COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Seventeen years ago today, central Ohioans were digging out from a record late-season snowstorm that blanketed the state with 10 to 20 inches of heavy, wet snow, although with lower amounts in the southeastern and northwestern counties.

The snowfall in Columbus at the end of the event totaled 20.5 inches, exceeding the previous record of 15.5 inches that fell February 14-17, 2003. London and Lancaster reported 17 inches. The total snow depth of 18 inches on March 9 set a new mark, topping January 20-23, 1978, when 17 inches covered the ground.

The first wave of snow arrived Friday morning, March 7, 2008, and deposited five inches by nightfall. Round two developed overnight, as a potent low-pressure system tracked northeast from the Gulf states and along the upper Ohio River Valley the following day.

The snow became heavy before daybreak on March 8, falling at the rate of two inches an hour in central Ohio. The winds picked up, gusting to 37 mph at Port Columbus International Airport, driving the snow into drifts several feet deep.

Travel quickly became precarious, and a dozen Ohio counties were under a Level 3 snow emergency by late morning, effectively banning all but emergency travel. The number of counties under a Level 3 snow emergency would double through the day, with the remainder of central Ohio under a Level 2 warning for snow-covered and very treacherous roads.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported more than 1,900 accidents during the storm, as the snow piled up and visibilities dropped to less than a quarter-mile at times.

Five days later, the temperature soared to 60 degrees on March 13 in Columbus, as the snow quickly melted away, except for the residual snow banks.

The March 2008 snowstorm was the heaviest in the history of Columbus since January 14-15, 1863, when the press reported a snow accumulation of around two feet, before the establishment of the city’s Weather Bureau.