Winter in Ohio can be so unpredictable. Generally, we can expect several healthy snowfalls, a “big one” or two, and a few deep freezes. Some winters are mild and some are super snowy, but few were as chilly as the Winter of 1977 in Cleveland, Ohio:
Locals remember the winters of 1976-77 and 1977-78 as two of the coldest in Cleveland’s history.
Lakewood Police Department/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: 77-000819-01
They probably also remember the incredible number of days below zero that the region experienced.
Lakewood Historical Society/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: HGM - Northland 2210
The bitter cold began making headlines in January of 1977, when the average temperature was 17 degrees lower than usual.
Lakewood Police Department/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: 77-000440-02
Beginning on January 16, the temperature stayed below zero for 58 hours.
Lakewood Historical Society/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: HGM - Wyandotte 1602 Car batteries died, pipes burst, and offices closed.
When a blizzard battered the region at the end of January, locals bundled up and stayed indoors.
Joseph E. Cole/Cleveland Memory Project Identifier: C2-010
As February came along, so, too, did incredibly bitter cold. Temperatures fell to 20 below zero!
Joseph E. Cole/Cleveland Press Collection Identifier: lhd7701
Things warmed up from there a little bit, and the region rejoiced as spring came.
Lakewood Police Department/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: 77-000659-02
Of course, snow and cold would return to the region that November…
Frank John Aleksandrowicz/Wikimedia Commons
All in all, the region experienced a record-setting 20 days below zero in 1977.
City of Cleveland Heights. Cleveland Heights Historical Center at Superior Schoolhouse/Cleveland Memory Project Identifier: chuh200501947x600w.jpg
Locals didn’t even get a chance to recover, as January of 1978 brought the “Super Bomb” blizzard.
Michael A. Fuerst/Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Photography Collection Identifier: cea0822
Cleveland experienced some of its coldest winters on record that year…
Michael A. Fuerst/Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Photography Collection Identifier: cea0826
…Maybe that’s why winters don’t feel quite as aggressive as they used to!
Lakewood Police Department/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: 77-001474.jpg
The freezing cold conditions of the Winter of 1977 in Cleveland, Ohio, have permanently engraved that winter into the memories of those who lived through it. What do you remember about this icy year? Share your memories in the comments!
Lakewood Police Department/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: 77-000819-01
Lakewood Historical Society/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: HGM - Northland 2210
Lakewood Police Department/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: 77-000440-02
Lakewood Historical Society/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: HGM - Wyandotte 1602
Car batteries died, pipes burst, and offices closed.
Joseph E. Cole/Cleveland Memory Project Identifier: C2-010
Joseph E. Cole/Cleveland Press Collection Identifier: lhd7701
Lakewood Police Department/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: 77-000659-02
Frank John Aleksandrowicz/Wikimedia Commons
City of Cleveland Heights. Cleveland Heights Historical Center at Superior Schoolhouse/Cleveland Memory Project Identifier: chuh200501947x600w.jpg
Michael A. Fuerst/Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Photography Collection Identifier: cea0822
Michael A. Fuerst/Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Photography Collection Identifier: cea0826
Lakewood Police Department/Yesterday’s Lakewood Identifier: 77-001474.jpg
For more winter memories, check out these noteworthy winters in Cleveland history.
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The OIYS Visitor Center
Winter of 1977 in Cleveland, Ohio November 24, 2022 Sarah M. In addition to the Winter of 1977, what’s another notorious winter in Cleveland, Ohio? Pardon the pun, but weathering winter storms and deep freezes is kind of a badge of honor for us living in Cleveland, Ohio. Our location along Lake Erie puts us in the eye of the storm, so to speak, and we’re quite familiar with lake effect snow and “Polar plunges” that afflict cities like ours.
January 1994 was a rough one. If you lived anywhere between Ohio and the Gulf Coast, chances are that you remember January 19, 1994. An area of high pressure, unusually cold and vast, of course, swooped in over the Ohio valley. Clevelanders had their furnaces and fireplaces generating heat non-stop, but they couldn’t stave off the creep of bitter cold as temperatures dropped to a historic -20 degrees. Though it is remembered as the coldest day in Cleveland history, locals were lucky: in the Akron area, thermometers reported a nippy -25 degrees, and further away, in quaint Millersburg, temperatures dropped to 35 below zero. Brrr!
February of 2015 was brutal, and many Clevelanders will never forget the year. By February 19, the temperature had already dipped below zero seven times since New Year’s Day. The following day was bitterly cold, and it went down in history as one of the coldest days Clevelanders have ever experienced. Temperatures dropped to 17 below zero, and an unforgiving wind chill made it feel like it was -25 or colder. If you found yourself caught in the unintentional wind-tunnel that is Downtown, your experience doubtlessly chilled you to the bone.
