Friday, March 12, 2010

The March Superstorm of 1993

What happens when a cold front plunges into the deep south while three strong jet streams merge along the Atlantic Seaboard? A Superstorm!!!

Today marks the anniversary of one of my favorite snow events I've lived through -- the
March Superstorm of 1993. This epic winter weather event, also known as The White Hurricane or The Great Blizzard of 93, was unique for its intensity, massive size and wide-reaching effects.

Bringing with it three days of crippling snow, whirling seas, coastal flooding, blizzards, tornadoes and bone-chilling cold, the March Superstorm of 1993 was definitely a freak of nature. It all started on Friday, March 12 when a cluster of powerful thunderstorms formed in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and then merged with a narrow band of snow and rain that was pushing in from the West Coast. The two storm systems collided with the jet stream causing this to happen...

The amount of snow and rain that fell during the storm was nothing short of incredible! Areas as far south as central Alabama and Georgia received 8 inches of snow and areas such as Birmingham, Alabama, received up to 16 inches. Even the Florida Panhandle reported up to 4 inches, with hurricane-force wind gusts and record low barometric pressures.

Between Louisiana and Cuba, hurricane-force winds produced high storm surges in the Gulf of Mexico, which along with scattered tornadoes killed dozens of people.

Northward up the Atlantic Seaboard and Appalachian Mountains, and extending all the way to the Canadian Maritimes, there was over 40 inches of snow and ice, absolutely crippling everything in its path.

This winter storm is the largest one-piece storm in recorded history!