The defining event of Garrahy's governorship was the Great Blizzard of February 1978. The blizzard paralyzed the entire state with up to 56 inches of snow. Garrahy lived in his office at the Rhode Island State House in Providence for three days until the crisis was under control. Garrahy was remembered for wearing a red and black plaid flannel shirt during the crisis. The shirt became widely associated with Garrahy; in 2000, he donated the shirt to the Rhode Island Historical Society, where it was placed on display. For years afterward, Garrahy would be asked about the shirt.