Winter 2004-05. Each year, snowfall for the City of Cleveland is measured at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Our average annual snowfall is 60 inches, but in the 2004 to 2005 season, that number was nearly doubled. A whopping 117.9 inches of snow was dumped upon the region that season, making it the snowiest in Cleveland history!
The OIYS Visitor Center
Winter of 1977 in Cleveland, Ohio
November 24, 2022
Sarah M.
In addition to the Winter of 1977, what’s another notorious winter in Cleveland, Ohio? Pardon the pun, but weathering winter storms and deep freezes is kind of a badge of honor for us living in Cleveland, Ohio. Our location along Lake Erie puts us in the eye of the storm, so to speak, and we’re quite familiar with lake effect snow and “Polar plunges” that afflict cities like ours.
January 1994 was a rough one. If you lived anywhere between Ohio and the Gulf Coast, chances are that you remember January 19, 1994. An area of high pressure, unusually cold and vast, of course, swooped in over the Ohio valley. Clevelanders had their furnaces and fireplaces generating heat non-stop, but they couldn’t stave off the creep of bitter cold as temperatures dropped to a historic -20 degrees. Though it is remembered as the coldest day in Cleveland history, locals were lucky: in the Akron area, thermometers reported a nippy -25 degrees, and further away, in quaint Millersburg, temperatures dropped to 35 below zero. Brrr!
February of 2015 was brutal, and many Clevelanders will never forget the year. By February 19, the temperature had already dipped below zero seven times since New Year’s Day. The following day was bitterly cold, and it went down in history as one of the coldest days Clevelanders have ever experienced. Temperatures dropped to 17 below zero, and an unforgiving wind chill made it feel like it was -25 or colder. If you found yourself caught in the unintentional wind-tunnel that is Downtown, your experience doubtlessly chilled you to the bone.
Winter 2004-05. Each year, snowfall for the City of Cleveland is measured at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Our average annual snowfall is 60 inches, but in the 2004 to 2005 season, that number was nearly doubled. A whopping 117.9 inches of snow was dumped upon the region that season, making it the snowiest in Cleveland history!
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
Pardon the pun, but weathering winter storms and deep freezes is kind of a badge of honor for us living in Cleveland, Ohio. Our location along Lake Erie puts us in the eye of the storm, so to speak, and we’re quite familiar with lake effect snow and “Polar plunges” that afflict cities like ours.
- January 1994 was a rough one. If you lived anywhere between Ohio and the Gulf Coast, chances are that you remember January 19, 1994. An area of high pressure, unusually cold and vast, of course, swooped in over the Ohio valley. Clevelanders had their furnaces and fireplaces generating heat non-stop, but they couldn’t stave off the creep of bitter cold as temperatures dropped to a historic -20 degrees. Though it is remembered as the coldest day in Cleveland history, locals were lucky: in the Akron area, thermometers reported a nippy -25 degrees, and further away, in quaint Millersburg, temperatures dropped to 35 below zero. Brrr!
- February of 2015 was brutal, and many Clevelanders will never forget the year. By February 19, the temperature had already dipped below zero seven times since New Year’s Day. The following day was bitterly cold, and it went down in history as one of the coldest days Clevelanders have ever experienced. Temperatures dropped to 17 below zero, and an unforgiving wind chill made it feel like it was -25 or colder. If you found yourself caught in the unintentional wind-tunnel that is Downtown, your experience doubtlessly chilled you to the bone.
- Winter 2004-05. Each year, snowfall for the City of Cleveland is measured at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Our average annual snowfall is 60 inches, but in the 2004 to 2005 season, that number was nearly doubled. A whopping 117.9 inches of snow was dumped upon the region that season, making it the snowiest in Cleveland history!
January 1994 was a rough one. If you lived anywhere between Ohio and the Gulf Coast, chances are that you remember January 19, 1994. An area of high pressure, unusually cold and vast, of course, swooped in over the Ohio valley. Clevelanders had their furnaces and fireplaces generating heat non-stop, but they couldn’t stave off the creep of bitter cold as temperatures dropped to a historic -20 degrees. Though it is remembered as the coldest day in Cleveland history, locals were lucky: in the Akron area, thermometers reported a nippy -25 degrees, and further away, in quaint Millersburg, temperatures dropped to 35 below zero. Brrr!
Winter 2004-05. Each year, snowfall for the City of Cleveland is measured at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Our average annual snowfall is 60 inches, but in the 2004 to 2005 season, that number was nearly doubled. A whopping 117.9 inches of snow was dumped upon the region that season, making it the snowiest in Cleveland history!
