The Blizzard of 78 caught people almost totally by surprise. It also had some of the same snow accumulation from multiple storms issue that this year had.
For years, just about everyone at least knew a friend of a friend who got stuck on Route 128 and had to be evacuated or got stuck at their office for multiple days. As a result, people in the Boston area were really paranoid about heading home if there was a storm coming. Some I know said to me once that they had never seen any northern city where people were so anxious to get going when it started snowing.
(I was in Cambridge in 78 but at school with no car so it was pretty much just a memorable and fun experience.)
For years, just about everyone at least knew a friend of a friend who got stuck on Route 128 and had to be evacuated or got stuck at their office for multiple days. As a result, people in the Boston area were really paranoid about heading home if there was a storm coming. Some I know said to me once that they had never seen any northern city where people were so anxious to get going when it started snowing.
(I was in Cambridge in 78 but at school with no car so it was pretty much just a memorable and fun experience.)