The snowstorm of December 28, 1978 to January 3, 1979
A snowstorm NOAA ranked in 6 regions on its Regional Snowfall Index, strongest in the Upper Midwest.
The storm by region
Each region’s thresholds are its own, so the same depth of snow counts for more in the South than in the Northeast.
| Region | Index | Category | Area with snow (sq mi) | People under snow | Above the top threshold (sq mi) | People above it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Midwest | 10.08 | Category 4, Crippling | 251,993 | 23,896,453 | 1,672 | 157,093 |
| Ohio Valley | 5.12 | Category 2, Significant | 308,528 | 49,211,432 | 230 | 324,412 |
| South | 2.27 | Category 1, Notable | 270,944 | 18,055,145 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Rockies and Plains | 0.87 | Below category 1 | 434,938 | 4,586,901 | 0 | 0 |
| Northeast | 0.07 | Below category 1 | 163,427 | 49,104,925 | 0 | 0 |
| Southeast | 0.03 | Below category 1 | 69,288 | 14,623,560 | 0 | 0 |
The Regional Snowfall Index is NOAA’s ranking of snowstorms east of the Rockies by how much snow fell, over how wide an area and on how many people, region by region: the area and the population above four snowfall thresholds set for each region, weighted against that region’s own history. A storm is scored in each region it reached, on a scale from 1, notable, to 5, extreme.
In the Storm Events record
The Storm Events Database holds winter weather only from 1996, so this storm has no episodes there.
More
The snowstorm of December 4 to 8, 1978The snowstorm of January 12 to 15, 1979Snow nowEvery winter storm filed
Sources
NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.