I'm looking back on the March day when a blizzard left Sunderland stranded and 1,500 cars abandoned
Chillier weather has returned to Sunderland but spare a thought for the Wearsiders who had to live through these conditions.
It was 47 years ago today that a blizzard began which caused chaos and brought the region to a standstill.
1,500 vehicles abandoned in the ‘severe weather event’
Experts described it as a severe weather event at the time and it was not just snow which battered Wearside.
Gale-force 9 winds, and drifts reaching up to three feet were also experienced and it led to 1,500 vehicles being abandoned on the A1, with widespread closures of roads, schools, and transportation services.
The worst of the snowstorm hit around March 14 to March 17. It began with light rain and sleet, turning into heavy, wet, and powdery snow with temperatures around -1°C.
‘The North East was effectively isolated’
It soon built up and the North East was effectively isolated, with gale-force winds and snowdrifts forcing police to advise against all travel.
Thousands of motorists were stranded, and major roads became impassable. A previous Sunderland Echo story told how one couple missed their own wedding.
Another family had to sleep in their car in a snowdrift as they headed home to congratulate a relative on their new baby.
One person's car was stuck in a drift for a week.
The trip from Durham to Sunderland which took three days
One woman remembered the weather being so bad that a Friday night trip to Durham meant she could not get home to Sunderland until the next Monday.
In addition to snow, significant rain led to flooding across Sunderland, turning major roads into "rivers".
A weather centre spokesman said in 1979 that ‘it had been the worst March since records started to be taken 26 years ago. In 12 hours, 1.3 inches of rain fell over the whole of the North East.”
Then came 70 mph winds and heavy rain which lashed the coast Bus and rail services were disrupted and electricity supplies were cut off for hours at a time.
A Sunderland Echo report at the time said: ‘Operation Floodwatch’ was going on in the region as a special Northumbrian Water team kept a close eye on the swollen rivers. There was reports of burns bursting their banks all over the North.”
We would love your memories of the 1979 blizzards which left Sunderland cut off. Email [email protected] to tell us more.
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