Batesville, In. — Forty years ago this week southeastern Indiana was in the grip of the Blizzard of 1978. The storm set records that still stand today:
- The third lowest non-tropical barometric pressure recorded in the United States on January 26, 1978 on record.
- On January 26, 1978, Governor Otis Bowen closed Weir Cook Air Terminal in Indianapolis and the Indiana State police closed all roadways in the state.
- More than 70 people died in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
- First statewide blizzard warning in the state of Indiana.
- Indiana Bell Telephone restricted all phone use to emergency calls only.
- Some newspapers used pink stock so subscribers could find the “fish wrap” in the snowy conditions.
- President Carter declared Indiana a Federal Disaster Area on January 27.
The storm was caused when two upper-level systems, one from Louisiana and the other from the Northern plains descended on the Midwest. The storm smashed snowfall records and record wind gusts of up to 55-miles-per-hour created drifts as high as 25-feet.
in the Batesville area, 103.9 WRBI maintained operations through the storm to keep the public informed. Local emergency workers helped radio station with travel and local businesses and restaurants provided food during the record-breaking winter weather event.
