Remembering the Blizzard of ‘78, 35 years later

Downtown Boston is seen on Feb. 6, 1978.David L. Ryan/Globe file photo/Boston Globe

With a snowstorm potentially on its way to the region, it seems fitting that Wednesday is the 35th anniversary of the Blizzard of 1978.

The epic storm, which is etched into many people’s memories, saw 27.1 inches fall in Boston over 32 hours and 40 minutes on Feb. 6 and 7, 1978, according to the National Weather Service.

The snow, combined with 79-mile-per-hour wind gusts and tides reaching 16 feet above sea level, coalesced into one of the largest storms the state has ever seen.

The storm killed 29 people in Massachusetts and left some 3,000 cars and 500 trucks stranded on one eight-mile stretch of Route 128. It prompted then-governor Michael Dukakis and then-president Jimmy Carter to both declare states of emergency in the Bay State

Friday’s storm, fortunately, isn’t predicted to be as powerful. Forecasters say it’s still too early to make exact predictions, though they’ve ventured that some areas could see “more than a foot.”