Jeffery McElroy
07-01-2005, 05:18 PM
The 1993 “Storm of the Century”
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/9/9c/Storm_of_the_century_satellite.gif
Weather forecasters had little foresight of the impending storm and that it would be extremely powerful, noting a confluence of factors said to occur about once in 500 years. A "disorganized area of low pressure" that formed in the Gulf of Mexico (which, being warm by March, is a frequent source of spring snowstorms) joined an arctic high pressure system in the Midwestern Great Plains, brought into the mid-latitudes by an unusually steep southward jet stream. A nor'easter later collided with these airmasses, producing the storm, which gained strength as it moved northward.
This storm complex was, by all accounts, massive. At its apex the storm stretched from Maine to Florida, blanketing nearly every community it affected with 5 to 50 inches of snow, hurricane force winds and record low barometric pressures. The volume of the storm's total snowfall was later computed to be between 5.4 and 27 billion tons.
In the nocturnal satellite image below, you can see the cold front off of the storm reach all the way down into the Yucatan Peninsula. You can also see the lightning associated with it. The western coast of Florida received hurricane force winds with gusts estimated at up to 120 mph, and a ten-foot storm surge. Tallahassee FL actually received 3 inches of snow. In addition to this, at least 27 tornadoes touched down over the peninsula.
http://snrs.unl.edu/amet498/sherman/nocturnal0393.GIF
Responsible for 300 deaths, up to six billion dollars in damage, and the loss of electric power to over 10 million, it is purported to have been directly experienced by over 130 million people in the United States, about half the country's population at that time. Every airport from Nova Scotia to Georgia was closed for some time because of the storm.
Recorded Wind Gusts Mount Washington, NH Franklin County, FL Dry Tortugas, FL Flattop Mountain, NC mph 144 110 109 101
Record Sea Level Pressures White Plains, NY Philadelphia, PA New York, (JFK) Dover, DE mb 961.1 962.4 962.4 963.0
http://www.comet.ucar.edu/resources/cases/c1_11mar93/gif/11mar_sfc.gif
Recorded Snowfall Totals Mt. Mitchell, NC Grantsville, MD Snowshoe, WV Syracuse, NY Inches 50 47 44 43
Record Low Temperatures Burlington, VT Mount LeConte, TN Asheville, NC Birmingham, AL F -12 -10 2 2
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/9/9c/Storm_of_the_century_satellite.gif
Weather forecasters had little foresight of the impending storm and that it would be extremely powerful, noting a confluence of factors said to occur about once in 500 years. A "disorganized area of low pressure" that formed in the Gulf of Mexico (which, being warm by March, is a frequent source of spring snowstorms) joined an arctic high pressure system in the Midwestern Great Plains, brought into the mid-latitudes by an unusually steep southward jet stream. A nor'easter later collided with these airmasses, producing the storm, which gained strength as it moved northward.
This storm complex was, by all accounts, massive. At its apex the storm stretched from Maine to Florida, blanketing nearly every community it affected with 5 to 50 inches of snow, hurricane force winds and record low barometric pressures. The volume of the storm's total snowfall was later computed to be between 5.4 and 27 billion tons.
In the nocturnal satellite image below, you can see the cold front off of the storm reach all the way down into the Yucatan Peninsula. You can also see the lightning associated with it. The western coast of Florida received hurricane force winds with gusts estimated at up to 120 mph, and a ten-foot storm surge. Tallahassee FL actually received 3 inches of snow. In addition to this, at least 27 tornadoes touched down over the peninsula.
http://snrs.unl.edu/amet498/sherman/nocturnal0393.GIF
Responsible for 300 deaths, up to six billion dollars in damage, and the loss of electric power to over 10 million, it is purported to have been directly experienced by over 130 million people in the United States, about half the country's population at that time. Every airport from Nova Scotia to Georgia was closed for some time because of the storm.
Recorded Wind Gusts Mount Washington, NH Franklin County, FL Dry Tortugas, FL Flattop Mountain, NC mph 144 110 109 101
Record Sea Level Pressures White Plains, NY Philadelphia, PA New York, (JFK) Dover, DE mb 961.1 962.4 962.4 963.0
http://www.comet.ucar.edu/resources/cases/c1_11mar93/gif/11mar_sfc.gif
Recorded Snowfall Totals Mt. Mitchell, NC Grantsville, MD Snowshoe, WV Syracuse, NY Inches 50 47 44 43
Record Low Temperatures Burlington, VT Mount LeConte, TN Asheville, NC Birmingham, AL F -12 -10 2 2