On March 12-14, 1993, a hurricane-blizzard tore through the Eastern United States. It brought devastating impacts to states along the Atlantic Coast, with over 56 inches of snow, over 15 tornadoes, and wind gusts up to 144 mph, with a fast moving squall line (storm line) that produced 59,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes as it moved onshore on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It was the Storm of The Century slamming the United States.
The storm intensified very rapidly, so rapidly, in fact, that some forecasters used the term “meteorological bomb”! In only 3 days, the storm was offshore, leaving easterners to dig out of the historical snowfall.
The storm first sprang up over Texas early March 11 and brought with it damaging winds and hail. However, out of the 22 states that received damage during the storm, Florida, where the hurricane first made landfall, received the
most devastating damage of all. With over 110 mph winds, 15 tornadoes, up to 6 inches of snow, and an intense squall line moving at a terrifying speed, Florida experienced almost $2 billion in property damage.
The Results
From Florida to Maine, nearly 10 million people and businesses lost power and over 200 hikers were rescued from the Carolina and Tennessee Mountains. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued more than 160 people from ships on the gulf coast and the Atlantic. From Florida northward, the storm battered the entire eastern coastline, and at least 18 homes fell into the sea on Long Island, NY due to the pounding surf. Thirteen people drowned in Tampa Bay, Fla. because of an unpredicted 12-foot storm surge. Also, because of the storm, almost all the interstate highways from Atlanta, GA northeastward were closed. Also, because of the dangerous weather, all the major airports closed at on time or another. The New York Turnpike Authority announced that it was going to close the turnpike on Friday night - forecasting three to four feet of snow up in New York along the mountains. Even the states around the Appalachian Mountains declared states of emergency before the snow fell.
National Weather Service’s Office of Hydrology estimated the storm’s equivalent total volume of water at 44 million acre-feet—enough water to flood nearly the entire state of Missouri a foot deep! Rapid snowfall in New York was recorded, with 2-3 inches of snowfall per hour. In New Jersey, 2.5 inches of sleet on top of 12 inches of snow created a somewhat "ice-cream sandwich" effect.
Conclusion
With historic flooding and snowfall, deadly tornadoes and wind gusts, which destroyed many homes and businesses beyond repair - this storm was one of the most intense storms since
the 1900s, the disastrous storm of 1993 is
rightly called the Storm of the Century.
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