of Boston where we are trying to remove snow."

WBZ-TV meteorologist Barry Burbank experienced both, and it's hard for him to make the call.

"We've never seen anything like the Blizzard of '78, with the combination of the amount of snow that we had and the terrible destruction along the coast due to the tides," he says.

However, he says the Winter of 2015 beat all the odds.  

"Over 30 days, getting over 100 inches of snow, in 30 days. We broke all the records," he explains.  

Michael Goldman, who is now a Democratic political consultant, also experienced both storms. He believes the Blizzard of '78 trumps the Winter of 2015 hands down. 

"After the great blizzard, everyone became paralyzed and you see it to this day," he said. "If they say there's going to be two inches of snow, the supermarkets are packed." 

He says The Blizzard of '78 set the standard for how we deal with storm events now. 

"The model was set by then Governor Michael Dukakis in his sweater," he said.

Burbank says meteorologists have a lot more guidance now and social media play a significant role.

"We're there for you all day long, I mean, with Twitter and Facebook, there's updates and we send out updates all the time and so I don't think we're going to have a situation again like we had during the Blizzard of '78 and all of these people getting stranded out there not knowing there was a storm coming," he said.

Boston Garden Beanpot Hockey Director Steve Nazro, who hosted dozens of stranded hockey fans overnight, loves to reminisce. 

"If you ask me what I had for dinner a week ago, I probably couldn't tell you," he said. "But this snowstorm of '78 was really, it was really something." 

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mary Blake reports


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