BOSTON - It's been 45 years since the benchmark of winter storms hit New England - the Blizzard of '78.

It was the big one, the one not many were prepared for, the one that stranded people at work, at home and in their cars. It brought mountains of snow drifts to neighborhoods and brought some of the worst coastal flooding some communities had ever experienced. It brought the region to a standstill for weeks, but it also brought people together.

There was no internet in 1978, there were no cell phones, no quick way to share developing information or changes to the forecast other than radio and TV. Even so, storm coverage was minimal during that time compared to the continuous coverage of storms today.

After a series of storms earlier that year (12-to-20 inches just a week before), the forecast was widely overlooked for this one. Snow was predicted to start during the very early morning hours of February 6th, but was delayed a few hours, so as many folks got up for the day, they went to work and school anyways.

Then the snow came... and it came fierce.