Remembering the Blizzard of '93

March 12, 2004

Today and tomorrow are the anniversary of the "Storm of the Century", also known as the Blizzard of 1993 or SuperStorm. A new storm-rating scheme (copy) marks it at the highest rating, saying it was the worst storm to hit the East Coast in a century.

The National Climatic Data Center says that the storm "hit entire eastern seaboard with tornadoes, high winds, and heavy snows (2-4 feet); $3.0-$6.0 (3.3-6.6) billion damage/costs; approximately 270 deaths."

When the computer models first detected the storm five days in advance, it was dismissed by some as an error in the model because of its intensity. But then the models all started to agree and meteorologists began to understand what a monster they had in front of them. Hurricane-like winds and damage occured in Florida and that was just the beginning.

I was heading home from college on spring break when it began snowing, and the next morning we had 24" at my house in NW NC. One of my fondest memories of of Eric Thomas on WBTV-Charlotte declaring that "...this may not be just the storm of the century... but the strongest storm in the history of mankind." An exaggeration, possibly, though not by much. It was probably the strongest storm that a person would see in the normal course of life.

• WeatherMatrix Founder Jesse Ferrell's Photos From The Superstorm
• WeatherMatrix Member Steve Minghini's Photos From The Superstorm
• NCDC's Tech Report (Free)
• Google Search: Blizzard of 1993

Informational Graphics From AccuWeather.com:

STORM HIGHLIGHTS (NCDC):

Highest recorded wind gusts included:
144 MPH on Mount Washington, NH
131 MPH occurred at Grand Etang, Nova Scotia.
109 MPH in the Dry Tortugas (west of Key West, FL)
101 MPH on Flattop Mountain, NC (by NCDC employee Grant Goodge
--due to ice accumulation on anemometer, he estimated 105-107 MPH)

Snowfall totals included:
56 inches on Mount LeConte, TN
50 inches on Mount Mitchell, NC (14-foot drifts)
44 inches in Snowshoe, WV
17 inches near Birmingham, AL (6-foot drifts)

Record low sea-level pressures included:
28.38 inches in White Plains, NY

Other highlights:

Havana, Cuba was blacked out

Hurricane-force winds caused hurricane-like damage in Florida

For the first time, every major airport on the east coast was closed 
at one time or another by the storm.

Over 3 million customers were without electrical power at one time 
due to fallen trees and high winds.

At least 18 homes fell into the sea on Long Island due to the pounding surf.
Extremely cold weather followed including a record low of 
2 degrees in Birmingham AL.

Screen captures from the Weather Channel in Hickory NC, thanks to WeatherMatrix Member Tim Armstrong are below. Tim says "Here are 3 screen captures from the Hickory weather channel during the superstorm of March 1993 -- first and only time I've seen conditions like these reported!"