COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)–We’ve had 5 inches of snow in Columbus all winter through January 27, 2016–the same amount that fell on January 26-27, 1978: Except that came overnight, whipped by winds gusting as high as 69 mph.

The Great Blizzard of January 1978 is still a source of memories and harrowing tales of survival in Ohio. The storm turned from a gentle rain, followed by heavier downpours with thunder and lightning, on the evening of January 25, 1978, with a temperature of 40 degrees, into a raging blizzard before dawn the next day.

Unrelenting wind and frigid air created some of the harshest conditions ever known in the Buckeye State for several days in the aftermath of the historic winter storm.

Fifty-one Ohioans perished in the storm, nearly half while leaving their vehicles that had become stranded in mountainous snow drifts as high as 15 to 25 feet. An estimated 175,000 customers in the state lost electricity for up to several days, and schools and businesses remained close for the week.

More than 5,000 national guardsmen were called up by Governor James Rhodes to help clear 31,000 miles of roadway, and help rescue victims trapped in the snow. Estimates by the National Guard placed the number of Ohioans rescued at more than 10,000 by truck, and another 2,700 were picked up by Air National Guard helicopter flights.

The largest snowfall totals were reported in the northwestern part of the state, averaging 10 to 15 inches, with eastern and southern sections of Ohio receiving 5 to 10 inches–but less in the far southeast from Athens to the Ohio River. This was the third heavy snow in a little more than two weeks in Ohio, so there was a substantial snow cover on the ground prior to arrival of the blizzard to blow around.