Massachusetts National Guard outside the Hawthorne Hotel. 1978

The Blizzard of ’78 formed on Sunday, February 5, 1978 with most of its snowfall occurring between the morning of February 6th and the evening of February 7th. In total, the Greater Boston area received an average of 27 inches of snow. The damage for the effected Northeast region was more than $520 million (estimated to be $1.95 billion today.) Salem took weeks to recover and the National Guard was brought in to help clear roads, assist emergency personnel, and aid in search and rescue missions.

*This article was written by Jen Ratliff for use by Salem State University Archives and Special Collections
Images above are from their collections.