News

National Climatic Data Center report blizzard of '93

By NEAL LOTT, Published: March 13, 2013

Here is the report issued by the National Climatic Data Center's Neal Lott on May 14, 1993:

MAY 14, 1993

NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER RESEARCH CUSTOMER SERVICE GROUP TECHNICAL REPORT 93-01

THE BIG ONE!

A REVIEW OF THE MARCH 12-14, 1993 "STORM OF THE CENTURY"

By NEAL LOTT

PHYSICAL SCIENTIST

On March 12-15, a storm now called "The Storm of the Century" struck the eastern seaboard. Following are the highlights of the information gathered about the storm thus far: 1) The preliminary death toll for the U.S. is approximately 270, and 48 people were reported as missing at sea (Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic, including Canadian waters). This is over 3 times the combined death toll of 79 attributed to hurricanes Hugo and Andrew. The death toll includes those caused by direct and indirect (e.g., shoveling snow) results of the storm. Due to the widespread nature of the storm, assessing its toll has been quite difficult for damage survey teams--hurricanes are easier to assess due to their more limited areal coverage. The following breakdown by state (not including lost at sea) is still preliminary (its summation does not reflect all deaths from the storm): Florida 44 New York 23 South Carolina 1 Alabama 16 Georgia 15 Tennessee 14 North Carolina 19 Kentucky 5 Virginia 13 Maryland 3 West Virginia 4 Maine 2 Pennsylvania 49 2) Thousands of people were isolated by record snowfalls, especially in the Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia mountains. Over 200 hikers were rescued from the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains. Curfews were enforced in many counties and cities as 'states of emergency' were declared. The National Guard was deployed in many areas to protect lives and property. Generally, all interstate highways from Atlanta northward were closed. 3) For the first time, every major airport on the east coast was closed at one time or another by the storm. The Asheville, NC airport was closed for 3 days. Snowfall rates of 2-3 inches per hour were common during the height of the storm. Generally, New York's Catskill Mountains along with most of the central and southern Appalachians received at least 2 feet of snow. In areas to the east, wind-driven sleet occurred in some areas, with central New Jersey reporting 2.5 inches of sleet on top of 12 inches of snow--somewhat of an "ice-cream sandwich" affect. 4) Hundreds of roof collapses occurred due to the weight of the heavy wet snow. Over 3 million customers were without electrical power at one time due to fallen trees and high winds. 5) At least 18 homes fell into the sea on Long Island due to the pounding surf. About 200 homes along North Carolina's Outer Banks were damaged and may be uninhabitable. Over 160 people were rescued at sea by the Coast Guard in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic. At least 1 freighter sank in the Gulf of Mexico. 6) Florida was struck by an estimated 15 tornadoes, and 44 deaths in Florida were attributed either to the tornadoes or other severe weather. A 12-foot storm surge occurred in Taylor County, FL resulting in at least 7 deaths. Also, up to 6 inches of snow fell in the Florida panhandle. 7) 3 storm-related deaths were reported in Quebec and 1 in Ontario. About 110 miles south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, a 177-meter ship sank in heavy seas, with all 33 of its crew lost at sea. 65-foot waves were reported in the area. Also, a wind gust of 131 MPH occurred at Grand Etang, Nova Scotia. Some parts of northern New Brunswick experienced temperature drops of 45 degrees Fahrenheit in 18 hours. 3 deaths occurred in Cuba (Havana was blacked out), and a tornado left 5000 people homeless in Reynosa, Mexico (near Texas border). 8) Highest recorded wind gusts included: 144 MPH on Mount Washington, NH 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) 98 MPH in South Timbalier, LA 92 MPH on South Marsh Island, LA 90 MPH in Myrtle Beach, SC 89 MPH in Fire Island, NY 83 MPH in Vero Beach, FL 81 MPH in Boston, MA 71 MPH at La Guardia Arpt, NY 9) Snowfall totals included: 56 inches on Mount LeConte, TN 50 inches on Mount Mitchell, NC (14-foot drifts) 44 inches in Snowshoe, WV 43 inches in Syracuse, NY 36 inches in Latrobe, PA (10-foot drifts) 35 inches in Lincoln, NH 30 inches in Beckley, WV 29 inches in Page County, VA 27 inches in Albany, NY 25 inches in Pittsburgh, PA 24 inches in Mountain City, GA 20 inches in Chattanooga, TN 19 inches in Portland, ME 19 inches in Asheville, NC 17 inches near Birmingham, AL (6-foot drifts) 16 inches in Roanoke, VA 13 inches in Washington, DC 9 inches in Boston, MA 4 inches in Atlanta, GA 10) Record low temperatures included (some records for March): -12 degrees in Burlington, VT and Caribou, ME -11 degrees in Syracuse, NY -10 degrees on Mount LeConte, TN -5 degrees in Elkins, WV -4 degrees in Waynesville, NC and Rochester, NY 1 degree in Pittsburgh, PA 2 degrees in Asheville, NC and Birmingham, AL 6 degrees in Knoxville, TN 8 degrees in Greensboro, NC 1 degree in Beckley, WV 11 degrees in Chattanooga, TN and Philadelphia, PA 15 degrees in New York-JFK and Washington, DC 17 degrees in Montgomery, AL 18 degrees in Columbia, SC and Atlanta, GA 19 degrees in Augusta, GA 21 degrees in Mobile, AL 25 degrees in Savannah, GA and Pensacola, FL 31 degrees in Daytona Beach, FL 11) Record low sea-level pressures included: 28.38 inches in White Plains, NY 28.43 inches in Philadelphia, PA 28.43 inches at JFK Arpt, NY 28.45 inches in Dover, DE 28.51 inches in Boston, MA 28.53 inches in Augusta, ME 28.54 inches in Norfolk, VA 28.54 inches in Washington, DC 28.61 inches in Raleigh-Durham, NC 28.63 inches in Columbia, SC 28.73 inches in Augusta, GA 28.74 inches