Wednesday marked the thirty five year anniversary of the Blizzard of ’78 when New England was hit hard by foul winter weather killing 100 people and injuring thousands.

This week, Boston TV stations have been taking a looking back at the snowstorm by which they say all snowstorms are measured while they keep an eye on another blizzard expected to hit the area Friday.

WHDH, the Boston NBC affiliate, FOX owned WFXT and CBS owned WBZ all focused on the differences between then and now, making the point that technology has advanced far enough to help residents avoid the problems presented in 1978. You can watch the report from WHDH after the jump.

In his report, WFXT’s Kevin Lemanowicz said New Englanders blew off warnings about the blizzard because a snowstorm earlier in the month had been poorly forecast. Lemanowicz points out the computer models of today are a far cry from the paper maps of 1978. Weather forecasters thought the snow would begin falling at dawn on February 5, 1978, instead it came mid-morning. “And when we turn back the clock thirty five years and look how they predicted it,” Lemanowicz pointed out. “It’s amazing the forecast was even this close.” Read more

Boston’s WFXT announced this week that it will expand its 6:00 p.m. newscast to one hour, putting the Fox-affiliate in direct competition with the network newscasts of its local rivals.

“While other local stations switch over to national news, FOX25 News will be the only news station on with local news from 6:30–7 p.m.,” the station said, in making the announcement.

The move also means that WFXT will offer the most local news of any station in the Boston market with 42.5 hours per week.

The extra half hour will feature the same team as the existing 6:00 p.m. newscast: anchors Maria Stephanos and Mark Ockerbloom (above, right) with chief meteorologist Kevin Lemanowicz. Read more