30th Anniversay of “Storm of the Century”
Blizzard of 93 is the largest snowfall on record for our area
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – It has been 30 years now since the storm everyone remembers as The Storm of the Century for our area.
It was a two day event for our area, arriving late on March 12th and snowing throughout March 13th.
The official snowfall total for Chattanooga was 20 inches, but there were drifts over two feet.
That much snow completely overwhelmed the area, particularly so late in the season.
It closed I-24, stranding Spring Breakers headed to Florida.
It closed just about every business and all schools.
It collapsed several metal buildings and chicken facilities in northwest Georgia.
And it cut off hikers and residents in the mountains for days and even weeks.
Here is the official storm story from the National Weather Service:
An intense low pressure system, the 1993 Storm of the Century, developed in the Gulf of Mexico and moved northeastward through the Southeast United States, then up the East coast. Heavy snowfall and very strong winds gusting over 40 mph created blizzard conditions across the southern Appalachian region west of the storm’s path. The snow began late on 12 March and ended during the early morning hours of 14 March. Snowfall totals were generally 15 to 24 inches across the Plateau and 15 to 30 inches in southwest Virginia and southwest North Carolina. In the Tennessee Valley and northeast Tennessee, 12 to 18 inches were common with the Chattanooga area seeing close to 20 inches. The mountains of East Tennessee won out with widespread 24 to 36 inch amounts, and an astonishing 40 to 60 inches fell in the highest peaks of Sevier County!