in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC 28.89 inches in Asheville, NC 12) The National Weather Service's Office of Hydrology estimated the volume of water that fell as snow as 44 million acre-feet. This is comparable to 40 days' flow on the Mississippi River at New Orleans. For example, the NWS office at the Asheville, NC airport reported a snow/water ratio of 4.2 to 1 from core samples of new snow. Numerous core samples taken in a nearby area by an NCDC employee showed similar results with a ratio of 5.3 to 1. This equated to 4-5 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation (or even higher in some areas) from the storm. Areas north of Asheville which reported up to 4 feet of snow probably received 'dryer' snow with similar liquid equivalent amounts. Due to the weight of the heavy snow, damage to trees and some buildings was extensive. Polk County, NC reported 99% of its electrical customers without power at one point during the storm. Some sleet also occurred during the storm, contributing to its 'heavy' nature. Many of the power outages occurred before the high winds arrived (due to snow-induced tree damage). 13) Overall damage figures are not yet complete, but the insured property damage estimates now exceed $1.6 billion. Therefore, this was the 4th costliest storm in U.S. history, and by far the most costly extra-tropical storm. Some estimates of total damages and costs from the storm now exceed $6 billion. 14) Comparisons to the Blizzard of 1888 are quite interesting. A few facts from the '88 storm: The storm began in earnest on March 12, the same date as this year's storm. Over 400 people died, including 200 in New York City alone. Snowfall averaged 40-50 inches over southeastern New York state and southern New England with drifts to 30-40 feet. 58 inches of snow in Saratoga Springs, NY. 48 inches of snow in Albany, NY. 45 inches of snow in New Haven, CT. 22 inches of snow in New York City. Snow drifts over the tops of houses from New York to New England, with reports of drifts covering 3-story houses. Highest reported drift was 52 feet in Gravesend, NY. 80 MPH wind gusts were reported, although the highest official report in New York City was 40 MPH, with 54 MPH at Block Island. The winds in the '88 storm, although severe, were not as severe as several other storms which have struck the same area. From Chesapeake Bay through the New England area, over 200 ships were either grounded or wrecked resulting in the deaths of at least 100 seamen. The NY Central Park Observatory reported a minimum temperature of 6 degrees, and a daytime average of 9 degrees on March 13, the coldest ever for March. Severe flooding after the storm due to melting snow--especially in the Brooklyn area, which was more susceptible to serious flooding due to topography. The '88 storm is sometimes compared to the 1717 snow event ("The Great Snow of 1717"), which was the result of 4 snowstorms occurring between February 27 and March 7. Snowfall totals amounted to 5 feet or more in some areas, with much higher drifts. Although the '88 storm was more severe in the Northeast and New England than the '93 storm, it did not affect the entire eastern seaboard to the extent that the 1993 storm affected the area. The '93 storm affected 26 states and about 50% of the nation's population. In fact, on the Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricane strength, it equated to a category 3 hurricane based on storm surge and minimum pressure attained. OBSERVATIONAL DATA The attached data lists were taken from decoded surface observations for the period March 12-15, 1993. The most damaging characteristics of the storm were the heavy snow, the high winds (including tornadoes), and the storm surge/high waves. The first list focuses on some of the stations which reported the water equivalent of snow on the ground. The second list shows all reports of wind speed or wind gust of at least 70 MPH. The third list shows all reports from ships at sea of wave or swell heights of at least 20 feet. A complete file (in the same format as data list #1) of all observations (56090 observations--4.6 megabytes) during March 12 to 15 from latitude 20 N to 50 N and longitude 65 W to 95 W is available as shown below. Also, additional data (other elements such as wave heights) from these observations are available from NCDC upon request. 1) 4 diskettes (3.5 inch high density). 2) Magnetic or cartridge tape. 3) INTERNET via FTP: a) open 192.67.134.72 or open hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov b) Login is: anonymous c) Password is: your email address d) You are now logged onto a UNIX workstation. Enter 'help' if you'd like a list of available commands. e) To move to the correct subdirectory, enter: cd /pub/data/blizzard f) To get a copy of the data, enter: get storm.txt destination (destination is your output location and name)...e.g.-- get storm.txt c:storm.txt - copies to hard drive c: g) If you need a copy of a call letter-station name cross reference file, enter: get stnlist.txt destination h) For a copy of this report, enter: get blizz.txt destination CONCLUSION A copy of this report, including the attached data lists, is available from NCDC's Spectrafax system by dialing 704-271-4570 and following instructions. If you have any questions about this report or the data, please contact either Neal Lott or Tom Ross: 704-271-4995 (Neal Lott) 704-271-4994 (Tom Ross) 704-271-4876 (FAX) nlott@ncdc.noaa.gov tross@ncdc.noaa.gov This report was prepared by the National Climatic Data Center's Research Customer Service Group. The decoded surface weather observations were obtained from Operating Location 'A' of the USAF Environmental Technical Applications Center in Asheville, NC. Numerous individuals and sources (too numerous to mention) provided information for this report, and we thank all those who contributed.